Building Influence Without Authority: a LEGO® Serious Play® Workshop for Climate Leaders
You have the data, the strategy, and the passion. But you're still hitting walls.
Your boss prioritises other initiatives. Key stakeholders remain unconvinced. Your board questions the urgency. The challenge isn't your expertise; it's building influence when your formal authority has limits.
Whether you're a sustainability director trying to shift organisational priorities, a startup founder navigating investor skepticism, or a climate leader working across departments, you're trying to create change without having all the power you need to make it happen.
This interactive workshop uses the LEGO® Serious Play® methodology to help climate leaders break through resistance and unlock practical influence strategies.
You'll map your specific challenge, step into stakeholders' perspectives, and design approaches that work with their system — not against it.
Leave with a concrete plan for your stuck situation, feeling more energized and equipped to drive the long-term influence climate work demands in 2025.
This workshop is for you if you:
✅ Need buy-in from people who don't report to you - co-founders, boards, investors, peer leaders, external partners
✅ Face resistance from key stakeholders who control resources or decisions you need
✅ Feel stuck when formal channels aren't working and need creative approaches to influence
✅ Want practical strategies that work in real organizational dynamics, not theoretical frameworks
✅ Are tired of watching good climate initiatives stall because of politics and personalities
What you’ll learn:
Using LEGO® Serious Play®, we'll guide you through three progressive steps:
Map your challenge: Understand why your current approach isn't working
Step into their world: See the situation through the other person’s eyes and motivations
Build the bridge: Design practical approaches that work with their system, not against it
You’ll leave with a specific plan for approaching your stuck situation differently – feeling more energised, empowered, and equipped to drive long-term influence.
Why this approach works:
It's practical, not theoretical. Using LEGO Serious Play, you'll let your fingers do the thinking so you can go deeper, faster, on the real challenges you’re facing right now – and the immediate next steps to take after the workshop.
It's designed for climate work. Together, we have 14 years’ experience in supporting climate leaders. We understand the unique dynamics of this space, and the particular context of climate leadership in 2025.
It acknowledges real constraints. This isn't about becoming more charismatic or finding a silver bullet. It's about working strategically within an imperfect system.
Workshop details
Wednesday 24 September, 10am - 12pm EST / 3pm - 5pm BST
Virtual – hosted on Zoom (yes, LEGO works just as well online) 😊
2 hours long, with brief comfort break
Interactive and hands-on
What to bring:
A computer with a camera (to show your LEGO models) and a stable internet connection
A few handfuls of LEGO bricks with as much variety as possible
Your openness to explore new perspectives through creative and interactive methods
Ready to break the cycle of frustration and wasted energy?
Join us, and allow a more playful approach to unlock new perspectives.
Who are your facilitators?
We’re Megan Fraser (Future Led) and Lucy Hawthorne (Climate Play). We bring complementary expertise in climate leadership development and innovative facilitation methods.
At Future Led, Megan is the architect of Leadership for Climate Pioneers®, where she helps climate executives and leaders evolve their leadership, scale impact, and build a legacy they’re proud of. For the past eight years, she’s helped her clients build influence without authority – including co-founders at climate tech startups, chief execs at climate non-profits, and sustainability leaders in large corporations.
At Climate Play, Lucy uses play-learning approaches to shake up and energise how we think, talk and act on complex issues, and she runs the world's only LEGO Serious Play training specifically focused on sustainability.
By registering for this event, you agree to share your information with Climate Week NYC organisers, Future Led, and Climate Play.