CLIENT’S BRIEF

We were contacted by a non-profit organization to facilitate a workshop for its management team to discuss and harmonize its work plan for next year. The intent was to co-create a high-level work plan that the team can fully own and commit to, while enabling open and honest conversations amongst team members. The team also wanted a change from previous workshops, in terms of offering a more interesting and engaging meeting for participants. 

WHAT WE DID

We ran a full-day workshop for 20 people comprising middle and senior managers, using the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® method. 

Participants were asked to build LEGO models that describe their work plan priorities, and then share their models within their respective groups. Through this exercise, participants were able to visualize the components of their work plan initiatives in 3D, which enabled them to gain greater clarity and insight about the workings and impact of the initiatives. The sharing of models also helped other divisions get a better understanding of what each division plans to do - which sparked conversations on possible overlaps and synergies between initiatives. 

Participants were then asked to arrange the individual work plan models into a landscape, and develop an overarching story that best describes the landscape. This collaborative exercise enables participants to see the big picture of how the various work plan initiatives come together to form the integrated work plan. 

The formation of the landscape provided a common point of reference for participants to visualize and discuss linkages between work plan initiatives, as well as connections to different stakeholders. Gaps in the work plan became visibly more obvious. 

THE OUTCOMES 

At the end of the workshop, the team was able to streamline the work plan initiatives into a more well-defined set of priorities. 

In terms of experience, the workshop was described as a ‘refreshing change’ from ‘standard’ facilitation sessions.  The client felt that the facilitation was highly engaging and created a fun but safe environment where all participants felt comfortable to share freely. 

The beauty of LEGO SERIOUS PLAY is that it creates a level playing field for everyone to be heard. Even though the workshop had people with varying levels of seniority (even the CEO was participating), it was heartening to see everyone actively engaged and speaking up. The workshop also demonstrated that it is possible to have fun while tackling complex and seemingly technical topics. 

“The workshop was a refreshing change from what we did last year. The team had fun and we were able to streamline our work plan priorities and distill what we wanted”