Avoid the Dreaded Role Play: DIY Simulations in Leadership Development

Colleen Berish, Director of Learning and Development, FCCI Insurance Group

Colleen Berish, Director of Learning and Development, FCCI Insurance Group

It is hard to prepare leaders for all the different scenarios they may encounter in the corporate world. Trainers and facilitators use many techniques to ensure people can actively participate in the learning process, and among the most used are role play and case studies. These two methods teach skills to handle specific scenarios that frequently occur in real life, should it happen to them.

While both are designed to allow learners to practice skills in a safe environment, there are many pitfalls that can stand in the way of people successfully applying a new tool or technique that is being taught. First is that real life rarely follows a path that can be neatly packaged into a half or full day training event. In reality, many people may have already run across the situation, and it was handled in many ways except how the facilitator said it should be handled.

"Simulations have been shown to build confidence and improve decision-making abilities within leaders and other employees, and can be built fairly easily with a good learning and development team"

Case studies and role play rely on good storytelling techniques in the way the scenario is presented and how it relates to the content from the instructor. It is also important that the outcome be memorable, have some elements of entertainment, and be relevant to their job or what they see on a daily basis. It’s also important not to give too much detail so the solutions become obvious. Many trainers and designers don’t have the skill set developed to create scenarios that match these criteria.

Some specific challenges of each method are presented in Table 1 below. Both share some commonalities:

1. Developing scenarios can be time-consuming for trainers

2. Replicating real-time decision-making can be difficult

3. Resistance from participants can be present in both cases

4. Both rely heavily on the written word, which can may not capture learner attention

Table 1

An alternative to role play and case studies is a simulation exercise. Although simulation exercises have some of the same characteristics as case studies and role play, there are some significant differences that can be a game changer in the world of learning and development.

Simulation exercises allow learners to practice skills in a controlled environment. It is more immersive than case studies or role play and allows learners to experiment with different choices or resolutions. When thinking about simulations, we typically focus on niche markets such as pilot training, medical training, or driver training. These high-tech solutions usually involve virtual reality and equipment needed to replicate specific scenarios or building expensive computer programs to handle the choices involved.

However, there are a lot of low-tech, DIY (do-it-yourself) ways to incorporate simulations into everyday training activities. One particular area is leadership development, which is where we typically see case studies or role play as a training solution.

Classroom simulations, whether virtual or in-person, can be created in a fairly simple way. For example, an L&D team created a change management challenge where small teams were faced with a scenario and every 15 minutes, a new twist (change) was introduced to the challenge. The VP of operations (a persona within the group) had to deliver the new information and work with the group to effectively manage the new change that was introduced.

A debrief at the end of the exercise provided more information on the decisions made and alternatives to consider to be more effective. The teams were quickly able to see how their decisions impacted the entire process. The challenge itself was created with character cards, change objectives and the interval information. This can be done virtually or in-person, and can be customized to the roles within the group. The biggest expense is the time it takes to create the scenario that mimics an actual problem your company faces on a daily basis.

A second example that is great for virtual instruction is to create a simple game in your development software such as Storyline. In this leadership game for developing leaders, teams in breakout rooms are presented with a recorded scenario with interactions between a manager and her direct reports. The teams are then presented with responses that are good/better/best. Each answer could be acceptable but one contains elements that would produce the best outcome. Teams are awarded points for their selections, with the best answer providing the most points. Debriefs after each scenario help the entire group understand why an answer fell into each of those categories and groups can explain why they chose their solution.

The scenario video provides an opportunity to display emotions and thoughts behind the personas as well as some different choices that aren’t all bad. The debrief provides immediate feedback on what worked and what might have worked even better. An advanced version might be to have teams play multiple times until they consistently choose the best answer.

For eLearning, branching scenarios provide the perfect opportunity for learners to practice multiple times and to get immediate feedback on decisions or actions. Branching can be complicated to create a first, but with a little bit of practice, becomes easier over time. It is also very customizable for a specific role, so the same scenario can be used over and over, with branching available for customer service, salespeople, managers, or other roles within your organization.

Simulations have been shown to build confidence and improve decision-making abilities within leaders and other employees, and can be built fairly easily with a good learning and development team. All good simulations begin with an authentic case study or scenario that is relevant to the company and the individual. Simulations take other learning methods to the next level by personalizing the process, allowing for immediate feedback on mistakes and providing a measurement for the trainer to know how well concepts are being applied. Using DIY methods can help save time and money, and be re-purposed over and over.