Ever left a workshop feeling like you didn’t get a chance to contribute and you wouldn’t remember if someone asked you what it was all about the next day? Bored with lectures, post-it notes and role plays?

At ARTD we’re serious about creative facilitation and policy co-design. So we’re using the LEGO Serious Play method, which is based on research that shows tactile learning produces more meaningful understanding, opens up possibilities and enables dialogue.

We put the method to the test with our own staff – asking what would your relationship with your coach look like in your ideal world? After hours of play, laughter and serious discussion, the sceptics were converted.

We found out that staff want a coach who:

• shows a genuine interest in their wellbeing – not just at work
• can advocate for them with managers to help them manage their workload
• is flexible and responsive as their needs change
• recognises that they also have something to learn from their coachee
• supports them to take on new challenges and avoid common pitfalls.

We never would have learned all this by white-boarding ideas or asking staff to fill in a survey. Playing really did help to create an honest dialogue and identify new ideas.