Virtual Worlds, Real Leaders: - IBM
Virtual Worlds, Real Leaders: - IBM Virtual Worlds, Real Leaders: - IBM
22 Impermanent Power Contrary to traditional management strategy, business leadership roles can be temporary.
GIO 2.0 Report There is an unspoken understanding among those well-versed in management technique that once a strong leader has been identifi ed, that person should be installed as a manager, regularly promoted based on performance, and given a steadily increasing amount of responsibility over an indefi nite period of time. Of course, this organizational strategy has come under criticism in the past, mostly because, as the Peter Principle succinctly states, it’s a good way to elevate an employee Leadership roles are more ephemeral, to the level of their incom- lasting 10 minutes, 10 days, or even petence. For instance, it months at a time. Leadership is seen as should not be assumed that a job that needs to be assumed in order just because an employee has to get a specifi c task done, not an identity demonstrated an aptitude that follows a player around forever. for leadership in one set of circumstances, that same person will be an effective leader in all circumstances. That’s where the world of online games has the potential to teach the business world a strong lesson. In many online games, there is no expectation about permanence of roles. Leadership roles are more ephemeral, lasting 10 minutes, 10 days, or even months at a time. Leadership is seen as a job that needs to be assumed in order to get a specifi c task done, not an identity that follows a player around forever. This “temporary leadership” emerges as a result of the pace of play, and the project-oriented nature of online games. Because decisions need to be made quickly, and the cast of characters present during any given session is constantly changing, leaders are chosen quickly, on the basis of experience and skills suited to the task at hand. 23
- Page 1: ® INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES
- Page 4 and 5: 2 Game On As the business world bec
- Page 6 and 7: 4 “ You can never stop earning th
- Page 8 and 9: 6 In a survey of IBM’s own intern
- Page 10 and 11: 8 Serious Gaming The what, why, and
- Page 12 and 13: 10 The strategy for examining games
- Page 14 and 15: 12 Making Leaders from Lemmings Env
- Page 16 and 17: 14 RAID: A guild effort in war-orie
- Page 18 and 19: 16 in which leaders are able to und
- Page 20 and 21: The Need to Lead The story of one g
- Page 22 and 23: 20 Q: What was it about the environ
- Page 26 and 27: 24 The analog in the Sloan Model is
- Page 28 and 29: 26 The Freedom to Fail Risk-taking
- Page 30 and 31: 28 There is another reason risk is
- Page 32 and 33: 30 Next Steps to Consider
- Page 34: 32 Finally, embracing emerging comm
22<br />
Impermanent Power<br />
Contrary to traditional management strategy,<br />
business leadership roles can be temporary.
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