In this episode of the podcast, I speak with Carol Hill. Carol leads a team of Learning Designers and Content Developers in embedding learning through play in products across the Learning LEGO System. Carol has over twenty years’ experience in education, as a teacher, writer, publisher and product leader, working for learning organisations such as Pearson, British Council, Cambridge University Press & Assessment and IDP Australia. Carol is also a certified LEGO Serious Play Facilitator and is passionate about helping both children and adults learn and develop through play.

Description: In this episode, we dive deep into a fascinating conversation with Carol Hill, Global Learning Director at LEGO Education, exploring her journey, insights, and the principles behind creating a nurturing and agile learning environment.

Listen Now:

Direct Link: https://coffeechug.simplecast.com/episodes/170

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Show Notes:

• Introduction: Who is Carol Hill?
• Carol’s origin story and journey to LEGO Education
• Global insights that led to success
• Identifying a problem before falling in love with a solution
• The meaning of being agile
• Developing an agile, growth mindset in colleagues and students
• Building psychological safety and promoting a nimble approach
• Carol’s preferred structure/framework for agile work
• The importance of providing quality feedback
• Capturing deep levels of thinking while being agile and working with others

Key Quotes:

1. “If you don’t have that psychological safety, really, not a whole lot is going to come of the conversations in the room.”
2. “Don’t fall in love with the solution; fall in love with the problem.”
3. “It’s so impactful to take the time, and it does take time to build these kinds of skills [problem identification].”

Listener Challenge:

Share ideas you gathered from the conversation with us on social media. What resonated with you?

Resources Mentioned in Show:

• Carol Hill’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-rueckert-hill/
• List of books from her post and discussion
  • Radical Candor: Fully Revised & Updated Edition: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity https://amzn.to/43GuoEQ
  • The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth https://amzn.to/40jEZCu
  • Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking https://amzn.to/3mFBKrn
  • Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships (Nonviolent Communication Guides) https://amzn.to/3MLqEMd
  • EMPOWERED: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products (Silicon Valley Product Group) https://amzn.to/3A2o2lx
  • INSPIRED: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love (Silicon Valley Product Group) https://amzn.to/43GyuNe
  • Cascades: How to Create a Movement that Drives Transformational Change https://amzn.to/3MPCOnb
  • Building a Culture of Innovation: A Practical Framework for Placing Innovation at the Core of Your Business https://amzn.to/3KJZFhj
  • Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen https://amzn.to/3L7cljI
  • Sense and Respond: How Successful Organizations Listen to Customers and Create New Products Continuously https://amzn.to/3KN46YG
  • Pirates in the Navy: How Innovators Lead Transformation https://amzn.to/3mNIu6q
  • Be Less Zombie: How Great Companies Create Dynamic Innovation, Fearless Leadership and Passionate People https://amzn.to/40hJFsu
  • The Corporate Startup: How established companies can develop successful innovation ecosystems https://amzn.to/3A5XEad 
  • The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses https://amzn.to/3ULUFxd
  • The Agile Leader: How to Create an Agile Business in the Digital Age https://amzn.to/3UJPJsO
  • Succeeding with Agile: Software Development Using Scrum (Addison-Wesley Signature Series (Cohn)) https://amzn.to/3A3YNz1
  • Jobs to be Done: Theory to Practice https://amzn.to/3GPSF1m
  • Strategyzer (5 book series) Kindle Edition https://amzn.to/3KQCmme
  • What’s Your Problem?: To Solve Your Toughest Problems, Change the Problems You Solve https://amzn.to/41dVoK7

Favorite Ideas from the Conversation:

• Building psychological safety for learners
• Focusing on understanding the problem rather than jumping to solutions
• Developing an agile mindset that embraces iterative development, testing, adapting, and dealing with uncertainty
• Using LEGO bricks as a storytelling tool to express thoughts and feelings more comfortably
• The power of tangible building activities (e.g., using LEGO) in facilitating communication

JUST A FEW OF MY FAVORITE IDEAS FROM THE CONVERSATION!