How I Use LEGO Serious Play in 1-1 Coaching: Building What You Can't Say
Have you ever been stuck trying to find the right words?
You know there's something there, maybe an idea, a feeling, a solution, but it's out of reach.
Your mind goes blank and the harder you try, the more elusive it becomes. You know you have insights locked away, but you’re not quite sure how to unlock them. That's where LEGO Serious Play in 1-1 coaching comes in.
Understanding When Words Aren't Enough
In my coaching practice, coachee’s often come to me because they’re stuck and they’re not quite sure what is holding them back.
Imagine being paralysed by a fear and that fear is holding you back from sharing a concern. It’s something you can’t quite voice because maybe you’re worried about whether you will be judged, maybe you’ve tried to voice it before and it didn’t go so well. Perhaps it’s that experience that is keeping you trapped with the same thoughts and patterns, unable to move on. You might be facing a career transition, a leadership challenge, wanting to escape from a toxic environment or achieve a personal breakthrough that feels just beyond your grasp.
Have you ever said "I don't know," knowing that’s really not the case but it was so much easier than dealing with the obstacle that’s holding you back. Perhaps speaking your truth is scary as it’s buried beneath layers of self-doubt, fear of judgement, or simply not being able to find the right words. That’s where LEGO serious play comes in, as it enables you to find a different way to step into your power.
This is not unusual with high achievers who are used to articulating complex ideas effortlessly in their professional lives, yet find themselves holding back when it comes to their own personal growth and development. It’s likely that the skills that serve you well in the boardroom and during presentations become the mask you hide behind in coaching sessions.
The Transformative Power of Building Your Way to Clarity
When we introduce LEGO into 1-1 coaching, you build what you're thinking and we problem solve through your model.
It’s transformative and we go deep, really quickly. We understand who you really are and take steps to work towards the goal you’re looking to achieve. The speed at which we can unlock barriers and go into depth quickly is always something coachee’s cite as a ’wow’ moment. It’s when everything shifts.
Introducing LEGO Serious Play in 1-1 coaching enables us to unlock insights you didn't even know you had. By using your hands to create something where there are no barriers, we bypass any barriers that keep you stuck in the same thought pattern and treading water when it comes to living your life. There is no judgement and no right or wrong with LEGO as it’s your unique model, and the clarity comes when we facilitate change using the bricks. Rest assured, clarity occurs, without fail, every single time!
As a Coach, it never ceases to amaze me just how quickly transformation occurs when we introduce the LEGO bricks into a coaching session. Within minutes of starting to build, coachees often experience breakthrough moments that might have taken weeks to reach through traditional coaching methods alone. The physical act of selecting bricks, considering colours and shapes, and constructing something three-dimensional engages different parts of the brain which when coupled with your narrative, are hugely transformative.
The beauty of LEGO Serious Play is that it doesn’t listen to our inner critic. That voice that questions whether we're saying the right thing, whether our thoughts are valid, whether we're making sense. When you're building, you're in a flow and you’re concentrating on what you could and would like to achieve. There is no limit to creativity. And while LEGO might not be for everyone, you would be surprised what happens when you just let your hands hold the bricks and your mind is playing catch up!
Exploring Options and Discovering Possibilities
The beuty of using LEGO Serious Play in coaching is that we are able to look at different options side by side. You can literally see all the possibilities laid out in front of you. Ideas that seemed a million miles away are suddenly within reach, because you built them.
This approach plays to several senses and is particularly powerful when you're facing complex decisions or life changing decisions. Rather than wondering what if, you can create different versions of your future self.
The bricks unlock your intuition. Instead of being stuck in the problem, you can step back and look at the problem. You become an observer of your own situation, which immediately shifts your perspective and opens up new possibilities.
The Science Behind Hands-On Breakthrough
When you build with your hands, you articulate your innermost thoughts and feelings in ways that surprise you. The physical act of creating something external helps you process what's been locked inside.
This isn't just feel-good theory. There's solid neuroscience behind why LEGO Serious Play works so effectively. The method engages what researchers call "hand knowledge", which is the connection between our hands and our cognitive processes. When we build, we're accessing different neural pathways than when we simply talk or think.
The process combines visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles simultaneously. You're seeing the model, hearing yourself explain it, and physically manipulating the bricks. This multi-sensory approach helps embed insights more deeply and makes them more memorable and actionable. If it were a recipe, it would be the recipe for powerful transformation and change.
Addressing the Stuck Points
You might be thinking, is this for me? I’m completely overwhelmed and don’t know what my next step is or could be.
Maybe you’re facing a career crossroads, perhaps you want to break into or out of the boardroom, maybe you want to escape all things corporate but wonder if it’s wishful thinking as you’ve bills to pay and they’re not going to stop while you make the big decisions, or perhaps you’re a high achiever who hit a plateau and you just can't see the way forward.
LEGO Serious Play offers the tools to unlock each of these moments and so many more. Often it’s a case of being overwhelmed by too much information, conflicting priorities, or deeply ingrained patterns that prevent us from making a change.
LEGO Serious Play creates a safe space to explore what is going on for you, without the pressure of having to articulate everything perfectly from the start. The models become a bridge between your unconscious knowing and your conscious awareness.
This is where the magic happens and change is created.
Creating Tangible Change
Sometimes we can become attached to a model as it has so much meaning. You might want to keep it on your desk as a reminder of the moment everything changed, or take a photograph of it as the models becomes the touchstone you can return to when you need a reminder of that moment. Ideas that seemed impossible fast become possibilities because you've literally built them with your own hands and taken it a step further by committing to actions, one brick at a time!
Building a model that you can touch gives you a platform for creating lasting change. When you can see and touch a model that represents your future self, or a decision you thought was out of reach, it becomes real. You have proof that the solution exists, because you’ve already created it.
LEGO Serious Play works really well with high achievers, as you’re the expert, discovering, creating and taking ownership of your growth and I am your wing-woman, helping you show you that anything is possible!
Are you Ready to Build What You Can't Say?
If you're curious about how LEGO Serious Play could help you to unlock your next idea, whether that be in your career or personal life, let’s talk.
Sometimes the most profound insights are already within you, waiting for the right conditions and right coach to help you achieve your goals.
Book your discovery call now and let's see what you're ready to build.