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5 Ways Pokémon Go Will Make You a Better Leader | David Dye’s Engage! | August 2016

2016-08-07 11.24.03 (1) My mom playing Pokemon Go on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

5 Ways Pokémon Go Will Make You a Better Leader
3 Billion

“There’s one over there!” my niece led me to an ornate fountain where we were able to find a cute Pigey waiting to be collected.

At a recent family gathering, my nephews introduced me to Pokémon Go. In the previous few weeks I’d heard so many negative things about the game that I had to see what all the fuss was about.

It was fascinating…we played at an outdoor mall and there were dozens of people roaming about, chasing imaginary critters, and seeking power-ups. Now that I know what to look for, I’ve seen hundreds of people across the country laughing, getting mild exercise, and building relationships as they play.

As a planet, we spend an astonishing 3 Billion hours a week playing video games. That’s voluntary time – an incredible amount of voluntary time. And Pokémon Go has single-handedly done more to get many people outdoors and walking than countless public service announcements.

Clearly we can learn a lot about motivation from video games. Here are 5 ways Pokémon Go and video games can make you a better leader:

1. Feedback is Vital

Video games are filled with ongoing feedback for the player. Pokémon Go does it with fun graphics, yellow stars, points, and cute noises. They let you know when you’ve done well and when you’ve missed the mark.

Whether it’s a score, sound effects, or animations, players receive ongoing feedback about their performance.

Video games never ignore you when you do something correctly, but punishes when you screw up. Unfortunately, that’s an all-to-common profile for many managers.

Model your feedback on video games – you get more of what you encourage and celebrate, less of what you criticize or ignore.

2. Failure Isn’t Fatal

Video games reward risk-taking and experimentation. If one approach doesn’t work – no problem. Try it, learn from it, and try again. One failure doesn’t send you back to the beginning or mean you can never advance again.

Not coincidentally, managers who punish failed experiments or don’t allow their teams to take healthy risks typically have unmotivated teams.

Effective managerial leaders value experimentation, treat mistakes as learning experiences, and encourage healthy risk-taking.

3. Growth Matters

The most addictive games tap into our human desire to grow. In these games there is always a new skill to be learned, a new level to explore, or a new puzzle to solve.

With a little work, creativity, or newly acquired skill, players get the satisfaction of increasing their ability. Pokémon Go gives the player new abilities as you grow, the opportunity to catch more and varied creatures, and the chance to compete against other players.

Effective managerial leaders understand that people like to grow. They create avenues for their team members to acquire new skills, to expand their capacity, and to take on new responsibilities.

Growth doesn’t always mean role promotions – but it does mean a pronounced sense of progress.

4. Goals are Challenging, but Not Too Much

Video games sit somewhere in the middle of a continuum between bored and frustrated.

They provide ongoing challenges that require the player to stretch – but not too much. A player confronted with challenges that are impossible to solve will grow frustrated and stop playing. Likewise, if the challenges are too easy, the player grows bored and stops playing.

In Pokémon Go, once you master the basics, you encounter more challenging and interesting monsters and have the chance (but are not forced) to test your skills against other players.

Effective leaders provide the same level of challenge – goals that are within their team’s ability, but require some effort and learning. For particularly challenging tasks, the leader may help with the video game equivalent of “hints”, but still allow the team to make the decision and solve the problem.

5. Games are Fun

We play for many reasons, but on some level, play is simply fun.

A sense of teamwork, accomplishment, camaraderie, mutual support, and enjoyment are possible for every team. Even in the most serious work, it is possible to find enjoyment in working together and producing more than any one person could do individually.

I know there are some Pokémon grumps out there – but it’s hard to argue with the new relationships, teamwork, and exercise I’ve seen so many people have as a result of their play.

There is little as rewarding as working on a team that is able to accomplish awesome results and have a good time along the way.

Life – and work – can be fun when we bring a Pokémon perspective. How can you cultivate your team with feedback, support for risk-taking, opportunities to grow, healthy challenge, and fun?

Be the leader you want your boss to be,

David Dye