Don't stand in the fire: Leadership lessons from World of Warcraft

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Often the most memorable lessons are when we fail. In the real world, (especially in business), that can be costly. So why, in something as crucial as leadership, do we not play games to learn this skill where the costs are low? With massively multiplayer games like World of Warcraft we have an opportunity to start learning leadership and make mistakes. Without destroying a thing. In this talk, I'll share eight leadership lessons I learned by playing WoW and give examples of times, both in-game and in real life, where I applied the lessons (or where I had a pretty epic fail because I didn't). I didn't set out to learn how to lead in World of Warcraft, but I did. It has paid off in my professional career more than any other training.

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DON’T STAND IN THE FIRE:Leadership lessons from World of Warcraft

@iuxcBRIAN HAWKINS

“There is not another form of technology on this planet that haskept up with games. The game industry marches on in the wayit does because it has this dream that, one day, it’s going to bereal. We’re going to have real life. We’re going to have realcharacters. We’re going to have real drama. We’re going tochange the world and entertain in a way that nothing elseever has before.”

--SIR PETER MOLYNEUX

Why games?

<Nights>Founded in 2005

2005 - 06 Casual guild

2006 - 10 Raiding guild

2010 - 12 PVP guild

2012 - ? Raiding guild

A QUICK LOOK BACK

Eight lessons.

Lose the ego.Lesson one:

Doing the right thing is sometimesadmitting you did the wrong thing.

Stand for something.Lesson two:

(but not in the fire...)

“Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not.Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.”--TYRION LANNISTER

Do your own thing, own it, and othersimilar people will follow you.

You can’t lead by doing.Lesson three:

Solve the parts, not the whole.Lesson four:

“Sometimes, in order to solve many problems, you mustfocus on only one for a time.”--EITRIGG, “The Shattering”

Your people are more important than you.Lesson five:

“It ain’t about you!”--DR. PHIL

In a conversation there is the person talkingand the person who wishes they were talking.

Ask questions.Lesson six:

Why?

What were you thinking here?

Tell me more about that...

How can I help you?

How can you fix that?

ASK QUESTIONS LIKE:

Be authentic.Lesson seven:

“People will forget what you said, and what you did, butthey will never forget the way you made them feel.”--MAYA ANGELOU

Don’t stand in the fire.Lesson eight:

I didn’t set out to learn how to lead in World of Warcraft, but I did.

Thank you.Lesson nine:

(the most important one)

@iuxcBRIAN HAWKINS