Leanne on Demand Daily with Leanne Hughes 🌴333. Democratise the conversation with Lego Serious Play feat. Michael Fearne (Weekend Rewind)
This week I’m exploring how something as simple and tactile as Lego can open people up, shift conversations, and spark ideas in ways most traditional workshops can’t touch. My guest is Michael Fearne, founder of Pivotal Play and an expert in Lego Serious Play. He works with everyone from startup founders to corporate leaders, helping them break out of business-as-usual thinking and communicate in more human, meaningful ways.
What I loved about this conversation is how practical and grounded Michael is. He cuts through the myths, the scepticism, and the “I’m not creative” excuses we all hear in workshops. He explains why Lego Serious Play isn’t about building pretty models, it’s about generating insights, levelling power dynamics, and surfacing the stories and ideas people usually keep buried. We also talk through the messy parts: the sceptical participants, the leadership roadblocks, the workshop that went off the rails, and how he learned to handle high-stakes groups with more confidence and clarity.
If you’re a facilitator, trainer, leader or someone who wants a more reliable way to get every voice in the room heard, you’ll get a lot from this one. And if you’re curious about using Lego in your own work, Michael has literally written the book on it and breaks the method down step by step.
Key takeaways
- Lego Serious Play is a tool for thinking, not a toy activity
- It democratises conversation by giving every participant a structured voice
- The value is in the stories, not the “model building”
- Reliability matters more than novelty in workshop design
- You must choose clients and environments that match your style
- Leadership groups with fixed mindsets can derail a process if you don’t manage them
- Physical tools work brilliantly in virtual spaces when designed intentionally
- Preparation and environment matter more than most facilitators admit
- A repeatable warm-up sequence builds trust and confidence every time
- Writing a book forces you to codify what you actually know
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