LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Methods
Strategic and risk development workshops using LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® materials and methodology
Turn complex organisational questions, risks and uncertainties into shared understanding and practical action
Important conversations about strategy, risk and organisational change do not always fit comfortably into presentations, risk registers, reports and conventional meetings.
When an organisation is facing uncertainty, competing priorities or complex dependencies, the challenge is often not a shortage of information. It is helping people make sense of different perspectives, surface assumptions, share tacit knowledge and develop a sufficiently clear picture of what needs to happen next.
Promethean HD designs and facilitates structured strategic, risk and organisational development sessions using LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® materials and methodology. We help boards, senior leadership teams and multidisciplinary groups explore complexity, identify risks and opportunities, test assumptions and translate discussion into decisions, priorities and practical action.
Our facilitation combines the methodology with experience in:
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strategy and organisational development;
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enterprise and operational risk management;
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pre-mortems and prospective risk identification;
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governance, assurance and board effectiveness;
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human factors and systems thinking;
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transformation, service improvement and implementation;
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organisational culture and leadership;
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decision-making under uncertainty.
Every session is tailored to the organisation, the participants, the decisions they face and the outcomes they need to achieve.
Do your strategic or risk conversations need a different approach?
A strategy workshop, risk session or leadership away day should create more than a collection of ideas. It should help participants understand the challenge, hear different perspectives, make informed choices and leave with a shared understanding of what has been agreed, what remains uncertain and what happens next.
A different approach may be useful when:
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leaders have different interpretations of priorities, risks or opportunities;
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a complex issue is difficult to describe through words and reports alone;
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the same risks recur without the underlying conditions being explored;
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risk registers contain broad labels but little shared understanding of causes, controls and consequences;
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meetings repeatedly return to the same questions without reaching a conclusion;
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some perspectives are heard more frequently than others;
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there appears to be agreement in the room, but people leave with different understandings;
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the organisation needs to connect strategy, risk, governance and delivery;
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a board and executive team need a clearer shared view of future uncertainty;
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a project or change programme needs to anticipate how it might fail before implementation;
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a new or restructured team needs to establish its purpose, risk appetite and ways of working;
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previous away days generated ideas but insufficient ownership or follow-through.
Our role is not simply to keep a conversation moving. We work with you to define the purpose, identify the questions that need to be answered and create a structured process through which participants can explore them.
What is the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology?
LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® is a facilitated methodology in which participants build models in response to carefully designed questions. Each person builds and explains their model. The models then provide a common point of reference through which participants can explore different perspectives, identify relationships and develop shared understanding.
The model is not judged on how it looks. It is a tool for thinking, reflection and communication. Individual models can be connected to create shared models, systems, risk landscapes or future scenarios.
History, science and research behind the methodology
How LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® developed
The approach emerged in the mid-1990s from work by strategy and leadership scholars Johan Roos and Bart Victor at IMD in Switzerland. They were seeking a more imaginative and effective way for leadership teams to express, examine and challenge their understanding of an organisation, rather than relying only on conventional analysis and verbal discussion. Their experiments with leadership teams, together with sponsorship and development within the LEGO Group, evolved through repeated testing into the methodology used today.
Early academic publications described strategy-making as a form of “serious play”, and subsequent development connected this idea with physical model-building, storytelling, shared landscapes and guiding principles. The method later became available through a community-based model, supporting wider use across strategy, education, organisational development and research.
Why building can support thinking and dialogue
Its intellectual foundations are commonly described through constructivism and constructionism: people actively create meaning, and learning can be supported by making a tangible object that can be examined, explained and revised. In practice, the model externalises an idea so that its builder can reflect on it and others can ask questions about the meaning assigned to it. Metaphor and storytelling can help participants communicate tacit, relational or complex knowledge that may be difficult to express as an immediate verbal answer.
Because every participant builds and explains a response, the process also provides a consistent participation structure. Models can then be combined or connected, enabling a group to compare perspectives, identify relationships and co-create a representation of a wider system. This does not make a model objectively true; its value lies in making participants’ interpretations visible and available for disciplined discussion.
What the research says
The peer-reviewed evidence base is growing and includes studies in education, organisational learning and participatory research. Reported benefits include engagement, reflection, creative thinking, dialogue and the integration of multiple perspectives. For example, a recent quantitative study of postgraduate researchers found a significant positive relationship between use of the method and the pedagogical approach being examined, while contemporary methodological research describes its potential to deepen insight and support co-created knowledge.
The evidence should nevertheless be presented proportionately. Studies vary in design, setting and outcome measures, and the method is not a substitute for subject expertise, formal analysis or sound governance. Researchers also emphasise the need to adapt its use to the participants and context, particularly where accessibility, vulnerability or unfamiliarity with playful methods may affect participation. Outcomes therefore depend on clear purpose, careful question design, skilled facilitation and an explicit process for translating workshop insight into decisions and action.
A structured process
A facilitated session normally includes four recurring elements:
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A carefully framed question
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Time for each participant to build
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An explanation of the model by its builder
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Questions, reflection and shared learning
It is structured, not unplanned play
The use of LEGO bricks does not make the session informal or lacking in purpose. The facilitator designs a sequence of questions that moves participants from short introductory activities towards the substantive strategic, risk or organisational issue. The building process makes thinking visible, while the facilitation keeps the discussion connected to the agreed outcome.
Everyone has an opportunity to contribute
Conventional discussions can be shaped by hierarchy, confidence, professional language or the speed at which individuals formulate a verbal response. In this approach, each participant builds and explains their own model. This creates a structured opportunity to contribute before the group moves towards a collective view.
No building experience is required
Participants do not need special creative ability or previous experience with LEGO bricks. The session begins with short activities that help participants become familiar with building, using metaphor and explaining the meaning of their models.
Strategic and organisational challenges we can help you explore
Sessions are designed around the challenge you need to address. They can be used as focused standalone workshops or as part of a wider strategy, risk, governance, transformation or organisational development programme.
Strategy and future direction
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explore different views of the organisation’s current position;
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develop or refresh a shared vision;
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understand the environment in which the organisation operates;
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identify strategic opportunities, threats, constraints and dependencies;
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surface assumptions influencing strategic choices;
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explore alternative futures and scenarios;
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clarify priorities, trade-offs and strategic principles;
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connect strategic ambition to risk-informed implementation.
A session may be used at the beginning of a strategic planning process, to test emerging thinking or to help a leadership team address an issue on which conventional discussion has stalled.
Risk management and prospective risk identification
Risk workshops can become constrained by existing categories, familiar language and the structure of a risk register. Participants may recognise that something could go wrong without having a shared picture of the conditions, interactions and dependencies that could make it happen.
Facilitated modelling can help participants externalise what they know, compare different mental models and explore how risks may emerge across a wider system. It is particularly useful when knowledge is distributed across professional groups or where uncertainty cannot be reduced to a single numerical score.
Risk-related activities we can support
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enterprise and strategic risk identification;
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programme, project and implementation risk workshops;
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risk appetite and tolerance discussions;
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control design and control effectiveness conversations;
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assurance mapping and gaps in assurance;
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scenario analysis and stress testing;
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dependency and interface risk mapping;
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identification of weak signals and emerging risks;
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risk escalation and ownership conversations;
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learning from previous incidents, near misses or implementation difficulties;
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connecting risk information to board and committee decision-making.
Using LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® in a pre-mortem
A pre-mortem asks participants to imagine that a planned strategy, project, transformation or decision has failed at a defined point in the future. Instead of asking only what might go wrong, the group works backwards from the imagined failure to identify the conditions, choices, interactions and warning signs that may have contributed.
Using LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® materials and methodology can deepen this activity by enabling each participant to build their own account of the failure before the group discusses it. This can help surface information that may otherwise remain unspoken, particularly where hierarchy, optimism, delivery pressure or established plans make challenge difficult.
A typical pre-mortem sequence
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Define the planned decision, project or change and the future point being examined.
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Invite participants to imagine that the work has failed, caused harm or not achieved its intended benefits.
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Ask each participant to build the story of how failure occurred.
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Share individual models so that different causes, interactions and warning signs are heard.
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Connect models to show dependencies, escalation pathways and system effects.
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Identify the most important risks, issues, assumptions and control weaknesses.
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Agree preventive actions, monitoring information, triggers, contingency plans and owners.
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Translate the outputs into the appropriate risk, programme and governance processes.
The purpose is not to predict the future with certainty. It is to reduce avoidable surprise, challenge overconfidence and improve the quality of prospective risk information before commitment or implementation.
From risk conversation to governance and action
A useful risk workshop should not end with a photograph of the models or a longer list of concerns. We help the group convert what it has learned into risk information that can support decisions, ownership and oversight.
Depending on the scope, outputs may include:
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clearer risk statements describing cause, event and consequence;
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identified assumptions, dependencies and potential failure pathways;
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existing and proposed controls;
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questions about control effectiveness;
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early warning indicators and monitoring information;
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triggers for escalation or contingency action;
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risk owners and action owners;
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areas requiring further analysis or specialist input;
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links to strategic objectives and intended benefits;
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proposals for committee or board oversight;
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updates for risk registers, assurance maps, programme logs or decision papers.
Risk appetite and difficult trade-offs
Risk appetite discussions can become abstract when participants use the same terminology but hold different views about what is acceptable in practice. Building examples and scenarios can help a group explore where it is prepared to accept uncertainty, where stronger controls are required and which trade-offs need explicit senior-level decisions.
Controls, assurance and work as done
A control may exist on paper without operating reliably in practice. A facilitated model can help participants compare the intended process with operational reality, identify where controls depend on informal workarounds and consider what evidence would provide meaningful assurance.
This creates a direct connection between risk management, governance, human factors and the design of work systems.
Board and leadership development
Boards and senior leadership teams need more than individual expertise. They need a shared understanding of purpose, roles, relationships, strategic risk and how collective decisions will be made.
A facilitated session can help participants explore:
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the purpose and contribution of the board or leadership team;
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what effective collective leadership looks like;
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different understandings of organisational priorities and material risks;
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desired leadership behaviours;
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the relationship between the board, executive team and wider organisation;
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how challenge, support and accountability are experienced;
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how risk information is interpreted and used in decisions;
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the conditions needed for open, constructive discussion;
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how the team will respond under pressure or uncertainty.
These sessions can stand alone or complement a wider board or committee effectiveness review.
Governance and assurance
Governance challenges are not always caused by an absent policy, committee or reporting structure. Difficulties can arise because people hold different understandings of where decisions should be made, who is accountable, what the board needs to know and how assurance should be obtained.
A shared physical model can help participants make relationships and assumptions visible. It provides a practical starting point for conversations about accountability, oversight, decision rights and organisational design.
We can design sessions that explore
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current and desired governance arrangements;
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board, committee and executive relationships;
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information and assurance flows;
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strategic risks and interdependencies;
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gaps, duplication and unnecessary complexity;
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decision-making authority;
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risk ownership, escalation and accountability;
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the relationship between governance and frontline delivery;
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what proportionate and effective governance should look like.
Organisational culture, identity and ways of working
Culture is experienced through day-to-day decisions, behaviours, relationships and working conditions. It cannot be fully understood through a list of stated values.
A facilitated session can help participants explore:
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how the organisation or team sees itself;
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the culture people currently experience;
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the culture the organisation wants to create;
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behaviours and conditions that support or obstruct its purpose;
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different perspectives across teams and professional groups;
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psychological safety, trust and openness;
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how people raise concerns, challenge assumptions and escalate risk;
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how the organisation learns from success, difficulty and harm;
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the practical conditions needed to sustain desired behaviours.
By making different experiences visible, the session can help a group move beyond general statements and towards a more specific understanding of what needs to change.
Change, transformation and service development
Complex change affects people, systems, processes, technology, risk and governance at the same time. A successful transformation requires more than an implementation plan. People need to understand the purpose of the change, how different parts of the system are connected and what may support or obstruct delivery.
A facilitated session can help teams:
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build a common understanding of the case for change;
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explore how the proposed change affects different groups;
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map relationships, stakeholders and dependencies;
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identify assumptions, risks, issues and unintended consequences;
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undertake a pre-mortem before implementation;
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understand the gap between the current and desired position;
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agree principles that will guide implementation;
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clarify responsibilities and decision-making arrangements;
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define what successful and safe implementation should look like;
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identify practical next steps, controls and review points.
What does this approach offer?
Making complex thinking visible
Participants can represent relationships, tensions, risks, priorities and dependencies that may be difficult to communicate through words alone.
Creating more balanced participation
Each person builds and explains their perspective. This reduces reliance on an open discussion in which the most confident, senior or verbally fluent participants may make the greatest contribution.
Surfacing assumptions and weak signals
Two people may use the same language while attaching different meanings to it. Models and explanations can reveal different assumptions, early concerns and local knowledge before the group moves towards decisions.
Supporting systems thinking
Individual models can be connected to show how parts of an organisation or system influence one another. This is particularly useful for strategic risk, governance, transformation, service design and cross-organisational working.
Exploring disagreement constructively
A model creates a shared object for discussion. Participants can question what it represents, which relationships matter and what may happen if part of the system changes.
Connecting insight to action
The models are not the final product. We help participants translate learning into priorities, risk information, controls, decisions, actions and questions requiring further work.
What happens during a facilitated session?
1. Discovery and scoping
We clarify the issue or opportunity, why it matters now, what has already been tried, who needs to participate, relevant context, sensitivities, decisions, outputs and how the session connects to wider governance.
2. Bespoke session design
We design a sequence of questions and activities around the agreed outcome. Questions usually progress from individual perspectives towards shared models, risk landscapes, scenarios, principles or practical action.
3. Introduction and skills building
Participants complete short activities to become comfortable with building, metaphor and storytelling. No previous experience is needed.
4. Individual perspectives
Each participant builds a response and explains what the model means. The group listens, asks questions and identifies themes, risks or differences.
5. Shared understanding
Participants may connect individual models or build a shared representation of the organisation, challenge, desired future, risk landscape or wider system.
6. Strategic, risk or system exploration
The group can introduce external influences, stakeholder perspectives, risks, future scenarios, dependencies, barriers, controls, unexpected events or changes.
7. Agreement and action
We help the group identify what it has learned, what is agreed, what remains unresolved, which risks and assumptions matter, the actions required, ownership and how progress will be governed and reviewed.
From shared models to practical organisational action
A successful session should produce more than interesting discussion. We agree the intended outputs before designing the session.
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a clearer shared understanding of the strategic or risk challenge;
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an agreed representation of the current or desired system;
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strategic themes, priorities or decision principles;
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risk statements, assumptions, dependencies and failure pathways;
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controls, early warning indicators and contingency triggers;
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areas of agreement and legitimate difference;
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questions requiring further analysis;
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agreed actions, owners and review points;
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recommendations for governance or oversight;
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an outline delivery, risk or improvement plan;
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a summary report and photographic record, where commissioned.
Where required, Promethean HD can provide further support with implementation, governance, benefits realisation, evaluation and follow-through.
Who can benefit from a facilitated session?
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boards and committees;
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executive and senior leadership teams;
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newly formed or restructured teams;
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organisational development teams;
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governance, quality, risk and assurance teams;
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transformation and programme leadership groups;
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project teams preparing for significant implementation;
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cross-functional and multidisciplinary teams;
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partnership boards and system leaders;
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charities and not-for-profit organisations;
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healthcare and public-service organisations;
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teams working across organisational or professional boundaries.
The approach is particularly valuable where the issue is complex, perspectives differ, uncertainty matters and the quality of collective understanding will influence future decisions. If the methodology is not the most appropriate option, we can discuss an alternative facilitated approach.
Why choose Promethean HD?
Facilitation grounded in strategy, risk, governance and human factors
The methodology provides the process. The quality and relevance of the session also depend on how questions are framed, how discussion is facilitated and whether the facilitator understands the wider organisational context.
Promethean HD brings together:
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senior and executive governance experience;
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board and committee development experience;
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Chartered human factors expertise;
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systems thinking and organisational design;
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risk, investigation, learning and improvement expertise;
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experience of healthcare and other high-accountability environments;
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coaching and mentoring capability;
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practical experience of transformation and implementation.
Designed around your outcome
We do not begin with a standard workshop and look for somewhere to apply it. We begin with the question your organisation needs to answer and design a proportionate session using methods likely to help participants make meaningful progress.
Independent facilitation and constructive challenge
An external facilitator enables participants to concentrate on the discussion without asking an internal leader to manage the process, contribute to the content and monitor group dynamics at the same time.
Support beyond the session
Where needed, we can help translate insights into governance arrangements, risk information, prioritised improvement plans, programme oversight, implementation support, coaching, mentoring and evaluation.
Session formats
Focused half-day session
For a tightly defined question or early-stage exploration.
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risk identification for a defined decision
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exploring different perspectives
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developing shared principles
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testing an emerging idea
Full-day strategic or risk development session
For work requiring deeper exploration and movement from individual knowledge to shared action.
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strategy development or refresh
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leadership alignment
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pre-mortem and risk analysis
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governance development
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culture or complex system exploration
Board or leadership away day
For strategic reflection and collective development.
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board and executive development
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future direction and strategic risk
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team purpose and ways of working
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relationships, behaviours and decision-making
Multi-session development programme
For complex work that needs discovery, development and follow-through.
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strategy involving several stakeholder groups
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complex transformation
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board and committee improvement
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risk and assurance development
Follow-up and implementation support
For converting workshop outputs into sustained improvement.
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written reports
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risk and action planning
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governance design
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coaching or mentoring
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evaluation and further sessions