The facilitation landscape is shifting rapidly. Whether you’re a project manager, team leader, or professional facilitator, staying ahead of trends is essential to creating meaningful experiences and efficient teams. One method consistently emerging at the forefront is the LEGO® Serious Play® Method—a powerful tool for strategic planning, team building, and participative design.
From online sessions to hybrid facilitation, let’s explore how today’s top facilitation trends align with this digitally-assisted facilitation method and why it’s shaping the future of learning experiences.
Trend 1: From Passive Listening to Participative Design
Today’s organizations are moving away from one-sided presentations and toward facilitation methods that encourage participative design, group interaction, and co-creation. At places like Facilitator School and through programs such as the Conscious Facilitation Masterclass, facilitators are learning to guide conversations rather than dictate them.
Where the LEGO® Serious Play® Method Excels
This method empowers every voice in the room, allowing even the quietest participants to contribute. As a result, it enhances team development, encourages continuous learning, and transforms how leaders design workshops.
Trend 2: From Tools to Experiences
Modern facilitation is no longer about flipcharts and markers alone. Professionals are leveraging digital tools, online tools, and hybrid techniques to craft extensive experience journeys that feel immersive and memorable.
LEGO® Serious Play® Method’s Role
Using tactile bricks, visual storytelling, and structured dialogue, the LEGO® Serious Play® Method creates learning experiences that go far beyond PowerPoint. It’s especially effective for business models, innovation workshops, and operational models mapping.
Trend 3: Hybrid is the New Standard
Facilitators today must manage hybrid sessions, in-person sessions, and online sessions—often within the same week. Tools and methods must flex across formats without losing impact.
Adapting LEGO® Serious Play® Method
Now offered in virtual kits and online formats, the method continues to thrive in hybrid facilitation settings. It integrates well with online tools and platforms for digitally-assisted facilitation, making it a fit for facilitators like Douglas Ferguson and Kirsty Lewis, who lead globally dispersed teams.
Trend 4: Professionalization of Facilitation
With the rise of formal facilitation training courses, accreditation programs, and global associations like the International Association of Facilitators, facilitation is no longer a side skill—it’s a recognized profession.
Why Facilitators Choose LEGO® Serious Play® Method
Certified facilitators, including Gwyn Wansbrough in North America and Leanne Hughes in San Francisco, cite this method as a staple in their toolkit. It aligns well with the basics of facilitation, advanced facilitation practices, and specialized training programs like those offered by Facilitation Lab.
Trend 5: Focus on Healthier, More Efficient Teams
Today’s workshops must solve real problems—like unhealthy teams, broken collaboration, and unclear business and design goals. That’s why facilitators are combining empathy, structure, and creativity to help organizations thrive.
LEGO® Serious Play® Method and Team Health
By giving form to thoughts, the method uncovers hidden issues and aligns visions. It’s used by training teams, freelance facilitators, and Certified Professional Facilitators to surface challenges and co-create better futures for teams.
Facilitator Spotlight: Lessons from the Field
- Gwyn Wansbrough: Known for her work in facilitation services and helping introverts lead boldly through reflective practices.
- Douglas Ferguson: Leads Voltage Control and champions facilitation as a leadership skill.
- Kirsty Lewis: Specializes in corporate workshops with the LEGO® Serious Play® Method across the UK.
- Leanne Hughes: Runs the First Time Facilitator podcast, blending energy and strategy for better sessions.
Conclusion: A New Era of Facilitation, Brick by Brick
Facilitation is not just a process—it’s a profession. Whether you’re designing types of sessions for startups or leading executive alignment for enterprises, the trends are clear: embrace continuous learning, get certified, personalize every touchpoint, and use powerful, flexible methods like the LEGO® Serious Play® Method.
Looking to build better teams?
certification programs, and exclusive access to the Facilitation Newsletter at Serious Play Business.
FAQs
What is the LEGO® Serious Play® Method?
A powerful facilitation tool using LEGO® bricks to help teams visualize problems, goals, and strategies.
Is it only for in-person use?
No. It adapts well to online sessions, hybrid formats, and remote collaboration.
Do I need a background in process design?
While helpful, many professional facilitators start with the basics of process design and grow through structured training.
What’s the value for project managers?
It enhances team building, supports clear project management discussions, and accelerates stakeholder alignment.
How do I get trained?
We offer regular training programs and connect with global leaders from Facilitation Lab, Facilitator School, and beyond.
