Thomas Duus Henriksen

Can good leadership be learned through business games

This article explores the use of business games to question whether they can be used to learn good leadership. The answer comes in three parts: yes, no and maybe. By studying the use of a game to teach change management in the light of adult learning theory, the article discusses how different kinds of learning processes emerge and contribute. On the basis of qualitative interviews and observation, a case study is used to explore how the particular, didactic orchestration of a game-based learning process, together with emergent, informal learning processes, contributes to leadership learning. As participants are immersed in formal, non-formal and informal learning processes, these processes contribute to improving leadership in practice in a variety of different ways. The article concludes that (1) yes, game-based learning does contribute to teaching operational leadership in a formal manner; (2) no, in and of itself, the formal learning of games has a limited impact on leadership learning, but in combination with other didactic activities, its contribution is profound and (3) maybe, since by tapping into the extensive knowledge of other participants, games inspire informal discussions on leadership topics that are not directly relevant to the game, but are in other ways beneficial.

Management/Leadership: Profession, Professional, Professionalization

This chapter argues the timeliness of establishing leadership as a semi-profession through certification processes driven by managerial professional associations/unions. We point to positioning leadership as a semi-profession as a vehicle for driving a professionalization through knowledge-sharing among development professionals and managers, development of a common vocabulary and not least by directing the attention of scarce, yet often “uneducated” managerial talent to the fact that leadership is a skill that can and should be acquired and nurtured. Although a lack of a grand unifying theory of leadership complicates a certification of leadership, it is argued that the cost of bad leadership and the upside of professional leadership merits that more attention be directed to the development and deployment of professional leadership competence.

How a bachelor in leadership would fill a gap

This chapter argues that a bachelor in leadership could fill a gap in the Danish education system. While education in Denmark, in general, is state-provided, leadership education is mostly offered at the master’s level. A more flexible undergraduate education is needed to integrate academic knowledge more fully with practice and experience. As vocationally skilled workers make up a significant proportion of the Danish workforce, we argue that formalized leadership education is needed in a form that is easily put into practice and that, at the same time, provides academically sound knowledge without creating an educational gap between those leading and those being led. A viable solution to this is to bridge the existing educational and/or vocational leadership void with a professional bachelor in leadership.

Exploiting formal, non-formal and informal learning when using business games in leadership education

Purpose This paper aims to address the necessity of allowing non-formal and informal processes to unfold when using business games for leadership development. While games and simulations have long been used in management training and leadership development, emphasis has been placed on the formal parts of the process and especially on the gaming experience. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a qualitative study of a French management game on change management, in which the game-based learning process is examined in light of adult learning. Findings This paper concludes that less formal dialogues that stem from formal activities make important contributions to the learning process. Consequently, the use of business games in leadership development should be didactically designed to facilitate such dialogues. While playing the game takes center stage, activities such as theory presentations, reflective processes, and less formal discussions must be allowed a place in an otherwise crammed learning process and to take up that space at the cost of playing the game. Research limitations/implications As the study is based on a qualitative assessment, the impact of the different parts of the process is not assessed. Practical implications This paper suggests that the use of business games in leadership development should focus more on the processes and activities surrounding the game rather than narrowly focusing on the game. Originality/value This paper suggests a novel approach to using business games that is not aligned with the current practice of emphasizing the game as the focal point of the process.

Frontiers in Gaming Simulation

The four categories labelled game-design, didactic design, organisational design and business design each constitute a set of challenges, each requiring a particular set of competencies. The key conclusion of the paper is that even though the learning game design constitutes the core of establishing game based business (GBB), the subsequent stages of development call for other kinds of competencies in order to become a viable GBB.

Challenges to Designing Game-Based Business

The four categories labelled game-design, didactic design, organisational design and business design each constitute a set of challenges, each requiring a particular set of competencies. The key conclusion of the paper is that even though the learning game design constitutes the core of establishing game based business (GBB), the subsequent stages of development call for other kinds of competencies in order to become a viable GBB.

The Rake and the X: Two game-based approaches to facilitate cross-disciplinary classes in higher education

This paper illustrates two models for using learning games to teach across disciplines and classes. Two different learning games are used for bringing together students from different courses to facilitate cross-disciplinary classes on management and organisational learning.

Using Learning Games to Meet Learning Objectives

This paper addresses the question on how learning games can be used to meet with the different levels in Bloom’s and the SOLO taxonomy, which are commonly used for evaluating the learning outcome of educational activities. The paper discusses the quality of game-based learning outcomes based on a case study of the learning game 6Styles.

Designing Well with Others

Have you ever been sitting in a game-design workshop trying to make a game work when suddenly someone suggested incorporating elements like drawing a card or rolling a die as a contribution to creating a functional design? How did that make you feel? Yes, so did I, but please read a bit further – there might be a solution for that. This paper proposes a model for using your customer’s key competencies, not to design the game, but to qualify the processes of establishing and meeting learning criteria.

Designing Well with Others - Using Customer's Core Competencies When Co-designing Learning Games.

Have you ever been sitting in a game-design workshop trying to make a game work when suddenly someone suggested incorporating elements like drawing a card or rolling a die as a contribution to creating a functional design? How did that make you feel? Yes, so did I, but please read a bit further – there might be a solution for that. This paper proposes a model for using your customer’s key competencies, not to design the game, but to qualify the processes of establishing and meeting learning criteria.