Poor leadership is a significant drain on organizations, with some estimates claiming it costs the US economy billion of dollars a year. That’s why leadership development remains a top priority for many companies. But while organizations want to invest in this training, in many cases the training they offer doesn’t fully meet the needs of the leaders taking it. So where should you look for inspiration on how to make your leadership development more effective? Games!

In this session, you’ll examine a number of ways to build leadership experience through gaming. You’ll uncover the psychological benefits derived from games like Candy Crush. You’ll then explore the ways adults build leadership capabilities by looking at how chess players master their art. Finally, you’ll discover the advantages of practicing high-stakes skills in game-like environments, much like pilots do in flight simulators. And throughout this talk, you’ll find out how organizations are already using gaming mechanics successfully to develop leadership capabilities. By the end of this session, you will understand not only how games are effective for learning, but also how serious gaming can close the leadership gap in your organization.

In this session, you will learn:

• What behavioral science reveals about how complex capabilities such as leadership are developed
• About the psychological forces that make gaming a powerful learning mechanism
• Why games can be particularly effective for teaching leadership
• How you can incorporate serious gaming into your learning and development plans
• About four best practices for using gaming in leadership development

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
A game created specifically for leadership development.