Lumina Spark: Team Building and Synergy Creation
At the invitation of BCCJ member Lumina Learning, the BCCJ team undertook the Lumina Spark Programme on the 16 February - an experience designed to deepen self-awareness, strengthen team cohesion, and provide a shared language for understanding how individuals think, collaborate, and lead. As a small team working across diverse sectors and stakeholders, understanding how we communicate and make decisions is critical to our effectiveness.
The four-hour session was led by Lumina Learning Global Partner, Elizabeth Handover, and Learning and Development Facilitator Izumi Matsumoto.
Lumina Spark was established from decades of research. Unlike fixed 'type' models, the programme recognises that personality is not static. Furthermore, the programme reflects you as you currently are and can be taken again in the future as you change throughout the years.
The three main personae Lumina Spark uncovers are:
Underlying Persona - one's natural preference of being
Everyday Persona - how one operates in professional, or daily settings
Overextended Persona - how one responds under pressure
This multi-faceted approach offered a nuanced understanding of how to best work as a team, and what we can do to support one another in high-impact periods.
The BCCJ Experience
From the outset, the entire process was both engaging and also strikingly insightful. What stood out most was how accurately the portraits captured not only our strengths, but also the tensions we individually experience under pressure, which offered insight without judgement.
Each team member found their Lumina Spark Portraits accurate in reflection of their personae, and reflected the specific tensions and dualities that define modern professional life.
The collective input of our individual personae was displayed to us throughout the session, giving us a clear visual guide as to how the team operates day-to-day versus during high-impact periods. What emerged after was a deep discussion on how best to move forward in supporting each other's working styles, and where our main synergies aligned.
Through the Lumina Spark Portrait, we were able to ground the conversation in a shared language, where we were able to learn, understand, and appreciate our unique traits. Elizabeth Handover reiterated an important point, 'there are no bad traits.'
For a team of four, this was a truly unique offering and we are deeply thankful to have had the chance to experience the programme.
Workshops and Growth: More About Lumina Learning
Lumina Learning works for all team sizes and structures. It provides a foundation for:
- Stronger communication
- More effective leadership
- Improved team cohesion
- Greater awareness under pressure
- Clearer recognition of individual traits as strengths
In the context of Japan’s often disciplined and consensus-driven working culture, recognising that traits such as 'Big Picture Thinking' or 'Inspiration Driven' can be powerful assets, rather than perceived risks, is particularly impactful.
For organisations seeking to invest meaningfully in their people as a genuine effort to empower how teams function through individuality, this programme offers a great approach.
For teams navigating change, growth, or simply seeking to better understand how they operate, Lumina Spark provides both clarity and practical language for moving forward together. If you are interested in a workshop from Lumina Learning or want to get in touch with them to learn more, please see below:
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