Games Are A Leader's Secret Weapon
Games Are A Leader's Secret Weapon
Games Are A Leader's Secret Weapon
By Aric Wood
March 30, 2020
Summary
I believe that there's an underutilized and highly effective secret weapon to solve this problem: Games.
Games tap into the core mechanisms that have guided how humans have learned forever - play, observation and group problem-solving - and lend themselves to feedback loops.
Why are games so much more effective than traditional training and leadership development programs?
"Fail faster to succeed sooner" has long been a mantra of design thinking, but where do we actually encourage this with employees? Games are a remarkable platform to allow employees to experiment with new ways of working, in a consequence-free environment.
Games create an environment where the learning cycles can be compressed.
Alignment games help participants maintain focus, safely explore multiple potential paths, make tough tradeoffs and diffuse tension when the issue at hand may be very stressful or serious.
Collaboration games: If you want teams to work well together, they must practice problem-solving together and collaboration games are a powerful tool for both teambuilding and learning.
Examples of collaboration games include a "Team design challenge" where a group must work together to create a solution, using tools and frameworks provided to the group.
How can you begin to utilize games effectively in order to better develop your teams' skills, capabilities and strategic alignment? I recommend you start by identifying the changes in your business that require a change to employee mindsets, behaviors or practices.
If the goal is to transmit new or updated content in support of existing practices, traditional learning programs might suffice, but to develop new ways of working, games could be the fastest path to change and lasting impact.
Reference
Wood, A. (2020, March 30). Council Post: Games Are A Leader's Secret Weapon. Retrieved March 30, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2020/03/30/games-are-a-leaders-secret-weapon/#14e7892e6df7