Making Change and Transformation Fun

There’s a question Dejan gets a lot:

“Can you help us be agile, like, introduce Kanban boards?”

Digitization is often associated with introducing frameworks, procedures, and tools to be “customer centric.”  But digitalization starts with developing an understanding on what problem must be solved, establishing consensus, and cultivating mindsets. So, when Dejan is asked to introduce Kanban boards he does everything but that.

It’s understandable why Dejan’s clients are asking for Kanban boards. Introducing change and transformation can be a hard sell, and having a concrete tool feels practical. Eighty percent of change and transformation is about asking tough questions, asking participants to do inner work, and retraining their mindsets. Rather than reaching for a Kanban board, Dejan introduces another tool: play. He asks himself how to make the change process a fun one. Before we get to play, we need to explore reasons for change.

Are You Clear on Why We Must Change? 

Dejan challenges his clients to ask themselves Why must we change as a first step to establishing clarity. Dejan observes many leaders rushing into the “how or what” before clarifying the “why”. Take time to ask: “What does digitalization mean to me? Do people in my organization share the same understanding of how we must change to become more innovative as I do? How are we developing mindsets to support it?” If the “why” isn’t clarified, the introduction of Kanban boards will create no value.

Consensus on Problems To be Solved 

Change projects can begin when people share consensus on the problem to be solved. Consensus means each person and team understands what needs to change. Dejan starts every project by engaging people to work toward consensus. Even if change seems obvious to you, ask people what they think. Engagement and consensus lay the foundation for innovation and change.

Using Creativity and Fun to Find Consensus

Lego Serious Play is designed to unleash creativity and and it helps establish consensus. A powerful method, Lego Serious Play uses play to engage participants in a fun way to finding answers to difficult questions. Creativity is heightened and courage is rewarded when we have fun, Dejan says. Our brains can focus for 20 minutes only, he explains. When we engage all senses and work with our hands, we collaborate effectively. Participants transfer thoughts and ideas into Lego models, conveying a story and making visual what was previously unseen or unspoken. Discussing models created—asking, for example, Why is this part of your model red? Oh, because this is important and has been ignored in the past—gives people an opportunity and means to talk about vulnerable, touchy topics.

Working with a Lego Serious Play certified facilitator such as Dejan, or becoming a facilitator, ensures the best possible outcome.

Growth Mindsets for Sustainable Change 

Clarity of purpose and consensus are prerequisites for change, but sustainable change requires developing growth mindsets. This isn’t a walk in the park. Dejan encourages leaders to remind themselves and others that digitalization is here to stay and to hone a growth mindset thus inevitable for transformation.

Get Excited to Learn To Make Change Fun

One way to encourage a shift in thinking is to create excitement about the learning journey and to make the effort to explore outside of comfort zones fun. Honing curiosity towards doing things differently and cultivating openness on the feelings that arise during the process is key. For systemic buy-in, leaders must model these growth mindset behavior traits. The inner work to develop a growth mindset is done individually, but we mustn’t journey alone. We can take on the challenges as a team and develop growth mindsets together.

Fostering excitement for the learning journey includes the clearing of emotional roadblocks. Do so as a team by discussing, What is Scrum doing to me? How does this change make me feel?  When you make space for how the changes are affecting you and you allow colleagues to support you by being empathetic you can work through insecurities and un-block fear. This makes the change process easier. Dejan again points to Lego Serious Play to make this process a fun, playful one.

Lego Serious Play is a fun tool that includes emotions and increases engagement, but how can we leverage our emotions for heightened collaboration outside workshops?

Increase Awareness for Mindful Work Environments

Dejan believes that increasing awareness for mindful work environments enables people to increase efficacy and feel more fulfilled. Being mindful means being focused and staying present. Many of us are in back-to-back meetings, dealing with problems that bring up insecurity, fear, or frustration. “We attend a meeting, but our minds are pondering the outcome of a meeting two hours ago,” Dejan explains. Those particularly stressed affect the group energy’s level and well-being, because stress is contagious. When a team’s energy levels drop, the meeting’s host struggles to keep people focused, open, and motivated, which negatively affects efficiency and creativity. This isn’t fun.

Mindfulness Makes Work Fun

Mindfulness at work by checking in is a small habit, but makes work feel lighter, more fun, Dejan says. HBR also lists meeting check-ins in their top 8 ways for managers to support their employees’ mental health. When you check in at the beginning of every meeting, you allow people to bring awareness to their current emotional state and share it. This “emotional offloading” cools our brains and reduces cortisol levels, as mentioned in Science Daily’s article “For worriers, expressive writing cools brain on stressful tasks.” This helps us increase resilience and creativity.

Agile methodologies are great at reducing complexity and help us keep up with dynamic markets when there’s consensus on the problem to be solved. But, transformation requires a preparation for the long haul. Focusing on what we can influence—honing excitement for learning and embracing our emotions, developing growth mindsets and cultivating mindfulness—make change and transformation fun. These skills allow us to stay open, engage with people more meaningfully and find fulfilment as we create the future.