Meet Paquisa Mazzola (Brasil)
In our tour around the world we wanted to start sharing some experiences from: Brasil. So we invited Paquisa to share some insights on how the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) method touched ground in her country.
You are already years involved in LSP in Brasil, how did that happen?
I got to know LSP in 2010, when I worked for LEGO Education in Brazil. We were invited to hold a workshop for a company that got acquainted with the methodology in Europe and wanted to take it to their team in Brazil. At the time, I was in charge of marketing management and had never heard of LSP and was still understanding how LEGO Education worked. I was asked to support the team, that carried out the workshop for this client. The experience sparked a curiosity in me, on how LEGO bricks could be brought to the corporate world. It was in 2013 that I left Lego Education and connected with the methodology, and did my training with Lucio Margulis, in Chile. And from then on, we started to carry out the Training Of Facilitators in Brazil. So far there have been 14 trainings.
Can you share some of your experiences of LSP in Brasil, is there a for instance a community?
Yes, today there is a community of facilitators spread across the country. We are a group that exchanges experiences, information, job offers and partnerships. A remarkable situation, in which I could feel the strength of the community, was a workshop that required the participation of 80 facilitators, working for the same project, in a simultaneous roadmap, spread across 15 cities, in 18 rooms with 800 participants. There were hours of training, hours of meetings, arrangements and adjustments until the last minute before starting the workshop. After that, I can say that it was a very remarkable experience with the LSP, especially in terms of community participation and engagement.
What was your last workshop or project with LSP? What was the magic about it?
A very rewarding experience. I recently had the opportunity to deliver a workshop to a group of Municipal Managers from a small town in southern Brazil. It was a strategy workshop for the management team with the objective to align their objectives to the business. It was an audience of politicians, with a history and pattern of talking a lot and listening little. Because of the pandemic I couldn’t be in person, so we made a hybrid model. There was a facilitator taking care of all the logistical part, room, kits, presence of participants and support in driving. And me, connected from my hometown, was able to conduct the workshop remotely. We had challenges with the WIFI connection at first, but then it flowed very well and the delivery they made had a lot of impact for the municipality.
What are you hoping for when it comes to LSP in 2022?
I believe we will have many opportunities in 2022 to promote face-to-face experiences. People in companies want to get away from their computer, leave the screens behind and eager to meet in person with their colleagues. I’m convinced we can contribute in breaking the traditional model of thinking by holding meetings, facilitating communication between people and introducing strategic thinking. I am 100% confident that LSP is the best way to achieve more impactful results. Companies know they need to give a voice to all their employees, but don’t always know how to do it. So, let’s support them!