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Today's Gamers, Tomorrow's Leaders?

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the something-to-think-about dept.

slash-sa writes "Video games have become problem-solving exercises wrapped in the veneer of an exotic adventure. In today's fast and rapidly-changing business environment, the strategic skills they teach are more important than ever. From realistic battlefield simulations to the building of great nations, from fantastic voyages through worlds of mythology to conquering space, "Generation G" could well offer the answer to unlocking great 21st century strategists and leaders."

3 of 245 comments (clear)

  1. played online games much? by timmarhy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If these people are the best and brightest we are fingered. play WoW sometime and you'll see.

    --
    If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
    1. Re:played online games much? by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 5, Funny

      LEEEROOOOOOYYY JEEEENNNNKIINNSS for president!

      Actually, the way he blundered in to the mission reminds me of someone.
      GW Bush doesn't have a warcraft account does he?

      --
      liqbase :: faster than paper
    2. Re:played online games much? by javakah · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Except that this is not unrealistic. Just as in WoW, the world has plenty of idiots.

      WoW is not necessarily bad leadership experience when you get into organizing raids.

      Some notable leadership experience from WoW raids:

      1. Learning how to pick team members. This includes avoiding the tons of idiots out their and fostering relationships with competent people. Additionally it forces you to figure out what skill sets are needed and available at a given time, and for you to know how different people work together.

      2. Planning. Large raids take some work for getting people willing to work on a project (the raid), and do not come together instantly. You must plan out ahead of time when you are going to do things to allow people to work it into their schedule.

      3. Evaluation of goals and performance. If your project (raid) fails, you must take a step back and figure out what went wrong and to come up with a strategy to avoid that problem.

      4. Dealing with underperformers with tact. Yes, there are some people who just aren't quite holding up their ends of things. Sometimes they are just bad players who don't care, who should perhaps not be a part of your team anymore. Other times however, they desperately want to do better, but aren't sure. In such situations, as in life, you need to sit down with them in a non-confrontational way and talk about the problem, and work with them on how to improve. As in life, the individual and the team will improve.

      5. Dealing with team morale. Things don't always go well, but you almost always have to see some good aspects of what the team is doing to let the team know that (while at the same time identifying ways to improve). When the team does a good job, you need to make sure they know that you know that they did a good job.

      6. Dealing with life conflicts. People have (hopefully) lives outside of WoW, as they have lives outside of work. You have to understand that situations come up, and people can't always be where they have said they will be. At the same time, there has to be consequences for people who are complete flakes.

      So, I'm not sure that WoW is actually a bad leadership training ground.