Leadership at the LEGO Group

It's almost like a playground. It's like a playground actually means it's a safe space. You can really play, you can explore, you can do things, but it doesn't mean, of course, that everything is with no guidance or anything. I think the type of guidance we in the ELT decided to give to the group was on a pretty overall level. Yes, we talked about getting from the many models to one.

Yeah.

We would like it to be simple. We would be fine with some behaviors, but not too many. We didn't dictate what they should be or how many there would be or how it would look. Those directions on a very high level, I must say personally, I felt being interacting with the group for the first time in Switzerland on that, I still remember that day very well. It actually felt right out of the gate.

No, I think what happened after we left is that the team maybe had a scary feeling because they realized, oh shit, we are really accountable for it. And our colleagues around the world will have the chance to hear from the working group as well. But I know that that was their sense about, wow, this is— they're really empowering us and this is a big and important task for them to take forward. So we set them on their way and, you know, they worked hard and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Can you share a little bit about how you reacted the first time you were presented the playground concept and the notion of leadership for all, which we'll go into a bit more detail, but just how it impacted you?

It actually very, very quickly caught on with me as something that was— it felt right. I got pretty excited about it. I think halfway into it, I already started thinking, I wonder how my ELT colleagues, I wonder how the family and the board of directors would think about this, because I started to like it in a way that I really wanted it to get through. Yeah. And that was actually interesting. So very quickly, actually, my filter or my doubt went down and I could live myself into it. I could even through the first presentation start to see, wow, I got inspired here. We could also do, and this also means. So it worked almost instantly on me. And it was just interesting to see. I think afterwards I've seen that exact same thing happen with my ELT colleagues, also when we brought it to our chairman and the family.

I remember that session, and, you know, dare I say, as I see it now, I mean, I really started to see the spark in your eye, and, you know, you had an emotional response to it and getting so eager to get into it. Could you share from your perspective what it means to you and what do you think it's going to mean to the organization that we say that now leadership is for everyone and not just people leaders?

Yeah, I actually think we need to give just maybe on the outset here, a lot of credit to the working group on that, because that was not a dictate. That was actually something that I think we leaned in that direction, but maybe had a little bit of difficulty seeing how could it be done.

Exactly.

And I think they very early on in their work actually decided it's for everyone. And I think that fits LEGO so well. For me, it actually means that leadership can be leadership of— it can be of tasks, of initiatives, projects, of even leadership of behavior or team dynamics and stuff like that. And it means that we are all leaders of ourselves. And nothing works unless that's also being led in a good way. So it actually takes— there is a leadership element for all of us. And everybody plays a role in that. And I think the times where there was one leader to have the brain and everybody else to do it, we are way, way beyond that. Mm-hmm. in the way we work and operate. So I think that's a very strong— it's a very strong thing that the starting point is that leadership is for everybody. None of us likes to be micromanaged. We are all individuals with a strong mind and want to be influential in what we do. I basically think we get a better outcome. Mm-hmm. I mean, we can be more effective and efficient as individuals and actually be more satisfied with what we do, even though we are busy. I mean, if you're busy with something you're influential on and you can see the results and you can feel accountable, that listen, I made a difference to make this happen, or I spurred this idea, or I co-created it with somebody, the satisfaction of that is way higher. And I think that that's kind of the energy we also need to tap into.

Absolutely. Absolutely. And when you think of the 3 behaviors that the team have come back with and are now embedded in the playground around curiosity and focus and bravery, Can you share a little bit about your perspectives? Do any of them resonate more with you versus others, or just how are you processing those?

I can actually say personally all 3 resonate really well in different ways, actually. I have a— I mean, I also have a history of actually having invented different things. So this, this curious— being curious about things and wanting to know what's just behind the corner here, or how could it also be done, or I wonder if we did I really like that, and I think that's the essence of creativity. It's very hard as an individual or as an organization to be creative if it doesn't start with being curious. It's not like you just get one day into a room and say, now I need to be creative. You're intrinsically creative because you're curious about, could it be done differently? Or could I also do it this way? That's right. I think that's really important. I think the bravery part of it is— It's also a good one because I guess as an ELT, we felt brave when we actually let the process run the way it is. I think we've been highly rewarded for doing that with the result we've gotten. So I think it's a good example of bravery actually working. But it means, of course, that being brave is always associated with some kind of discomfort. Because if you're not out there where it feels a little bit uncertain—

Exactly.

And maybe uncomfortable, And then you're not really being brave, then you're not really, really doing it. And I think at the center of empowerment, as we sometimes call it, or allow decision-making and allow influence on many more levels, that takes some kind of bravery. Because I need to take some of my decision power and give it to you and give it to others and have a trust and belief that you're going to deal with that in a good way. And it will allow you to grow and do better things than if all of that decision power would sit in one place. That's right. So I think that's on bravery. I think one of the areas where a lot of us have to also grow.

Yeah, absolutely. And how about focus? How does that— Yeah,

I think that probably with me have resonated for a long time. I think we did a lot of focus throughout 2018. I also think we showed as an organization, when we get the clarity, we're quite good at getting at it and getting it done. I think that's a key element to making everything work. It cannot only be being curious and being brave. I think you have to focus on getting the things done. So it's a good— in my mind, it's 3 good behaviors that kind of complements, that unleashes the creativity, but also making sure that it becomes reality.

Exactly.

So it's not only for the sake of anarchy, but it's also actually to get all these benefits from turning all the stones, doing things in a different way. but being focused enough to make it actually happen so that at the end of the day, there are children out there in the world that get play experiences or exciting things that they wouldn't have done.

That's right. Exactly.

And that's what at the end of the day, that's our purpose.

The 3 behaviors exist within a space.

Yeah.

And that space is what we're calling the leadership playground. And, you know, this idea that all of us Whether we're a people leader or a colleague, that we have a leadership task to create the conditions, to create the psychological safety for those behaviors to unfold.

It's a little bit also like in a real playground when the children are out there. Of course, it needs to be safe. You want to make sure that when you run in there, you don't get bullied the first minute you get in there, because then it's not fun to be there. If somebody is on the swing, enjoying that, you just don't go there and pull that person off and jump on it. So there are, even in a playground, of course, there are unwritten rules. Yeah. And how does it work? It works not with a long list on a sign because the kids aren't reading that. It works because that's how it's kind of ingrained. And by the way, there are probably some parents sitting around that if it gets too much, somebody will actually intervene or help doing that. I actually see it a little bit in the same way. And I think My key role is, of course, to provide kind of space for the entire company, but of course, first of all, for ELT in my situation, for ELT to be able to turn around and in every area kind of share that space. I also have a job to do managing upwards. Mm-hmm. I mean, being close with the family, being close with the board of directors, that they have trust, that they actually give us the playground, that we have some room to maneuver, that we can then share between all of us so that we can start to make this word empowerment happen in reality. So I will be very focused around that. And I think as we get better and better into living our leadership playground, I think the purpose, the brand, and people really becomes even more important.

Is this meant to inspire people to find their authenticity in it versus This is what we want you to do, and this is how we're going to rate you, and it becoming overly mechanistic.

Right. I think that's a super point, because in a way you can say, just by having to live by that, we will have to start to practice, all of us, some of the key elements and behaviors of the leadership playground, because it is a slight change to how we've done things in the past. It's not about checking the boxes and having a lot of stuff we're actually allowing more freedom, as you say, for the inspirational side of it and actually living it. And we're not mechanistically going to follow it up— did you do X, did you do Y? Because it somehow plays against the idea that in the playground, there's actually room for every one of us individually to influence it and empower it and do stuff. So we'll have to live much more from the fact that our direction is clear. that the purpose is bought into by everybody. And through that, of course, help each other to make sure we live the values and we live the behaviors. So it's going to be different for us how we do that. I think what we promise is it's going to be less mechanistic, but it doesn't mean it's less important.

Exactly.

It's just, I think, the way we need to be moving.

Exactly. And I think what we'll find is that different teams, different individuals will find different ways of interpreting it and making it come alive. And then we'll be able to cross-fertilize those ideas, which is also what happens in a playground where one kid catches a glimpse of another kid building something, a castle, and wants to join in. And that's the exact type of creativity that we would like and innovation that we would like.

And you get these relations building of kids that actually entered the playground without knowing each other. Exactly. And, and like 5 minutes later they are building a rocket together. They want to send it up to the moon. Exactly. And I think that's the type of things we would also like to see. It means some things if we then do say, well, this is for all of us. But obviously, people leaders have, I think, also in this connection, a special role in making sure that this playground is there, kind of, that it is safe to do the kind of things in there we would like to do. And obviously, if we do have in areas kind of taboos or unsolved, unresolved issues or toxic situations, then I think it's going to be even more important now that we as leaders then also, or people leaders, also help getting those out of the way.

Exactly.

Because that's the only way the playground becomes a fun and exciting place to be.

Of course, people leaders need to create the context to smoke out those toxic situations or those sacred cows that may no longer be serving us. But any employee, if they see something that is holding us back or holding them back from doing what's right ultimately for kids in the marketplace, that they will also feel empowered and they will demonstrate the leadership to speak out. So it's a mutually reinforcing system that we're trying to create.

But I think that actually approaches then the accountability part of things because Because it's leadership for everybody. It actually also means accountability for everybody. Exactly. So I'm not going to be told from anybody what exactly to do. I'm not going to be micromanaged on how I do it. But obviously, as an organization, we want to do even more and better and more exciting and creative things.

Yes, and inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow. Absolutely. I think we're on a great path. So thanks, Niels, for your leaning into this initiative to empowering with the rest of the ELT, the working group, and, you know, for your support in enabling all of our employees to, to be their bigger selves and find their potential.

Thank you. It's really, really an exciting journey.