Written by Christopher Brooks
For over twenty years, I have facilitated workshops for international clients. I follow two key rules: focus on the desired outcome and make it enjoyable. Over time, I’ve found that one without the other is far less effective.
Customer experience leaders are under constant pressure to drive business success by embedding customer-centricity. But strategy sessions and workshops often rely on traditional discussion methods, where the loudest voices dominate. If you’re looking for more inclusive, effective ways to surface insights and drive meaningful change, rethinking how workshops are run is key.
A Workshop Remembered, A Facilitator Forgotten
I also have a personal facilitation goal: to be forgettable. The method and outcome should be memorable, not the facilitator. I’ve been in workshops where this was overlooked, so I make a point of staying in the background.
I once met a group of insurance specialists at a bar in London. Earlier that day, we had run a workshop on a new telematics proposition. My client invited some others over to join us, and we started chatting. Someone mentioned a great workshop they’d attended a few years ago at an ad agency, focused on customer-led propositions. They couldn’t recall the facilitator, but they did remember an activity involving a breakout game with an exploding box of sweets. I knew it was one of my sessions, but I didn’t reveal this – I had met my facilitation goal.
Unlocking Ideas Through Better Facilitation
What matters is how participants engage and how the outcome impacts the project. My role is to unlock ideas and help them take shape. The people in the room often have the answers – they just need the right environment to surface them.
Shifting perspectives is key. To do this, I’ve introduced CX games, breakout rooms, task-based challenges, customer interactions, and hands-on building activities. The last of these – building – has fascinated me the most.
Discovering LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®
Last year, I sought a structured way to integrate building into workshops. That’s when I found LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP). I took the training and became a certified LSP facilitator. The concept is simple: participants use LEGO bricks to visualise discussions, making abstract ideas tangible.
This changes workshop dynamics in two ways:
Everyone contributes.
Every idea is shared.
Typically, 80% of discussions (and decisions) come from 20% of participants. This happens because verbal discussion dominates. But when participants build their responses, everyone engages equally. This also brings quieter voices into the conversation, influencing outcomes in ways traditional workshops don’t.
How LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Workshops Can Be Used in CX
LSP can even help surface emotions around a topic – something that usually only emerges through conflict. During my facilitator training in Denmark, we learned to apply LSP to business strategy, company transformations, and customer experience service design.
We explored:
Designing business strategies visually.
Defining behaviours needed for transformation.
Shifting functions from “in service” to “caring.”
Identifying and removing barriers to new channel strategies.
By the end of the course, I had added certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® designer and facilitator to my role.
Originator, Robert Rasmussen, and co-trainer Per Kristiansen excellently led us through the course, testing our capabilities along the way. I both enjoyed the experience and discovered how LSP is a brilliant technique to apply to customer experience service design.
Why LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Works
For CX leaders looking to create meaningful improvements, LSP is particularly powerful for touchpoint design and stakeholder alignment. It increases the chances of successful implementation by ensuring all voices are heard and considered.
A customer-centric mindset requires curiosity and a willingness to experiment. Otherwise, we won’t consistently achieve better outcomes. LSP disrupts traditional workshop formats, forcing participants to think differently. At first, they may feel out of their depth using their hands instead of just their minds. But they quickly adapt, and the process becomes an adventure – leading to unique, valuable insights.
Take Your CX Workshops to the Next Level
If you’re looking to embed customer-centricity and unlock deeper insights in your CX strategy, LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® workshops could be the tool you need. Let’s discuss how it can make a meaningful difference to your workshops: christopher.brooks@lexdengroup.com.
