Build a team with the LEGO-Exercise
Recently I participated in the workshop “Future Fun Course”. Obviously the course conducted with on Design Thinking. So I thought I knew what was going to happen there: brainstorming, doing points of view and everything. Even though I consider myself a savvy Design Thinker (as if you could ever be that), I always welcome connected events as a great way to expand my design thinking toolbox, e. g. learning new warmups or other brainstorming methods.
This time I took away an amazing exercise based on building a team and learning to work within it. I was startled by the results and took away an import learning for myself so I figured, you might want to try it, too.
The Lego Exercise is a great thing to do in the early stages of teamwork. Be it in school, at companies or at the D-School before immersing yourself in a new project. It does not necessarily have to take place in the beginning of a process. The learnings that participants can take away from it are worthwhile in any stage of teamwork.
To do this exercise you need a set of cards with individual tasks on them. You can download and print the one we have prepared or just copy the questions. Hand out one card to each team member. We found that seven people each team is the ideal number for doing the exercise. You also need a bunch of good old Lego bricks. I use this set, which comes in a handy box. It has enough bricks even for two teams.
The goal in this exercise is to build a Lego construction as a team. At the same time, each member of the group has to make sure, that her or his task from the card is achieved within the construction. Now this would be easy if it wasn’t for the fact that no one is allowed to talk after having received the cards. Give it twenty minutes and watch the teams. Afterwards the teams should take some time to evaluate the process and what they have learned from it.
Most common insight is, that it sometimes makes sense to let your team members just go for their aims. As you watch the LEGO construction grow you understand, where the team wants and needs to go. Another learning is the importance to understand and respect each team member’s individual goals. You will see it is useful and necessary to integrate them into the overall goal of the team.
It is also very interesting for a coach to watch the individual needs embedded in the construction. When I introduced the exercise at the D-School, the two teams who took part came up with completely different kinds of constructions:
One of the teams during the exercise
2 completely different results