Tag: Simulation

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Using Emergent Play for Better Leadership Training

I find one of the joys of playing Dungeons and Dragons is the emergent play. No-one around the table quite knows what is coming next. Even when you’re the one running the adventure. The games direction shifts and changes as the players make decisions. When looking at leadership development, traditional training methods rarely give students loived experiences to put their new found knowledge to the test. Emergent play, a concept drawn from the world of gaming, offers a fresh and effective approach to leadership training. By creating scenarios where players must adapt, innovate, and collaborate in real-time, emergent play provides a rich ground for developing critical leadership skills. This article explores how emergent play experiences can be leveraged to enhance leadership training.

Understanding Emergent Play

How do we define what emergent play actually is? As a concept it occurs when players engage with a game in ways that go beyond the designers’ intentions. It arises from the interactions within a complex system, where simple rules can lead to unpredictable and sophisticated behaviors. This type of play emphasizes creativity, problem-solving, and adaptability, as players navigate a world where their decisions have significant and often unforeseen consequences.

Roleplaying games are often considered the ultimate expression of emergent play. Players have an inordinate amount of flexibility to do almost anything. Each scenario can be approached from a hundred different angles. Obviously, as a designer, or dungeon master it is often a fruitless exercise trying to second guess what the players are going to do. I’ve learned this the hard way.

Another great example is the megagame. These complex games involve tens of players on multiple teams, with competing objectives. Information is often imperfect and players must interact, cooperate or compete (often all at the same time) to achieve their goals. This is ripe for emergent play, as narratives and directions of play spin directly from these player interactions.

A megagame in action

Interestingly, games companies are beginning to pick up on this. I recently started playing Warhammer 40000, a sci-fi grimdark wargame, with my son. Flipping through the rulebook I was pleased to see a heavy emphasis on narrative play. A story emerges from the actions of the players. Perhaps not as complex as the other two examples, but a step in the right direction.

Why Emergent Play is Effective for Leadership Training

Now we understand a bit about what emergent play is, I hope you can see the why they might be good tools for enhancing leadership training.

  1. Realistic Complexity: Emergent play mirrors the complexities of real-world scenarios, where leaders must often deal with ambiguous and rapidly changing situations. This realistic complexity prepares leaders to think on their feet and adapt to unexpected challenges.
  2. Enhanced Engagement: Games designed for emergent play are inherently engaging. Consequently the unpredictable nature of these games keeps participants invested and motivated, leading to deeper learning experiences.
  3. Active Learning: Emergent play requires active participation, where learners must make decisions, interact with others, and see the outcomes of their actions. Using an active learning approach helps reinforce key leadership concepts and skills.
  4. Safe Environment for Experimentation: In an emergent play setting, participants can experiment with different strategies and approaches without the fear of real-world repercussions. Of course, this safe environment encourages risk-taking and innovation, essential traits for effective leadership.

Key Elements in Leadership Training

To create effective emergent play experiences for leadership training, I believe the follwing elements should be incorporated.

1. Open-Ended Scenarios

Design scenarios that are not constrained by a single solution or path. Open-ended scenarios allow participants to explore multiple strategies and outcomes, fostering creativity and critical thinking. For example, a leadership training game might simulate a company facing a market disruption, where participants can choose various ways to respond, such as innovating new products, pivoting their business model, or forming strategic partnerships. Or, if they are particularly ambitious, all three!

2. Dynamic Environments

Create environments that change based on participants’ actions and decisions. Dynamic environments mimic real-life situations where leaders must continuously adapt to new information and shifting conditions. Some ways to achieve this include, real-time updates, random events, and evolving challenges keeping participants on their toes. It can also help if the game rivals are controlled by players rather than game control.

3. Collaboration and Competition

Incorporate both collaborative and competitive elements to simulate the complexities of organizational dynamics. Encouraging teamwork helps develop collaboration and communication skills, while competitive aspects can drive strategic thinking and resilience. For instance, a game could involve teams working together to solve a crisis, but also competing for limited resources or recognition. This would create interesting friction and force thoughtful leadership decisions to be made.

4. Meaningful Consequences

Ensure that participants’ actions have meaningful and visible consequences. This helps reinforce the importance of decision-making and accountability. For example, if a team chooses to cut corners on a project, they might achieve short-term gains but face long-term setbacks such as reputational damage or reduced morale. This can be made tougher by including moral dilemmas into the fabric of the game. From games I’ve played these touch decisions with big consequences are often the most memorable. Ultimately, making them incredible learning opportunities.

Applications for leadership training are significant

Implementing Emergent Play in Leadership Training Programs

If you wanted to include emergent play into your leadership training there are a few things to consider.

1. Develop Customized Games

Design custom games tailored to your organization’s specific leadership challenges and goals. Simply re-skinning existing games to align with a new setting is a relatively straight forward exercise. Working with game designers from outside your organization can help you to create and modify game scenarios to fit your training objectives while removing some of your organizational assumptions.

2. Facilitate Reflective Debriefings

After gameplay, conduct debriefing sessions where participants can reflect on their experiences, discuss what they learned, and draw parallels to real-world leadership situations. Of course, this reflection helps solidify learning and translate game insights into practical skills. A good tip here would be to include a facilitator who observes the game and can take notes on what’s happening enabling even deeper reflection by the participants.

3. Encourage Continuous Learning

Use emergent play as part of an ongoing leadership development program rather than a one-time event. Regularly incorporating such experiences helps reinforce learning and allows leaders to practice and refine their skills over time.

4. Leverage Technology

Consider utilizing digital platforms and virtual environments to create scalable and accessible emergent play experiences. Technology can facilitate complex simulations and enable remote participation, making it easier to integrate emergent play into diverse training programs. This could allow games to be played across time zones adding further complexity to team interactions.

Some Ideas for Emergent Play in Leadership Training

Here are a couple of quick examples of the types of game you could include in your next training cohort.

“The Infinite Loop”

This collaborative game involves teams working together to escape a virtual time loop by solving puzzles and making strategic decisions. The game’s open-ended nature and evolving challenges make it an excellent tool for developing problem-solving, collaboration, and adaptability. Actions would have significant consequences every time the time loop resets. To pile on the pressure there are only a limited number of time loop iterations before the game finishes.

“Evolve”

A simulation game where participants lead a virtual organization through various crises and opportunities. Players are split into different departments, all with competing objectives. The team must make strategic decisions, manage resources, and navigate complex interpersonal dynamics. Of course, the game’s dynamic environment and meaningful consequences would provide a realistic and engaging leadership training experience. To add to the pressure and complexity, a second group of players could be set up as a rival organization. Will the disparate teams come together under a common cause?

Final Thoughts

Emergent play offers a powerful and innovative approach to leadership training, by providing engaging, and impactful learning experiences. By incorporating open-ended scenarios, dynamic environments, collaboration, competition, and meaningful consequences, emergent play prepares leaders to navigate the complexities of the modern world. As organizations continue to seek effective ways to develop their leaders, emergent play stands out as a promising method for fostering the skills and mindsets needed for success.

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What Are Megagames? Exploring the Benefits of Large-Scale Gaming

Although not well known, Megagames stand as the ultimate immersive experience, blending elements of role-playing, board games, and live-action simulations. These large-scale games, often involving dozens to hundreds of players, create complex and dynamic environments. This structure and emergent play style really puts players through their paces. Notably, I believe that Megagames could be an exceptional in fostering leadership skills. This article delves into what Megagames are, provides specific examples, and explores how they might be used to enhance leadership skill through experiential learning.

What Are Megagames?

Megagames are large-scale games that combine elements of strategy, role-playing, and simulation, often played out over an entire day. They typically involve multiple teams, each with distinct roles and objectives, interacting within a shared narrative framework. The complexity and scale of these games demand coordination, strategic thinking, and adaptive problem-solving from players.

The design of Megagames allows for rich, emergent gameplay, where the actions of individual players and teams can significantly influence the overall outcome. This dynamic environment mirrors real-world scenarios, making Megagames not only entertaining but also educational.

Examples of Megagames

While I have explained what a Megagame is, it really takes some examples to showcase their scale and complexity. Here are some better known examples.

1. Watch the Skies

One of the most well-known Megagames, “Watch the Skies,” involves teams representing nations and alien factions navigating a world where extraterrestrial contact has just been made. Each team must manage resources, conduct diplomacy, and respond to various crises, all while dealing with the unknown intentions of the aliens.

“Watch the Skies” has been run by numerous organizations across the UK, USA and Australia and there are some great videos exploring the players experiences.

For more information, you can visit the Stone Paper Scissors website here.

A small part of a Watch the Skies Megagame in progress

2. Den of Wolves

“Den of Wolves” places players in the roles of the crew and passengers of a fleet of spaceships escaping a dying star system. Players must manage limited resources, make critical decisions about survival, and navigate complex interpersonal dynamics. Leadership roles within the fleet are crucial for the game’s progression.

Further details are available from the South West Megagames. Interestingly they also run games for businesses and other organizations, already proving the concept that games of these sort can build leadership skill and ability.

3. Urban Nightmare: State of Chaos

Written by Megagame stalwart Jim Wallman, “Urban Nightmare: State of Chaos,” throws players into a zombie apocalypse affecting an entire state. Teams represent various governmental and non-governmental organizations working to manage the outbreak, maintain public order, and ensure survival. The game emphasizes crisis management and inter-agency cooperation. A great game to play if a business is experiencing low communication or significant silo-ing between departments.

You can explore more about this game here. A great review can be found on the BeckyBecky blog.

A game of Urban Nightmare in progress

Megagames and Leadership Development

The immersive and multifaceted nature of Megagames makes them an excellent platform for developing leadership skills. surprisingly, they are already being used in this capacity. Both Stone Paper Scissors and SW Megagames are hosting games in the corporate and government spheres.

Here’s a few reasons why these games are so effective:

1. Strategic Thinking and Planning

Megagames require players to think strategically and plan ahead. In “Watch the Skies,” for example, national leaders devise long-term strategies while preparing to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances, mirroring the need for strategic foresight in leadership roles.

2. Decision-Making Under Pressure

Megagames often place players in high-pressure situations where quick, decisive action is necessary. “Den of Wolves” challenges players to make critical decisions about resource allocation and crisis response, honing their ability to make sound decisions under stress.

3. Collaboration and Teamwork

Success in Megagames relies heavily on effective teamwork and collaboration. Players must communicate and coordinate with their teammates and other groups to achieve their objectives. This aspect is particularly evident in “Urban Nightmare: State of Chaos,” where various agencies must work together to manage the zombie outbreak.

4. Conflict Resolution

Megagames simulate environments where conflicts of interest are common, requiring players to negotiate and resolve disputes. These skills are directly transferable to leadership scenarios where conflict resolution is a daily necessity.

5. Adaptability and Flexibility

The dynamic nature of Megagames demands that players be adaptable and flexible. Unexpected events and actions by other players can drastically alter the game landscape, requiring leaders to pivot and adjust their strategies. This mirrors real-world leadership scenarios where adaptability is key to navigating uncertainty.

Final Thoughts

Megagames offer a unique and powerful means of developing leadership skills through their complex, interactive, and immersive gameplay. By simulating real-world scenarios and challenges, they provide players with opportunities to enhance strategic thinking, decision-making, teamwork, conflict resolution, and adaptability. As these games continue to grow in popularity, their potential as tools for leadership development becomes increasingly apparent.

As such, I’ve been interested in running one of these behemoths for a long time. I’m currently writing a smaller version for 12 players and I’ll report back once I’ve actually run it. As a side note, if you’re in Perth, Australia and would like to play in a Megagame drop me a line. A game this size will need plenty of players!

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The Lost Temple: An Adventure in Collaboration

I’ve been working on the idea of a roleplaying game that can be used for leadership development for a while now. My first attempts can be found in my Play2Lead ruleset. During playtesting the rules definitely work as intended. Now all that is needed are some scenarios that focus on specific leadership lessons. There are so many themes to choose from it was difficult to work out which to use. However, the more I thought about it the more collaboration bubbled to the surface. Every successful team, business and leader thrive on collaboration. Therefore this adventure scenario focuses on exactly that.

Design Principles

For a game to work in the leadership development setting I believe it should attempt to fit within the following principles:

  • Easily identifiable. Players who don’t like or understand fantasy should be able to relate to the setting and themes of the adventure
  • Playable in a lunch break. Maximum play time of 1.5 hours, though ideally within 1 hour
  • Playable for 4-6 participants excluding the gamemaster
  • Have a clear objective
  • Start in the action immediately
  • Apply pressure throughout, forcing fast tense decision making
  • Focus heavily on the leadership lesson. In this instance “collaboration”.

Given the short playing time I have designed the scenario around the following timeline:

  • Introduction, explanation of rules and choosing of roles – 10 mins
  • Encounter 1 – straight into the action – 15 mins
  • Encounter 2 – problem solving – 15 mins
  • Encounter 3 – explosive finale – 15 mins
  • Wrap up and debrief – 10-20mins

Adventure Introduction

In the heart of the dense jungle lies the ruins of an ancient temple, rumored to hold untold riches and artifacts of great power. However, the temple is also said to be filled with traps and puzzles designed to test the wit and cooperation of those who dare to enter.

A group of treasure hunters have funded an expedition to the temple in the hope of uncovering it’s wonders to share with the world. The architects of this ancient place were cunning beyond measure, and the team will soon discover that their greatest challenge will be working together to make it out alive.

For inspiration think Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, Unchartered and Jungle Cruise.

Player Set Up with Collaboration in Mind

Using the Play2Lead ruleset all players need is an occupation. For this adventure they can choose from:

  • Archaeologist – professor of the ancient world. Equipped with a lantern. Read hieroglyphics, understand artefacts, high level of knowledge
  • Climber – working at heights professional. Equipped with a 50m rope. Climbing, ropework, high level of agility
  • Engineer – technical specialist. Equipped with a shovel and axe. Construction, demolition, high level of practical know how
  • Navigator – directional expert. Equipped with a compass. Map and compass skills, unerring sense of direction
  • Pilot – helicopter pilot. Equipped with a lantern. Piloting vehicles of all types, radio use, electronics master
  • Expedition Leader (optional) – no specialist skills. Equipped with a knife. Must facilitate the team working together

To speed things up have a character sheet for each character type ready to go.

#1 Collapsing Chamber

We begin in the treasure room of the Lost Temple. A chamber adorned with intricate carvings, hieroglyphics and ancient relics. Piles of gold and gems lie strewn along the walls. Timber shelves lie broken on the floor. On a roughly hewn plinth sits the fabled statue of the gods glinting in the torchlight. Pick a player at random. That characters hand has just closed around the ancient artefact. Suddenly, they trigger a hidden mechanism, causing the chamber to shake violently as the ceiling starts to collapse. Large stone blocks begin to fall from above, blocking the exit. Gold coins rain from the ceiling filling the chamber and restricting movement.

Challenge: The party must quickly assess the situation and find a way to escape before they’re crushed by falling debris.

Solution: A hidden lever is located up one of the walls. Reading the hieroglyphics will point out it’s location. Otherwise careful observation might allow it to be found. Pulling the lever stops the collapse and reveals a new passage to safety. Alternatively, the party could use their strength and agility to dodge falling rocks and clear a path to the exit.

Remember this is a high pressure situation. Make players take Exhaustion (Play2Lead) or other Pressure Tests if using another system to ratchet up the tension. Don’t give the players too much time to plan. If an individual is taking too much time skip them and move on. Pushing the time threat is a critical part of this encounter.

#2 River Rapids

Exiting the collapsing chamber, the group of adventurers find themselves in a vast underground river that flows through the heart of the temple. The river’s currents are swift and treacherous, and the only means of escape seems to be an old rickety raft tethered to the shore.

Challenge: Maneuvering the raft through the river’s rapids while avoiding jagged rocks and hidden dangers.

Solution: The party must work together first to make the raft river worthy. Not doing this will give it a chance to break up halfway through the encounter. Secondly, to navigate the river, using their skills to steer the raft safely. The river will fork. The navigator will be able to tell which way to go. Alternatively there is a fresher breeze coming from the right channel. Along the way, they encounter a series of jagged rocks that threaten to damage and capsize the raft.

Reward player ingenuity here. What will they use to steer the raft? How will they make it safe to use?

#3 Guardian’s Gauntlet

The river throws the group from a low waterfall into a pool below. The bright sunlight of the jungle pool meets them as they find themselves out of the temple. However, as they swim to the side something slides against the leg of one of the swimmers. They are not alone.

Within the pool lives a formidable guardian—a massive, serpentine creature with gleaming scales and razor-sharp fangs. Blocking their path, the guardian seems intent on preventing anyone from leaving the temple alive. It will attempt to encircle the character that is most alone and attempt drown it. One bite from this creature will kill a character outright. This should be played as a deadly, exciting grand finale to the adventure.

Challenge: Defeating or evading the guardian while making a desperate dash for freedom.

Solution: The party must use their wits to outmaneuver the guardian, perhaps by exploiting its weaknesses or finding a way to distract it long enough to slip past. Alternatively, they could way to incapacitate it temporarily, allowing them to make their escape without resorting to violence.

Heighten the terror by having the creature signal it’s presence. Slithering past a leg. Ripples on the water. A flick of a slimy, scaly tail. When the creature reveals itself play up the danger, the toothy maw, the crazed eyes. Make sure the payers know that their characters are in trouble.

Once again reward out of the box thinking and collaboration. How will the team distract or defeat the creature together. This is not something they can win alone.

Collaboration Debrief

Did the players escape unscathed? While the adventure is over, the experience is not. Now is the time to get your players reflecting upon their experience. Ask some or all of the following questions to draw out the discussion.

  • Where did you as a team collaborate well?
  • Did you utilize everyone’s skills?
  • How could you have integrated collaboration better?
  • Is there anything you would have done better?

Following the debrief it’s also worth asking your players for feedback. Did they enjoy the experience and was there anything that could have been done better?

Final Thoughts on an Adventure in Collaboration

This adventure aims to be a fast, exciting experience that fosters collaboration between the players. A chance to debrief afterwards gives attendees a chance to reflect on their experience and what went well and what didn’t.

I envisage this as a useful experience for a cohort of a future leaders training course. Run this experience at the beginning of the course. Then, follow up with a similar experience at the end and see how they have grown as leaders. Has their level of collaboration increased?

Alternatively it could be used as a way help a newly forming team. A chance to get to know each other in a fun experience as well as reflect on how they might work together moving forward. Other uses might be as a way to introduce new people to world of rpgs. A small commitment of time as a way to dip their toes into this exciting medium.

I hope this simple scenario opens your eyes to what can be done with a short, simple adventure. Where do you think it could be used?

A pdf of this adventure with character sheets can be found at the Play to Lead downloads page.

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Exploring Dynamics in Uncertainty: A Wargame Experience

April saw me attend MartyCon 2024, where I ran a miniatures wargame intended to test players resolve under uncertain conditions. As leaders in the real world we deal with a distinct lack of information about our competitors motives and objectives. This uncertainty leads to difficult decision making and stress. My players came from all walks of life including engineers, teachers, ex soldiers and bankers. All were thrust into a scenario of limited information where quick decision making was needed to win the game. In this article I describe the game set up and play before looking at three leadership lessons we can draw from the experience.

The Set Up

I designed the game using the Space Weirdos ruleset with players commanding one of six factions battling it out under a giant factory complex set in the underbelly of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Each player had a different primary and secondary objective. These ranged from hunting a demon infused artefact, starting a rebellion and assassinating a rival leader. Below is a summary of each group:

  • Inquisition/Sisters of Battle: A formidable force dedicated to rooting out heresy and chaos, armed with faith and righteous fury.
  • Enforcers: Tasked with maintaining order and eliminating gang activity, these elite warriors are the enforcers of Imperial law.
  • Honor Guard Kill Team: The personal guard of the Imperial Governor, wielding the authority to bring the Mining Guild. They also had a side mission to get rid of the Governors future Son in Law.
  • Acolytes of the Red Mist: A mysterious order shrouded in secrecy, rumored to be on the brink of completing an elaborate ritual with unknown consequences.
  • Mining Guild: Hard-bitten workers pushed to the brink of rebellion by mistreatment, seeking to assert their rights amid the chaos of civil unrest.
  • Scissor Sisters: An influential crime syndicate capitalizing on the turmoil, maneuvering in the shadows to exploit opportunities for profit and power.

Each players team comprised four miniatures with different weapons and abilities. But so many that the game became overwhelming.

I took the role of gamemaster to keep play moving, answering rules queries and making sure everyone was having fun. Of course, this was key in keeping the game running smoothly and allowing for players to try things outside of the normal ruleset.

Part of the battlefield with four factions visible

Space Weirdos

I chose the Space Weirdos ruleset intentionally during my planning of the experience. First, it is very simple, but with enough variety in character skills and weapons to keep things interesting. Secondly, players take turns moving one miniature each. This, and the fact that players can interrupt each others goes with actions made sure that no players were left out twiddling their thumbs. Lastly, movement was completed using a 6 inch stick removing the cumbersomeness and clutter of tape measures.

Everyone around the table picked the rules up easily. This is high praise indeed as most hadn’t played a wargame before. I cant recognize this game enough. In fact, I know my friends and I will be playing this ruleset again in the near future.

Adding Uncertainty

Having read their briefs, each player knew their main objective and main adversary. They also had notes on potential allies. Consequently, there was a base line of understanding around the situation. Encouraging players to communicate by secret notes added extra spice. Creating and breaking alliances as needed. Communications lit up within the first minute of the game, with notes flying between all participants. I quickly ran out of post-it notes and players turned to texting one another.

Now the waters were truly muddied. Who to trust. How to win your objective and how to illicit help in doing so was no longer a straight forward concern.

Game Action

We played for two and half action filled hours. Alliances were made. Motives were guessed at. The ensuing firefight unleashing chaos. Feedback from the players showed how difficult they found working with such unknowns. Enjoyable, but difficult.

One player, found himself getting frustrated at another player, perceived to be a neutral party who seemed to be targeting him. Afterwards it dawned on him that the targeting was the result of an unknown objective. He was of course completely right about that.

The player who eventually won, was double crossed, lost most of their team members, but stayed focused on their objective to pull a win on the very last turn.

Often wargames can turn into straight forward affairs. Not this one. Everyone was second guessing each other right until the end. The debrief at the end created more than a few ah ha moments as pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

Given all this uncertainty experienced by the players, what lessons can we learn from the scenario?

The action from a models perspective

Lesson 1: Flexibility and Collaboration

The game’s setup, designed to pit players against each other amidst uncertainty, showcased the importance of flexibility and collaboration in leadership. One of the players, embodying these traits, adeptly negotiated alliances and adapted his strategy on the fly to help achieve his objective. His willingness to collaborate with unexpected allies underscored the power of flexibility in leadership, demonstrating the value of adaptability in the face of adversity.

Lesson 2: Trust, Betrayal, and the Art of Managing Expectations

As players delved into the fray, trust, betrayal, and the delicate art of managing expectations emerged as crucial leadership lessons. The player running the Sisters of Battle/Inquisition faction, initially sought alliances based on his knowledge of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. However, when his allies turned on each other and betrayal ran rampant, he found himself isolated and betrayed. His assumptions very nearly cost him the game. This experience highlighted the importance of managing expectations and understanding the fluid nature of alliances in leadership scenarios.

More action as the mining guilder sprints for the vox cast station (their primary objective)

Lesson 3: Effective Communication and Information Management in the Face of Adversity

Against the backdrop of clandestine dealings and covert alliances, effective communication and information management emerged as critical leadership skills. Players communicated covertly through notes and smartphones, forming secret alliances and plotting betrayals. This emphasis on information management underscored the importance of access to key intelligence and the ability to convey messages discretely in leadership scenarios, especially amidst the chaos of conflict.

Final Thoughts on Uncertainty

In conclusion, I believe this experience moved beyond that of a simple game. Instead serving as fertile ground for exploring leadership dynamics. Leading the different factions, players not only battled for victory but also honed their leadership skills in the crucible of conflict amidst uncertainty.

I will be sure to use this type of game to explore other leadership themes in the future.

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Embracing Feedback: The Power of Growth through Dungeons and Dragons

Feedback is a vital component of personal and professional growth, and its value extends beyond the confines of the business world. A strong leader should be able to give and receive feedback graciously without getting emotional. In this post, we explore how the experience of receiving feedback while playing Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) can cultivate valuable skills that are applicable well beyond the game. We look at the art of giving and receiving feedback, active listening, self-reflection, adapting to constructive criticism, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

The Art of Giving and Receiving Feedback

D&D provides a rich environment for feedback exchange. Players often offer feedback on each other’s decisions, role-playing, or overall gameplay experience. After a session has finished the players will often talk about what happened. This includes the actions taken by players, their consequences and how things could have gone differently. Of course, this feedback is not mean spirited. Rather a way to collectively learn from mistakes and learn how to work together better.

By learning to provide constructive feedback and receiving it with openness, players develop skills in giving and receiving feedback effectively. This fosters an atmosphere of trust, respect, and growth that can be mirrored in the business world. However, giving and receiving feedback about the game is less likely to make you feel bad. After all, mistakes in game are often the best source of stories and shared reminiscing.

Feedback, whether constructive or positive should be given and received through the lens of growth (more on this later). Both help you grow and improve as an individual.

This article in Forbes Magazine give five tips for giving and receiving feedback:

  1. Lean into positivity
  2. Remember, feedback is all about perspective
  3. Set team members up for success
  4. Tackle necessary negative feedback
  5. Focus on enhancing rather than improving performance

If you are having to give feedback and are unsure how to frame it try using the SBI model. Situation – Behavior-Impact. It focuses on the behavior rather than the actual person preventing it being misread as a personal attack. As a simple explanation you would frame your conversation as follows:

  1. Situation- describe the situation. For example, our party was resting at the village only to wake up to discover a horde of orcs besieging us in the morning.
  2. Behavior- Upon seeing the orcs outside the gates you immediately yelled your battlecry and charged.
  3. Impact- The orcs countercharged, breached the walls, razed the village to the ground while our party barely escaped with our lives. In addition, we had to leave the cart of loot behind. As a result the mage, bard and thief are furious and will need some calming down.
  4. Behavior-What behaviors would help avoid the impact? This is where you get the impetuous fighter to think of alternatives.
  5. Impact- What might the new impacts have been?

This method removes the worry of having to think on your feet when giving feedback. I’ve used this model very effectively in my own leadership journey. Check out the link for a more detailed explanation.

Active Listening and Empathy

In D&D, active listening is vital for understanding the narrative, fellow players, and the DM. When players receive feedback, they have an opportunity to practice active listening, showing empathy, and understanding diverse perspectives.

These skills are invaluable in the business world, where leaders must listen attentively to their team members, clients, and stakeholders to make informed decisions and foster strong relationships. A leader who doesn’t practice active listening will miss vital information. Their team may come to consider them uncaring, effectively eroding any leadership capital you may have stored.

Despite mirrors often being used as traps in game, self-reflection is essential in improving your game and professional life

Self-Reflection and Growth Mindset

Playing D&D encourages self-reflection as players analyze their choices, actions, and impact on the game. Receiving feedback from the DM and other party members prompts players to reflect on their strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. This cultivates a growth mindset—a belief that abilities can be developed through dedication and effort.

Similarly, in leadership individuals who embrace self-reflection and a growth mindset are more open to feedback, eager to learn, and resilient in the face of challenges. So much so that teaching self-reflection in leadership courses and MBAs is mandatory across the world.

I’ve tried to practice self-reflection throughout my leadership journey to date. I’ve found it lets me analyze my mistakes while preventing me from repeating them. On the other side self reflection has allowed me to understand where my strengths lie. Ultimately, this has led me to pursue a leadership career rather than sticking to my technical roots.

Adapting to Constructive Criticism

Of course, not all feedback is positive. If you have a table of players with a growth mindst D&D offers opportunities to receive constructive criticism that can help refine gameplay or role-playing skills. Learning to accept and embrace constructive criticism enables players to grow and enhance their performance. In my role as Dungeon Master I often ask my players how they found the session. Of course as part of this I receive constructive criticism. Rather than getting upset, I look at this as an opportunity to make the game more fun. Of course, this is much easier to do when you know that those giving the feedback are coming from a positive standpoint. Regardless, this is the most productive angle to take.

This skill translates directly to leadership, where professionals must be receptive to feedback to refine their skills, improve processes, and drive organizational success. If you are given constructive criticism in a professional setting thank the individual. Then reflect on it. Take time to consider why they might be presenting this to you, is it real and what can you do. Don’t just dismiss it out of hand. Treat it as a gift.

Applying Feedback for Personal and Professional Growth

The experience of receiving feedback in D&D not only improves your game, but can also serve as a springboard for personal and professional growth. By actively applying feedback, we can refine our decision-making, communication, problem-solving, and leadership skills within the game. AS we’ve learned, these skills directly transfer to the business world, enabling individuals to adapt, learn, and improve their performance. Win-Win.