Why LEGO® Serious Play® works: Co-creating positive change
This is part 4 of a four-part series on why LEGO® Serious Play® works.
Read Part 1 here: The cognitive foundations.
Read Part 2 here: The power of metaphor and equal voice.
Read Part 3 here: Building belonging through authenticity and psychological safety.
Throughout this series, we’ve explored why LEGO® Serious Play® works: the cognitive science that creates deep engagement, the communication mechanisms that transform dialogue, and the conditions (authenticity and psychological safety) that create a sense of belonging. Now we arrive at the heart of the matter: what all these elements enable when they come together.
They enable co-creation. Not just collaborative work, or group problem-solving, but genuine co-creation. This is the process through which people build something together that none could have been built alone, while simultaneously building the relationships and trust that make sustainable change possible.
Beyond collaboration: What co-creation really means
We use the word “collaboration” frequently in organizations. Teams collaborate on projects. Departments collaborate on initiatives. But collaboration often means dividing work, coordinating efforts, and combining outputs. It’s transactional. It’s efficient. And it’s not the same as co-creation.
Co-creation is fundamentally different. It’s the process of constructing shared understanding, generating collective wisdom, and building solutions that emerge from the integration of multiple perspectives. More importantly, co-creation is inherently relational. It builds the connections, trust, and sense of shared ownership that transform “your idea” and “my idea” into “our solution.”
LEGO® Serious Play® creates the conditions for genuine co-creation in ways that traditional meetings and workshops cannot. Here’s how:
Making thinking visible: When participants build physical models of their thoughts, everyone’s thinking becomes visible simultaneously. There’s no hierarchy of ideas. Just models on the table. This visibility creates a level playing field where insights can be compared, connections can be discovered, and patterns can emerge that no single person could have seen alone.
Constructing shared meaning: As participants share the stories behind their models and listen to others’ stories, they’re exchanging information and constructing shared meaning. They’re building a common language, discovering shared values, and creating collective understanding of complex challenges. This shared meaning becomes the foundation for aligned action.
Integrating diverse perspectives: The methodology doesn’t ask participants to compromise or reach consensus quickly. Instead, it creates space to hold multiple perspectives simultaneously, to see how different viewpoints relate to each other, and to discover integrative solutions that honor the wisdom in seemingly contradictory ideas. This is how diversity becomes a genuine asset rather than just a source of conflict.
The research evidence: Co-creation that works
The effectiveness of LEGO® Serious Play® in enabling co-creation isn’t theoretical. It’s supported by substantial research evidence across multiple domains.
Studies in higher education have shown that LSP enhances research capacity, promotes creative thinking, improves the quality of group interaction, and facilitates the exchange of ideas (Javidroozi et al., 2024). Research examining postgraduate students found that LEGO® Serious Play® fosters reflective thinking and interaction, with students reporting they could be creative more quickly than usual and that the methodology provided a unique way to learn about their colleagues compared to traditional introductions (Ganiyu et al., 2025).
The hands-on approach enables learners to interact with material, reflect on their experiences, and construct their own mental representations of concepts and ideas. Critically, they do this together, creating shared understanding that goes beyond individual learning.
Studies have also documented the methodology’s effectiveness in leadership development, team building, and organisational change contexts. Research on shared leadership found that participants developed awareness of key leadership elements through metaphoric storytelling, experienced group dynamics and communication skills in real-time, and recognised that meaning-making through storytelling could be an emotive experience (Peabody & Turesky, 2018).
Perhaps the most practical benefit is LSP’s ability to make abstract concepts tangible. Complex organisational challenges, strategic visions, team dynamics, and cultural issues become concrete through physical models. This transformation serves multiple functions: it externalises internal thinking, creates shared reference points that teams can return to throughout their work, and captures remarkable amounts of knowledge compared to more standardised methods (Kristiansen & Rasmussen, 2014).
Co-creation builds belonging, belonging enables change
Here’s the insight that connects everything: co-creation isn’t just a technique for getting better ideas or more innovative solutions. Co-creation is a process for building belonging. And belonging is what makes sustainable positive change possible.
In my research on belonging in the virtual workplace, I’ve found that belonging emerges when people learn and achieve together through play. LEGO® Serious Play® fits here beautifully as it creates intensive experiences of:
Learning together: Through the models and stories, participants rapidly learn about each other, their organisation’s challenges, their colleagues’ perspectives, and the collective wisdom available in the room. This shared learning creates common ground.
Connecting authentically: The combination of play, psychological safety, and equal voice enables authentic connection. People see each other more fully, not just professional roles, but human beings with diverse experiences, values, and insights. This authentic connection builds trust.
Contributing meaningfully: When everyone builds, everyone shares, and everyone’s perspective shapes the outcome, participants experience genuine agency. They see their contribution matter. This sense of meaningful contribution strengthens belonging.
And when people feel they belong (when they feel safe, valued, and connected) they become capable of the vulnerability, creativity, and commitment that positive change requires. They stop defending their positions and start exploring possibilities. They move from “What’s in it for me?” to “What can we create together?” They become co-creators of change rather than recipients or resistors of change. And that’s why co-creation through this methodology has the power to transform organisations, communities, and the systems we work within.
The power of building together
LEGO® Serious Play® works because it aligns with how humans actually think, learn, and collaborate. It works because it integrates cognitive science, communication theory, and cultural wisdom into a coherent methodology. It works because it creates psychological safety, honors authenticity, and democratises participation.
And most fundamentally, it works because it enables genuine co-creation, the process through which people don’t just solve problems together, but build the relationships, trust, and belonging that transform groups into communities and communities into movements for positive change.
So, the next time you sit down with a pile of LEGO® bricks in a workshop, know this: you’re not just building a model of your idea. You’re participating in a scientifically grounded, research-validated process for co-creating solutions that last. You’re contributing to something that has the potential to create lasting positive change, not despite the playfulness, but because of it.#
Ready to explore?
Ready to experience the transformative power of co-creation? Contact me to explore how LEGO® Serious Play® can help your organisation build belonging, unlock collective wisdom, and co-create positive change that lasts.
Interested in learning more about co-creating positive change? This series forms the foundation of my forthcoming work on using LEGO® Serious Play® as a methodology for building belonging and enabling sustainable transformation. Sign up for the Good Comms newsletter to stay informed.
- Ganiyu, I. O., Plotka, G., Seuwou, P., & Ige-Olaobaju, A. (2025). Examining the use of LEGO Serious Play to enhance postgraduate research capacity. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1), 1-10.
- Javidroozi, V., Maguire, C., Feldman, G., & Ibrahim, N. (2024). Facilitating organisational decision-making process through LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® method. International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 23(6), 774-800.
- Kristiansen, P., & Rasmussen, R. (2014). Building a better business using the LEGO® Serious Play® method. Wiley.
- Peabody, M. A., & Turesky, E. F. (2018). Shared leadership lessons: Adapting LEGO® Serious Play® in higher education. International Journal of Management and Applied Research, 5(4), 210-223.
