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Workshops Work Podcast - part 1


Myriam Hadnes runs the Workshops Work Podcast, and in episode 136 she interviewed SeriousWork founder Sean Blair, in her LinkedIn post Myriam said:

"Three (soon to be four) books on the subject, decades of experience facilitating workshops, and experience of training facilitators in it… Sean Blair is a #LEGO #SeriousPlay oracle! I was hoping to uncover some new insights and ideas from our conversation, but I actually found a great deal more.

Sean is such a captivating person - open and reflective - that we ended up discussing the limits of LEGO Serious Play as much as its merits.

We disagreed, we provoked, we learned. It was one of my favourite interviews to date! There’s something for everyone in this episode, so I really hope you take the time to listen. You won’t regret it"

It was great to be interviewed by Myriam, she is a gifted questioner and brilliant interviewer!


Or watch the YouTube video of both parts here.




Timecodes

01:02 When did you start calling yourself a facilitator? 

02:11 How have you changed from being a “bossy” facilitator and what have you become instead? 

05:05 How do you train other facilitators – especially in the art of dialling up and down their presence in the room? 

09:50 What does it take to create a learning space that encourages and values mistakes? 

13:54 How does speaking with your own voice play out in facilitation? 

18:28 What makes a workshop fail? 

20:55 How would you start a workshop for a group in which you know there is conflict and politics? 

25:13 What is the power in using LEGO to help us talk about difficult topics? 

28:11 Do you use ‘minifigures’ (avatars or representations of people) in your LEGO Serious Play workshops? 

32:01 How do you negotiate the risks of a representation being misinterpreted between participants and creating misalignment?

Podcast - The Lego Serious Play Facilitation Method with Sean Blai‪r‬

William Corless from YellowWood recently made a podcast with Sean. From the summary on iTunes:

"Sean Blair author and co-author of three books on the Lego Serious Play (LSP) facilitation method, joins fellow LSP facilitator on the podcast. Sean provides an understanding of this facilitation method, the surprising benefits and the importance of play.

Myth's are dispelled that it's just fun with a pile of bricks, and as facilitators we discuss the importance of design to meet group learning outcomes.

Sean also provides insights into how this facilitation method has adapted online and how to use this method in a covid friendly way.

Listen here:

Tosin Interviews Sean - A Podcast on LEGO Serious Play, including some of the secrets of #OnlineLSP

Tosin Adebisi is, accodoring to his mum, "a specialist in human-centered stakeholder engagement, an intrapreneur, educator, coach and facilitator"

Actually I made up the part about his mum, but that's what his LinkedIn proflie says.

Tosin, pictured above (no, that's not Sean next to him), is also a Certified LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator and PodCaster.

He recently interviewed SeriousWork founder Sean Blair. In this 56 minute interview Tosin asks Sean many questions including...

  • You've been busy during the lockdown. As a trainer and facilitator, how have you found it? Tell us what you have been up too...
  • What is LEGO® Serious Play® and why do you think it works?
  • "Making a 3D print of your own thoughts", what does that mean?
  • How did a toy become such a popular tool for businesses?
  • Is Online Shared Model Building possible? Tell us about your new online facilitation course...
  • Traditionalists say online LEGO Serious Play facilitation lacks tactile element. How did you go about recreating a similar experience?
  • LEGO for Lockdown challenge - instructions for people to participate on Padlet

If you have an hour spare, or want to have a bit of background talk as you work-from-home, you can listen to the musings and ponderings of Sean and Tosin here:

The interview starts after the 5 mins, click just below the << if you want to skip the preamble...


Or listen on Anchor, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker or Pocket Casts

Thanks so much to Tosin, for his hard work preparing, recording and producing this PodCast. You can contact Tosin via LinkedIn here.

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