Team Building & LEGO Serious Play | Build Better Teams

Why isn't your team speaking up?

If you've ever left a meeting wondering why no one challenged an idea, shared feedback, or contributed to the conversation, you're not alone. Many leaders mistake silence for agreement, when in reality, it often signals a communication gap.

In this episode of Build Better Teams, Shannon Russell explores why workplace communication breaks down, how psychological safety impacts employee engagement, and why traditional meetings often fail to unlock the best ideas in the room.

Drawing on her experience as a former television producer and certified LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator, Shannon shares how hands-on, interactive workshops help teams communicate more openly, collaborate more effectively, and create real alignment.

Instead of asking, "Who has an idea?" what if you asked your team to build it?

You'll discover why thinking with your hands can transform workplace communication and help every team member feel seen, heard, and valued.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• Why silence in meetings doesn't always mean agreement

• The real reasons employees hesitate to speak up

• How communication gaps hurt innovation and employee engagement

• Why psychological safety is essential for high-performing teams

• How LEGO® Serious Play® improves communication and collaboration

• Why participation creates better ideas than presentations

• Four simple ways leaders can encourage every voice in the room

• How to create a workplace culture built on trust, creativity, and honest communication

If you're a leader, manager, HR professional, or business owner looking to improve team communication, employee engagement, and workplace collaboration, this episode will give you practical strategies you can implement immediately.

🔗 Learn more about Build Better Teams Consulting and our LEGO Serious Play workshops and events. 

Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk on The Imagination Recession

What can workplace leaders learn from sports teams, volunteers, and nonprofit organizations?

Quite a lot.

In this episode of Build Better Teams, Shannon Russell sits down with sports management consultant and facilitator Lara Schroeder, founder of Spark Solutions, to discuss leadership, strategic planning, communication, team culture, and the importance of creating systems that help organizations thrive.

Drawing on her experience working with sport and recreation organizations across Canada, Lara shares why strong teams aren't built by accident. They are built intentionally through communication, clear processes, and cultures where every voice is valued.

Together, Shannon and Lara discuss volunteer engagement, organizational leadership, LEGO® Serious Play®, facilitation, and what businesses can learn from successful athletic teams.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• Why process and communication are essential for healthy organizations

• How volunteer engagement impacts organizational success

• Where communication breakdowns happen most often

• Why transparency and consultation matter in leadership

• How LEGO® Serious Play® improves team communication and strategic planning

• Why leaders don't always need to facilitate their own teams

• How great facilitators ensure every voice is heard

• Lessons businesses can learn from sports teams and athletes

• Why celebrating wins matters for team culture

• How intentional leadership builds stronger teams

Whether you're leading a business, nonprofit organization, volunteer group, or sports association, this episode offers valuable insights into creating stronger, more connected teams.

Connect with Lara Schroeder:

Website

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lara-schroeder
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sparkplay306/

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🔗 Learn more about Build Better Teams Consulting and our LEGO Serious Play workshops and events. 

Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk on The Imagination Recession

What makes high-performing teams different from everyone else?

According to Google's groundbreaking Project Aristotle study, the answer isn't talent, experience, or intelligence. It's psychological safety.

In this episode of Build Better Teams, Shannon Russell explores the psychology behind successful teams and explains why trust, belonging, and open communication are essential for improving employee engagement, collaboration, and workplace culture.

Drawing from her own experiences in television production and entrepreneurship, Shannon shares how leaders can create environments where employees feel safe to speak up, share ideas, ask questions, and even admit mistakes without fear of embarrassment or punishment.

You'll learn why silence doesn't always mean agreement, how fear damages team performance, and the simple practices leaders can implement immediately to foster stronger communication and trust.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• What psychological safety really means and why it matters

• The surprising findings from Google's Project Aristotle study

• Why high-performing teams are built on trust, not perfection

• How fear and silence hurt innovation and employee engagement

• Why leaders often mistake silence for alignment

• Four practical ways to build psychological safety within your team

• How vulnerability and curiosity create stronger workplace cultures

• Why disagreements can strengthen teams when handled respectfully

• How psychological safety improves collaboration, creativity, and performance

If you're a leader, manager, HR professional, or business owner looking to create a healthier workplace culture and build stronger teams, this episode is for you.

🔗 Learn more about Build Better Teams Consulting and our LEGO Serious Play workshops and events. 

Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk on The Imagination Recession

Are you trying to grow your business while feeling overwhelmed by everything on your plate?

In this episode of Build Better Teams, Shannon Russell sits down with leadership strategist and founder of High Voltage Leadership, Lindsay White, for a powerful conversation about leadership, delegation, hiring, workplace culture, founder burnout, and building high-performing teams.

With more than 20 years of experience in HR, people strategy, and leadership development, Lindsay helps entrepreneurs and business leaders stop acting as the "Chief Everything Officer" and start building teams that can support sustainable growth.

Together, Shannon and Lindsay discuss what separates successful leaders from overwhelmed founders, why delegation alone isn't enough, and how communication, accountability, and trust create stronger workplace cultures.

Whether you're a business owner, team leader, manager, HR professional, or executive, this episode is packed with practical leadership insights you can implement immediately.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• Why CEO does not stand for Chief Everything Officer
 • How founders accidentally become the bottleneck in their business
 • The warning signs of leadership overwhelm and founder burnout
 • How to delegate effectively while maintaining visibility and control
 • What makes a healthy workplace culture
 • How to hire the right people for a growing business
 • Why emotional intelligence and self-awareness matter in leadership
 • The importance of feedback, accountability, and psychological safety
 • How to empower employees to take ownership and initiative
 • Why leaders need to listen more and talk less

🔗 Learn more or book a strategy call: https://buildbetterteamsconsulting.com.

🔗 Learn more about Build Better Teams Consulting and our LEGO Serious Play workshops and events. 

Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk on The Imagination Recession

What can a hilarious Netflix comedy teach us about workplace culture, employee engagement, and effective team building?

In this episode of Build Better Teams, Shannon Russell breaks down the new Netflix series Company Retreat and explains why the show accidentally highlights one of the biggest problems with traditional corporate retreats and leadership offsites.

From awkward icebreakers and forced bonding exercises to endless presentations and corporate buzzwords, Shannon explores why so many workplace retreats fail to create real connection. More importantly, she shares what actually works when it comes to team collaboration, communication, and employee engagement.

This episode dives into the power of active participation through creative team-building experiences like LEGO® Serious Play®, improv workshops, storytelling sessions, and hands-on collaboration activities that help employees build trust, solve problems together, and feel more connected to their teams.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
 • Why traditional company retreats often miss the mark
 • The difference between passive presentations and active participation
 • How creative team-building workshops improve workplace communication
 • Why LEGO® Serious Play® helps teams collaborate more effectively
 • The role of improv and interactive experiences in leadership development
 • How memorable offsite experiences strengthen workplace culture
 • Why employees remember participation more than presentations

If you’re planning a leadership retreat, corporate offsite, employee engagement event, or team-building workshop, this episode will help you rethink how to create experiences your team will actually remember.

🔗 Learn more about Build Better Teams Consulting and our LEGO Serious Play workshops and events. 

Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk on The Imagination Recession

Are your team-building events truly engaging your employees, or are they just another meeting everyone forgets by the next day?

In this episode of Build Better Teams, host Shannon Russell explores creative team-building workshop ideas that help organizations improve communication, increase employee engagement, and build stronger workplace collaboration through active participation.

Shannon shares why traditional workplace events often fall flat and how hands-on experiences create deeper connection, trust, and alignment inside teams. From LEGO® Serious Play® workshops and improv training to comedy workshops, storytelling experiences, collaborative art projects, innovation labs, and interactive strategy sessions, this episode dives into out-of-the-box team-building ideas that help employees think creatively, communicate openly, and solve problems together.

You’ll learn:
 • Why active participation creates stronger team engagement
 • How LEGO® Serious Play® helps teams “think with their hands”
 • The benefits of improv workshops for communication and adaptability
 • Why humor and laughter improve workplace culture and psychological safety
 • Creative workshop ideas for leadership retreats, offsites, and corporate events
 • How hands-on team-building activities improve collaboration and trust
 • Why employee engagement matters more than ever in today’s digital workplace

If you’re an HR leader, manager, executive, event planner, or team leader looking for innovative team-building workshop ideas, this episode will inspire you to rethink what workplace collaboration can look like.

🔗 Learn more about Build Better Teams Consulting and our LEGO Serious Play workshops and events. 

Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk on The Imagination Recession

Are your team meetings increasing… but employee engagement is still low?

In today’s workplace, more meetings are not the answer to better communication, stronger collaboration, or higher employee engagement. In fact, too many meetings can lead to disengagement, burnout, and lack of productivity.

In this episode of Build Better Teams, we break down how to improve employee engagement without adding more meetings and what actually drives connection, clarity, and contribution inside high-performing teams.

If you’re a leader, HR professional, manager, or business owner looking for team building strategies, employee engagement ideas, and better ways to run effective teams, this episode will give you practical, actionable solutions you can implement right away.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

•  Why more meetings often decrease employee engagement 
•  The 3 key drivers of engagement: clarity, connection, and contribution 
•  How to replace status meetings with more effective communication systems 
•  Simple ways to ensure every team member’s voice is heard 
•  How to increase team collaboration without adding to your calendar 
•  Why “thinking with your hands” leads to better problem-solving and innovation 
•  How to connect daily work to bigger organizational goals 
•  A real-world example of improving team alignment using hands-on facilitation

🔗 Learn more about Build Better Teams Consulting and our LEGO Serious Play workshops and events. 

Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk on The Imagination Recession

Do you ever feel like you’re building your business completely alone?

In this episode of Build Better Teams, Shannon Russell shares a powerful case study on how solopreneurs, remote workers, and business owners can build a “team” even without employees.

If you’re working from home, running your business solo, or feeling stuck without collaboration, this episode will shift how you think about team building, networking, and community.

You’ll learn:

•  Why working alone can limit creativity, motivation, and growth 
•  How to build a supportive team without hiring employees 
•  The power of coworking spaces and networking communities for solopreneurs 
•  How LEGO® Serious Play® workshops create real collaboration and connection 
•  Why thinking visually helps you solve challenges and reach your goals faster 
•  How to turn conversations into collaborations, referrals, and business growth 

Shannon also takes you behind the scenes of a real workshop with solopreneurs and remote workers, where strangers became collaborators, shared ideas, and built meaningful connections that extended beyond the room. 

If you’re ready to grow your business without feeling isolated, this episode will show you how to intentionally build a team around you, even if you’re a team of one.

🔗 Learn more about Build Better Teams Consulting and our LEGO Serious Play workshops and events. 

Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk on The Imagination Recession

Why does team communication break down even when everyone is in the same meeting?

In this episode of Build Better Teams, Shannon Russell breaks down the real reason teams struggle with communication, collaboration, and engagement, and why more meetings are not the solution.

If you’ve ever led a meeting where a few people dominate the conversation while others stay quiet, you’re not alone. Most teams aren’t lacking ideas. They’re lacking the right environment to share them.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

•  Why traditional meetings fail to create real team communication 
•  How workplace environments limit collaboration and honest feedback 
•  The hidden reason employees don’t speak up in meetings 
•  How to redesign communication for better team alignment and engagement
•  Why LEGO® Serious Play® and hands-on team building workshops unlock deeper thinking 
•  How to create a space where every team member contributes 

Shannon also shares insights from her experience as a television producer and team facilitator, revealing how shifting from discussion to creation can completely transform team dynamics.

If you want better team communication, stronger collaboration, and more productive meetings, this episode will show you a new way forward.

🔗 Learn more about Build Better Teams Consulting and our LEGO Serious Play workshops and events. 

Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk on The Imagination Recession

What happens when your team is afraid to speak up?

In this episode of Build Better Teams, Shannon Russell shares a powerful real-world case study of how a global pharmaceutical company used a LEGO® Serious Play® workshop to uncover hidden fears, improve team communication, and create true alignment during a major organizational change.

When offices were closing, teams were merging, and uncertainty was high, leadership knew they weren’t getting honest feedback from employees. Instead of relying on another meeting or presentation, they turned to a hands-on team building workshop to reveal what was really going on beneath the surface.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

•  Why employees hold back in traditional meetings and leadership settings 
•  How to uncover unspoken fears and resistance during organizational change 
•  The role of LEGO® Serious Play® in improving communication and collaboration 
•  How hands-on workshops create psychological safety and honest conversations 
•  Why better communication leads to stronger team alignment and employee engagement

You’ll also hear how this workshop, hosted during a leadership offsite, helped transform tension into understanding, giving leadership the clarity they needed to move forward with confidence.

If you’re navigating a merger, restructuring, or team changes and struggling with communication, this episode will show you a more effective, human-centered approach.

🔗 Learn more about Build Better Teams Consulting and our LEGO Serious Play workshops and events. 

Watch Shannon's TEDx Talk on The Imagination Recession