The delight of observing someone have a learning epiphany gives me (and I’m sure many other facilitators, teachers and coaches) incredible joy. Someone teaching me a new method or application of something I’ve used or known for years is the ultimate gratification of my job. In a very real sense, I still believe in the value of human interaction in the learning environment.
Having launched Cyan People and explaining that the delivery methodology is… putting people into teams where they complete against each other making leadership decisions that impact the profit and loss statement. “So why don’t you do this remotely?”, I’ve been asked. Good question! The answer…. because we believe that people are social creatures and there are times when we need to do things on our own but for the most part we like to be with others, to learn with others, to work with others and leadership is all about people.
There are hundreds of skills you can learn independently and online. Business simulations are nothing new, a few of the top universities have been using business games since the 1960s for executive development. Outside of universities the business simulation world has developed to be a version of online gaming that has virtual reality stores, manufacturing plants, construction sites, hotels etc. where you can learn and experience the environment. As these concepts move from 3D to 6D and become completely immersive they will fill a void.
So by all means learn the theory however you want…remotely, via books, TED talks, Podcasts, Tutorials etc. but there comes a time…especially when working with people that you need to experience the real thing. As human’s we are complex, we have good days, bad days, different environments or people can trigger unpredictable responses. We don’t follow rules and 10 magic step processes. We sometimes can’t even explain our own irrational behaviours. Cyan People is all about getting individuals to work in teams to deal with challenging leadership situations.
The beauty of getting a group of people in a room and to deal with pressure, ambiguity and discomfort while making decisions that are going to impact the profit and loss statement opens up unpredictable and exciting personal dynamics. Facilitating these sessions you observe perspectives, composure, communication and perseverance being challenged. The value of simulation and social learning cannot be underestimated. Here are a few of the benefits participants experience:
- They see and experience the consequences of their actions and can compare it to others
- Their learning is an active, they are engaged and fully immersed.
- They don’t have to wait for a real scenario to come up in their workplace to test their knowledge and decision making
- Discussion and debate with team members improve their communication and thinking skills
As for time and cost? What is one day of training worth? It could help you realise that your business strategy is not clear and poorly communicated… or you are using outdated recruitment practices and role definition…or the impact that poorly managed conflict is having on your company productivity…or maybe it’s a simple awareness that leadership does not come with an instruction manual. The value of one of those lessons is priceless.
Our pricing is competitive and in most cases cheaper than traditional PowerPoint and workbook training. So if you hesitant about spending a less than a thousand dollars on a leadership simulation experience, think about what not investing might be costing you.