Every Saturday morning it was the same thing.  ‘That sound’ would wake us up.  Yes, that unmistakable sound now indelibly etched into the auditory memory banks of my mind.  Sadly, we no longer hear the sound, but over 10 years ago it was a very important element of our family dynamic.

You may know the sound too.  Perhaps you haven’t heard it for years, or perhaps you are in the epicenter of this season of life.  You may very well be aware of the passion that drives the sound.  The passion to create, to invent, to play, to learn, to engage, to exercise creativity and imagination.  For years we heard the sound of a passionate, imagination creating.

Do you know the sound of which I speak?  It’s none other than the unmistakable rattling of hundreds of Lego blocks being enthusiastically stirred back and forth by a young imagination looking for the perfect next piece in the creation of their latest masterpiece.

When our sons were younger they both had sizable Lego collections that were kept in large Tupperware containers in their bedrooms.  I loved to hear the sound of them at play with their Lego.  I loved to see them playing with Lego because of its power to facilitate and foster imagination and creativity – both critical qualities for life and leadership.

There are 2 types of Lego play: Freestyle and Pre-fab.  Freestyle Lego is simply making whatever your imagination can conjure up within the confines of your Lego collection.  Pre-fab Lego play is the assembly of pre-packaged sets such as castles, space ships, buildings, vehicles, movie scenes and the like.

Both provide value to the development of a young mind, but my preference is Freestyle Lego play.  This is the kind of play that sets the imagination free within the realistic confines of the function of the individual Lego blocks.  An active imagination is truly powerful…

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”  Albert Einstein

“The man who has no imagination has no wings.”  Mohamed Ali

“Imagination rules the world.”  Napoleon Bonaparte

“You can’t do it unless you can imagine it.”  Georg Lucas

I call leaders with imagination ‘Lego Leaders’.  Lego leaders relentlessly push parameters.  “What if…?” is there favourite question.  Lego Leaders look at the ‘blocks’ they have to work with and imagine what is possible to create.  They also dream of what they could do with more blocks and how they could get them.

Lego Leaders are not afraid to disassemble and reassemble into something better.  Lego Leaders are tacticians as well as visionaries.  They are curious and creative.  There is joy in the journey for them because they are energized by the creative process and maximizing the results of their people and their organization.

Lego Leaders look at the resources they have to work with, envision what can be created within the parameters of their current situation, but are also able to see what they could create with some key additional assets.

Are you a Lego Leader?

You may not be a Lego Leader, but you can still practice Lego Leadership.  Lego Leadership is simply leading with some imagination and creativity.  “What if…?” and “How could we…?” are key questions with which you can season meetings.  Lego Leadership is engaging the creativity of your team to problem solve on a regular basis.  Lego Leadership is also endeavoring to foster imagination in your team.

Lego Leadership creates a sense of connectedness within your team ensuring members of the team are fitting together to build the organization to accomplish your corporate objectives.

Here’s a little team building exercise you can do:  At your next team meeting divide your team into groups of 4.  Give each person a small number of Lego blocks.  Give the groups a set period of time to build something – anything they can imagine.  Watch what happens, debrief the process afterwards, then ask them what they see needs to happen to work together on a daily basis like the exercise.

You may even want to keep some Lego on your desk to stimulate your own creativity and imagination.  Lego Leadership recognizes that imagination really is more powerful than knowledge and fosters it.