Harvard looks to MMOs for online leadership styles
by Chris Chester 
May 6th 2008 at 8:30PM
Filed under: Business models, Guilds, MMO industry, Raiding, Academic
While much has been said in recent weeks about raid leaders and whether the job necessitates being a jerk, nobody seems to dispute that the position engenders players with valuable leadership skills. In fact, according to a recent report by the Harvard Business Review, big companies may have a lot to learn from MMOs in terms of fostering leadership roles in a business world that is every bit as geographically decentralized as the roster from your typical raiding guild.But before you go and put your guild leadership experience on your resume, you might want to read the report in full. While they say that there are parallels between leadership in-game and leadership in a board room, the report focuses more on how the games themselves engender these leadership qualities, by creating an environment that fosters honesty, duplicity of leadership, non-monetary incentives, and transparency. It's interesting to think that games might actually change the way business works in the future, but we guess only time will tell if that proves prescient or not.
[Via GamePolitics]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
possum said on 3:17AM 5-07-2008
This is total bunk. the people making this report are probably raid leaders themselves. which simply invalidates the report. let me clue the folks in on something, being a "raid leader" or "leader of a guild" or whatever in an mmo, doesnt mean jack, doesnt give you the skills for "real life" leadership and certainly doesnt qualify anyone to lead anyone else in real life. the report is a joke. another ploy by gamers to try and get cred for playing games, and its laughable.
there are no side by side comparisons to be made other than a "raid leader" or "guild leader" has the word leader in it. anyone surmising that these mmo folks are somehow a cut above people with legitimate leaderships skills should be jailed. get a clue, spend 10 to 20 years at a real job leading real people with real problems that have real jobs and real wants and desires and real goals and real......well you get the picture, leadership in an mmo, such utter bs.
let me hire you, then tell me you have been using your mmo leadership skills to solve critical problems, you will find yourself on the long end of the unemployment line.
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cearrdorn said on 5:58PM 5-13-2008
That's odd. I got a job making 70k a year via how I played a video game. They trained me to do the job, I was hired for how I acted. So... I guess you don't really know it all. play dead! heh.
Worcester said on 1:05PM 5-14-2008
I might agree with Possum... if this were 1954!
It used to be such that being "captain of the football team" rewarded you with the social skills to manage a workplace. You were a "team player" in every sense of the word. But the game has changed, and so has the office.
Today the workplace is filled with email, voicemail, text messages, instant messages, conference calls, telecommuting, training videos, performance reviews, management seminars and a host of modern nightmares that have invaded our once-simple offices. We're not talking about CEO's of technology companies, even the most basic office assistants need at least half of these skills to do their jobs.
How does your department head know the "real" desires of the middle manager? She works from home, 300 miles away. Does the IT guy you've never met consider you a "real" client? What "real" problems are you better at solving, I wonder? Here, when a computer locks up, it's a "real" problem.
If you can't decipher the tone of an email, if you can't write a review for an employee you've never met in person, if you can't coordinate a conference call or an online project, if you can't create a virtual seminar or an in-house video, then it's likely going to be you, Possum, in a long unemployment line.
Why did you suppose these guys, with their MMO Leadership skills, why do you think they would EVER come to you looking for a job? These guys are already writing reports for the Harvard Business Review!
I have a clue for you, Possum... get tuned for Kara and get with the game!
Kourosh said on 9:07AM 5-07-2008
The phenomenon of enhancing leadership skills is a real one. Beck and Wade's book The Kids are Alright does a great job of talking about this very issue.
Games are a great playground in which people are learning to interact with others who are very different from them. Nowhere else are you going to get someone in their teens, for example, organizing a diverse group of people of different ages and lifestyles of their own.
Whether or not a person has the name "leader" in their title as part of the guild or otherwise, simply being a part of a real group with a common goal teaches many of the important aspects of functioning in a business environment.
- Kourosh
http://kouroshdini.com/
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Krisk said on 1:57PM 5-14-2008
It is funny how the raid only raids when the raid leader shows up. There are a lot of factors that go into this, but someone has to take charge and get things moving. A raid leader is the type of person that can get people moving in the same direction. That type of person is what many companies are looking for.
So, being a leader in anything is a good indication that you will be a good leader in other areas. Imagine that.
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