A Full Circle Moment: Facilitating Change Through Lego® SERIOUS PLAY®

Last week I had the profound honour of facilitating a LEGO Serious Play workshop for the Do Good Business Conference at the Prospector Theater in Connecticut. As I guided the participants through this transformative methodology, I couldn’t help but reflect on the journey that brought me to this moment—a journey that truly feels like coming full circle.

The Seeds of Purpose

As a child, I was captivated by Helen Keller’s story. Week after week, I would venture to our public library, checking out every Helen Keller book I could find and devouring them at a voracious pace. Her resilience, determination, and the way she transformed her challenges into opportunities to help others resonated deeply with me. I cried inconsolably every time I read about her death—so much so that whenever I cried for any reason, my sister would ask my mom, “Did Helen Keller die again?”

Those early influences shaped a dream: I wanted to create an equine therapy farm to help children who were blind, deaf, and had disabilities. Life took me on different paths, but yesterday reminded me that sometimes our detours lead us exactly where we need to be.

Insights from the Do Good Business Conference

The Do Good Business Conference focused on creating meaningful change in business practices, with a particular emphasis on disability inclusion and accessibility. What I learned from fellow speakers was both enlightening and sobering.

October is Disability Employment Awareness Month, and one keynote speaker shared a reality that struck me: she’s booked solid throughout October, yet the other eleven months see significantly less demand for disability awareness content. This raises important questions about our collective commitment to inclusion—is it truly year-round, or merely performative during designated awareness periods?

The statistics are staggering and often overlooked: the disability community represents the largest minority group in the world, intersecting with all other minority identities. You can be a Black, lesbian woman with a disability. The intersectionality is complex and profound.

Personal Revelation Through Adversity

What stands out most powerfully is this truth: any of us can become disabled at any time. This isn’t theoretical for me—it became my reality at age 33 when a workplace renovation triggered a stroke and left me chemically sensitive. My life turned upside down overnight. I found myself underemployed and, at times, unemployed for years, navigating a world that wasn’t designed for people like me.

The unexpected silver lining came during the pandemic. When the world shifted to virtual interactions, doors that had been closed to me suddenly opened. I discovered I could participate, contribute, and thrive in ways that my pre-pandemic life hadn’t allowed.

Fighting for Recognition and Inclusion

This experience drives my advocacy work. When I requested that my ICF (International Coaching Federation) chapter add disability as a coaching category—alongside veterans and neurodivergence/autism/ADHD, none of which were recognized categories despite my specialization in all three—I was told it represented “such a small group of the population” that it wasn’t considered necessary.

I respectfully disagreed, pointing to multiple coaches within our chapter who live with disabilities (myself included) and the clear need among potential clients. The statistics support this: approximately 25% of the population lives with a disability. This isn’t a niche market—it’s a substantial community deserving of recognition and specialized support.

The Reality Check

The prevalence of disability became even more apparent during my recent travels. Across four flights and seven seat partners, each person either lived with a disability themselves or was a parent of a child with disabilities. If you’re lucky enough to sit beside me on a plane, we’ll talk about everything—and these conversations consistently reveal how common the disability experience truly is.

Coming Full Circle

Last week’s workshop represented that full-circle moment I’d been unconsciously moving toward. Using Lego® SERIOUS PLAY®  methodology, I facilitated conversations about inclusion, accessibility, and the power of different perspectives. Watching participants build their visions of inclusive workplaces and communities, I saw Helen Keller’s legacy alive in the room—the belief that our greatest challenges can become our greatest contributions.

The work I’m doing now may not involve the equine therapy farm I once envisioned, but it’s fulfilling the same core purpose: creating spaces where people with disabilities are seen, valued, and included. Every workshop, every coaching session, every conversation is a step toward the more inclusive world that little girl reading Helen Keller books dreamed of creating.

Sometimes the path to our purpose isn’t linear, but when we arrive, we recognize we’ve been heading there all along.

Interested in LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® workshops for your team or conference? Let’s talk about creating transformative experiences for your organization.

Sheri Jay – Peak Mental Performance Coach From Chaos to Clarity, Guiding You to Success [email protected]

 

Image Description: The words Do Good Business Conference Navigating the Disability and Accessibility Landscape Through Play: A LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Experience, Sheri Jay, 2pm surrounded by multiple multi coloured lego blocks.