LCP LCP LCP

picture of people clapping as they learn to leadMost of us learn to lead through apprenticeship, watching role models -- good and bad. Some of us study the greats (WWJWD? What would Jack Welch do? WWSJD? What would Steve Jobs do?), but no one finds a simple leadership recipe. We also learn, sometimes painfully, through trial and error on the job. Each of these approaches has a downside. Our bosses don't always become bosses because of their best practice leadership skills; so their style may not be the best model to replicate.

While we can learn from the leadership recipes of the greats, honestly, we only get the highlight reel of what they accomplished; we often don’t know that much about how they did it. To be our personal best, we must develop our own leadership recipe based on our unique skills, personality, and the situations we face. So learning through our own experience is probably the most relevant approach, but it can take a long time and our missteps can be painful for the team and for the business.

 

A Different Way to Learn to Lead

Business simulations are a different way to learn to lead. They provide a risk free way to develop your personal leadership recipe and to explore it in the face of a complex environment.

Your personal leadership recipe starts with your strengths and a plan to counterbalance your gaps. It helps you understand your “go-to” skills so that you will use them to your best advantage and the advantage of your team and organization. A business simulation helps you understand your leadership recipe by giving you feedback and insight into how you intuitively tackle problems and situations. A simulation lets you experiment with new approaches without economic cost to your business or relationship cost to your team.

In addition, leading effectively requires an integrated basket of skills, judgement, and awareness, of situations and of oneself. While a leader can develop any one of those elements individually, in the real world, leaders never use these skills in isolation. A business simulation with a complex backstory and situational context creates a real-world testing ground for leaders to learn without a roadmap of which leadership skills to use when.

The best business simulations create context that challenges both the heart and the head; include both human dynamics and economic dynamics; reflect both the “soft” and “hard” challenges of leadership. It is at the intersection of those challenges that great leaders develop their skills and develop the leadership capabilities that will serve them well in their careers.

Rich context business simulations accelerate the ad hoc process of learning to lead and make that process more intentional and actionable for leaders at all levels.

 

A Toolkit for First Level Leaders

 

Amanda Young Hickman is co-founder of Insight Experience, a Boston-based firm delivering contextually rich, immersive business simulations and learning experiences to accelerate and integrate leadership, business acumen and strategy execution.

Subscribe to Our Blog

Let's Talk

We'd love to hear about your leadership development goals.

Leave Comment

Recent Posts

Delivering Exceptional Internal Customer Service: A Case Study-featured-image
Delivering Exceptional Internal Customer Service: A Case Study
Click to view Delivering Exceptional Internal Customer Service: A Case Study
Delivering Exceptional Customer Service: Learning to Improve Relationships, Culture, and Business Outcomes
Category:-  Customer Service Mindset , Custom Program
Learn More Click to view blog post
Bringing Leadership Principles to Life: A Case Study-featured-image
Bringing Leadership Principles to Life: A Case Study
Click to view Bringing Leadership Principles to Life: A Case Study
Bringing Leadership Principles to Life: A Large-Scale Program for Senior Leadership
Category:-  Senior Leaders , Custom Program
Learn More Click to view blog post
Navigating the Organization: A Case Study-featured-image
Navigating the Organization: A Case Study
Click to view Navigating the Organization: A Case Study
Navigating the Organization: Developing Young, Non-Dominant Leaders in Building Relationships for Success
Category:-  Developing New Leaders , Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion , Custom Program
Learn More Click to view blog post
Business Acumen for Operational Leaders: A Case Study-featured-image
Business Acumen for Operational Leaders: A Case Study
Click to view Business Acumen for Operational Leaders: A Case Study
Business Acumen for Operational Leaders: An Intensive Accelerator Program for Emerging Retail Leaders
Category:-  Business Acumen , Leadership
Learn More Click to view blog post
Taking Operational Excellence to the Next Level: A Case Study-featured-image
Taking Operational Excellence to the Next Level: A Case Study
Click to view Taking Operational Excellence to the Next Level: A Case Study
Taking Operational Excellence to the Next Level: A Corporate Vision Comes to Life for Division Leaders at a...
Category:-  Business Acumen , Leading Organizations
Learn More Click to view blog post
Leading Self and Teams Through Complexity: A Case Study-featured-image
Leading Self and Teams Through Complexity: A Case Study
Click to view Leading Self and Teams Through Complexity: A Case Study
Leading Self and Teams Through Complexity: An Intensive Accelerator Program for Emerging Retail Leaders
Category:-  Leadership
Learn More Click to view blog post
Decision-Making and Risk: A Case Study-featured-image
Decision-Making and Risk: A Case Study
Click to view Decision-Making and Risk: A Case Study
Decision-Making and Risk: Leading in Complex Environments to Execute Strategy
Category:-  Functional Risk Tolerance , Leading Organizations
Learn More Click to view blog post
Learning to Lead at Scale: A Case Study-featured-image
Learning to Lead at Scale: A Case Study
Click to view Learning to Lead at Scale: A Case Study
Learning to Lead at Scale: Accelerating Time to Results for Leaders Taking on Expanded Roles
Category:-  Leading Organizations
Learn More Click to view blog post
Leading From an Enterprise Perspective: A Case Study-featured-image
Leading From an Enterprise Perspective: A Case Study
Click to view Leading From an Enterprise Perspective: A Case Study
Leading From an Enterprise Perspective: Integration and Practice for Leaders at a Health Solutions Company
Category:-  Balancing Leadership™ , Reinforcement , Leading Organizations
Learn More Click to view blog post
Executing Strategy From the Middle: A Case Study-featured-image
Executing Strategy From the Middle: A Case Study
Click to view Executing Strategy From the Middle: A Case Study
Executing Strategy From the Middle: A Virtual Extended Program in Financial Services
Category:-  Executing Strategy
Learn More Click to view blog post