LSP & IKIGAI (⽣き甲斐)

BY GABU LOPEZ - WWW.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/GABULOPEZ

ne of the things that I like most about the

O LEGO® Serious Play® (‘LSP’) method is that
it allows me to work on any topic that
involves creativity and open answers. That’s why it is
ideal for revealing great insights into my work as a
business coach.

I help people discover their ‘why’: their purpose-

driven work. The one that is full of meaning, that
makes them wake up happy every morning with a
smile on their faces.

Some of these people come to me with

very clear ideas. But others, confused by
social mandates and a lifelong career
full of accomplishment, but
empty in terms of fulfilment,
feel that they have lost
track and need to
reorient their
internal compasses.

For this, I apply the

Ikigai framework.
And to make it
even more
revealing and
powerful, I use the
LEGO Serious Play
methodology. Here is
how I do it.

What is Ikigai?

I
kigai (⽣き甲斐) is
a Japanese concept that means
"a reason for being". The word
refers to having a direction or purpose in
life, that which makes one's life worthwhile,
and towards which an individual takes
spontaneous and willing actions, giving them
satisfaction and a sense of meaning in their life.

The concept is also used to describe a mental state in

which the person feels at ease in a flow state.
Activities that allow us to feel Ikigai are perceived as
being spontaneous and undertaken willingly.

The Ikigai framework comprises 4 areas of

development, as shown in the chart.

30
How I translate Ikigai to LSP
hen planning an Ikigai workshop, I design a
W learning path that requires participants to
progress from undertaking the easiest
tasks through to more complex ones.
For the skills building part, I use bricks and mini-
figs (no animals, no Duplo symbolic bricks). When
they are more familiarised with metaphors and
start working with Ikigai itself, I add the other
elements, including 20 x 20 cm baseplates for each
individual build.
This is how I configure the workflow:
1. Skills building: to break the ice, I ask them to
build an animal (a dog, a cat, with very specific
building instructions in terms of bricks and
colours).
2. Starting point, based on a tower with you in it
(what made you come to this workshop today,
the current situation. This places them in the
current situation, while the ikigai will be their
desired status).
3. Ikigai specific challenges:
I have tried this several times and this is the
• What you love to do.
order that seems to work best (The first
• What you are good at.
two questions are interchangeable, but I
• What the world needs.
found out that ‘love’ and ‘good at’ in that
• What you can be paid for.
order makes it easier for participants to
progress through the questions). Participants
reflect and share for each of their four
models.
4. Once they have the four models ready, I clear
the table and give each participant an Ikigai
canvas (poster size). Then they take the
models they’ve built, place them in the
appropriate space on the printed Ikigai canvas
and share their overall reflections. Each
person doesn’t share their specific findings as
this may be too personal, they just think about
them and then share their overall integrated
Ikigai, relating it to their current situation. This
is an a-ha moment for many of the
participants.

B
efore leaving, each person says a few
words on how they feel and what they’re
committing to, based on what they have
discovered about themselves during the
workshop. They take with them their Ikigai with
the post-its attached, together with any pictures
they’ve taken. This allows them to continue to
reflect on their Ikigai.
Because Ikigai goes beyond the LSP workshop
itself. It is a way of living.