Have you been through a simulation lately?
Airline pilots are required to train in simulators every six months to practice emergency procedures and keep their skills tuned. To ensure patient safety and accelerate surgeon skill development, surgical simulations have increasingly become a standard in training.
It’s easy to see why. Flying planes and conducting delicate medical procedures require application and integration of a complex mix of skills in the moment—and can pose devastating risks if things go wrong. Organizational leadership is exactly the same, yet few organizations mandate, or even leverage, the power of simulations to provide feedback and development for leaders.
Why Simulations Matter for Leaders
Business simulations, conducted in a time-compressed, observed environment, challenge leaders to apply a complex mix of skills. This creates a powerful opportunity for them to receive feedback and to pause and reflect on their performance.
A business simulation challenges leaders in five critical ways:
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Scan the environment and read the context. Great leaders often “see” a situation or dynamics differently from (or before) others. The ability to synthesize disparate information to frame an actionable picture is a hallmark of strong leadership. For some, it’s intuitive. But for many, this skill is developed through practice.
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Think strategically and prioritize action. Great leaders can articulate a broad range of potential options in complex situations. More importantly, they can identify and sequence which actions to take first. Ruthless prioritization challenges many leaders, particularly in the face of ambiguity. This ability is honed through experience.
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Apply skills and behaviors to decisions and interactions. Leadership is an interactive sport. Leaders accomplish nothing if they cannot effectively engage direct reports, employees, bosses, or peers. Major strategic decisions are rarely made in isolation. Business simulations offer leaders a space to practice interactions through role plays and team dialogue, and they create a foundation for feedback that is rarely possible on the job.
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Respond in the moment, identify signals, and adapt to change. Nothing is static. Competitors, customers, employees, and the market are in constant motion. As challenging as it is to set direction, it is even more difficult to know when to pivot. Business simulations let leaders experience change—and then go back to reflect on what they “missed”—so they are better prepared for the real world.
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Understand the cascade effect of choices. Great leaders think multiple steps ahead. The immediate impact of a decision may be far less significant than the chain of reactions it triggers. Leaders make better choices when they develop their foresight and ability to think in multiple time dimensions. By compressing time, simulations provide an ideal foundation for developing that skill.
A Chance to Reflect on Your Leadership
If you’re a leader, how could you test your skills through a business simulation experience? Consider these questions. How well can you answer them for yourself today? A simulation-based learning experience could provide more insight into your responses:
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Do you have unconscious biases about your information sources and/or your frame for your business challenges?
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Are you paying attention to the relationships you’re building, as well as the work you and your team are getting done?
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Are you managing for today and building for tomorrow in every decision?
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Do you actively use your vision and direction to lead your team each day?
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How effectively do you empower your organization to deliver beyond your line of sight?
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Do your actions align with your intentions as a leader?
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Are you communicating effectively to align and empower your team?
Why We Believe in Simulation-Based Leadership Development
Leaders grow through feedback: from business results, from others’ observations, and through self-reflection. A business simulation provides powerful, risk-free feedback to accelerate that growth. This is why we do what we do at Insight Experience.
We’d be delighted to talk with you about challenging and growing your leaders through business simulations. It’s the learning experience they need.
