Positive Leadership Academy – Inspires, Guides and Transforms25 Apr

The Analog Advantage: Building Better Teams with LEGO® Serious Play

In a world dominated by screens, AI tools, and back-to-back Zoom calls, what happens when you put a pile of LEGO® bricks in front of a leadership team? According to this week's guest — breakthrough conversations the team didn't know it was capable of having.

Javier sits down with Shannon Russell, former television producer turned founder of Build Better Teams Consulting and certified LEGO® Serious Play facilitator. After 16 years producing TV in New York and LA, Shannon pivoted into entrepreneurship after becoming a mom — and now leads workshops for hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 leadership teams.

This conversation explores why "analog" tools are quietly outperforming digital ones inside leadership offsites, how structured building unlocks 100% participation (especially from your quietest team members), and what really shifts when 120 hospital executives stop talking about their work and start building it.

About the GuestShannon Russell is the founder of Build Better Teams Consulting and Second Act Success. A former television producer with 16 years of experience in New York and Los Angeles, she now uses LEGO® Serious Play methodology to help leaders strengthen communication, alignment, and team culture across industries.

What You'll Learn

(01:00) Shannon's pivot from 16 years in TV production to facilitating executive workshops
(01:53) What LEGO® Serious Play really is — and why adults need it more than kids
(05:01) The "analog advantage": why building beats meetings, Zooms, and even AI conversations
(07:41) How structured individual + community builds drive 100% participation
(10:33) The 120-executive hospital workshop that reshaped how leaders thought about team self-sufficiency
(14:20) An upcoming Philadelphia event where leaders will build LEGO mini-figures of themselves
(14:57) The overlap between helping women launch second-act careers and building stronger corporate teams
(16:35) Shannon's #1 piece of positive leadership advice for high-performing teams
(18:53) Where to connect with Shannon

Memorable Moments

"It's a hundred percent participation."
"You can tell me one thing, but now I'm really seeing what you mean."
"You're not just a robot in this machine — you are a person."

Connect with Shannon🌐 buildbetterteamsconsulting.com

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