Laughter and LEGO® Bricks!

In August of 2010, Phil Culhane  attended the Strategic Play™ Facilitator Training offered in Vancouver. He is now facilitating workshops with a variety of people working in organizations.
In an email that he sent me he commented:
“One of the things I’m noticing is that laughter starts VERY quickly whenever we use the Strategic Play tool based on the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY™ process.   Laughter fosters openness and trust; and laughter dispels fear.  This is so helpful to my facilitation because barriers start dropping far more quickly than when we use more traditional, talk-based engagements. With talk, it takes about three hours to break through the walls and get to the underlying issues. When working with LEGO® models it takes about 45 minutes, more than three times faster.   And when we consider the ROI of hosting a small or large group event, it’s important that we get to the core of the matter as fast as possible.”

What people are really discovering is that this process makes people happy. Just seeing LEGO® bricks on the boardroom tables makes them smile.  When they are laughing and smiling together they feel energized. When people are having fun they are clearly happier.  Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a leading expert in positive psychology, has written extensively on the topic of happiness within the workplace. He believes that people will expend extraordinary effect when they feel happy and this leads to employees having a higher moral.

Barbara Fredrickson, a professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina agrees. She found that happier teams were more creative in their thinking when they looked for solutions to their problems. She also discovered that people are more open to learning and thinking about new concepts and will set higher goals for themselves when they are happier. Leaders who find happiness in their work and communicate their happiness to their teams are more likely to attract and infect their team members with positive energy.  The list of the benefits to happiness is almost endless.  They include everything from better health, a higher degree of stamina, and resilience.  So if you want to add some laughter, fun and happiness to your organization – think about including LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY™.

To learn more about the Strategic Play method:
In North America visit: www.strategicplay.ca
In the EU visit: www.strategicplay.de
for a complete list of trainings and events go to:
www.strategic-play.com