Current management certainly feels that there is a significant issue in recruiting and training future management
As I spend more time looking at executive management training and evaluation solutions, I am continuously surprised by how little has been done in the realm of video and computer gaming to aid in this momentous problem. I spent a little time searching the internet and there is certainly no denying the size of the problem as seen by current managers. There is a plethora of available consultants who will help a company train its managers, evaluate managers and potential employees’ personalities, and consult with a company’s management on how to improve leadership qualities. Current management certainly feels that there is a significant issue in recruiting and training future management. The amount of money spent on training employees to become better leaders is staggering.
USA Today drew attention to the use of video games to train military personel. The connection here is rather obvious when it comes to controlling war machines. Video games are used to evaluate and train pilots, tank drivers, and even infantry. Video games can be found to teach people typing, foreign languages, and almost anything else that you can dream of learning. When you look for games on management, however, the mix is rather interesting. At first glance, there is the genre of management games which teach (or simulate) managing real estate, a theme park, or even a city. Most of these are not taken seriously, though there is a lot of valid research underlying the simulation engines in these games.
...leadership is one of the most sought, and richly rewarded, qualities among upper management professionals
Of the management games available, the more serious genre typically involves personal management or time management, but I have been unable to find a selection of games specifically advertised as training tools for leadership type management even though leadership is one of the most sought, and richly rewarded, qualities among upper management professionals. One reason for this is the idea that to train leadership, there must be someone available to follow. How can someone learn to lead if no one is following? Getting a bunch of computer sims or bots to do as you ask is more than a little contrived. It would seem the spectrum of human reactions to leaders is far to broad to effectively capture it with current simulation technology.
One place to find potential followers is in games which require group participation to be effective. As online games have matured, these types of games are more readily available, though none have been tapped as specifically intended to train leadership skills in potential managers. More’s the pity since it seems to be such a needed training tool.
...one quality that all leaders have in common is that people feel compelled to follow them
Many books have been written on leaders and the qualities that they may share. So far, it is almost impossible to find qualities that good leaders have in common since the qualities of the followers are as varied as the leaders. Although this observation may seem trite, one quality that all leaders have in common is that people feel compelled to follow them. It is possible to see that trait’s expression naturally occurring and generate an environment which will promote easy observation of that skill’s development using current online video gaming technology.
Games such as World of Warcraft, by Blizzard Entertainment, require the participation of the group. Certain people naturally gravitate to leadership positions to facility organization of these groups given their common goal of defeating some game obstacle. All of those people who have become leaders in the game share the same quality for which we are searching, the ability to inspire people to follow their direction. If we can facilitate the combination of that leadership skill and the desire to take that ability outside of the realm of World Of Warcraft, we could use the gaming environment to both entertain and promote leadership.
Both of us noted the parallel with which the games we had been playing mocked the reality of our management positions
My interest in the use of online video games for leadership training began with a conversation with a colleague a little more than a year ago. Both of us noted the parallel with which the games we had been playing mocked the reality of our management positions. Many of the same personality problems were common issues among the personnel we were charged with leading and the gamers with which we interacted in the evenings. The parallel was so striking, in fact, that my colleague had decided to write an application essay for Wharton Business School using the theme as his answer to an example of his leadership skills. I met him attending classes.
One of the best arguments that I have seen for playing management games comes from the web site of BREFI Group, a management consulting firm in the UK, "Classroom learning is just one of many methods to encourage learning and change. It is less suitable for people who prefer a more practical approach, and can rapidly lose impact on return to the work environment. Properly designed management games serve to break the link with the workplace and entrenched thinking habits long enough for new behaviorurs and thinking styles to be tried. Once a new behaviour has been experienced, the manager is on the way to a change in behaviour. Use of management games can encourage new, even novel, alternatives, coping mechanisms and models of thinking." There are existing games right now, like World of Warcraft, simply not identified as management training tools which allow leadership behavior to be experienced and retain that impact.
