Leveraging a Sandbox Approach to Leadership Assessment and Development
Do you always read the full set of instructions before starting a project?
Many of us start with the notion, “I can figure this out.” Others take advantage of “micro apprenticeships,” i.e., YouTube, to learn and experience what they need to know about successful DIY projects. I can’t count the number of times YouTube has made me look a lot smarter than I really am.
Clearly, there are effective and less effective ways to approach and accomplish new things.
We learn from our mistakes, and those lessons can be invaluable. However, when the stakes are high, we strive to avoid critical errors and would rather learn in a risk-free space. Ideally, we learn best when we have the chance to try different actions and experience the outcome of those actions without the painful consequences. Perhaps even more important is our desire to avoid the embarrassment or ridicule of our peers when we happen to fail or make mistakes.
WHAT IS A LEADERSHIP SANDBOX?
Leadership sandbox is the concept of offering a virtual sandbox of leadership situations where your future leaders can experiment and practice their skills, learning what works – and what doesn’t. In the book, On Becoming a Leader, Warren Bennis points out:
“Leaders are made, not born, and made more by themselves than by any external means.”
So it follows, that in order to develop future leaders, they need the opportunity of risk-free personal experience and practice in a variety of leadership situations. What better way to equip and empower your team than by offering a sandbox of leadership challenges?
At Employment Technologies, we have developed a leadership simulation that does just that.
5 KEY ADVANTAGES
These are the key benefits and value proposition of our EASy Simulation for Leadership sandbox approach:
1. Discover hidden potential.
Promotion and upward mobility is a strong incentive to motivate and retain employees. Our leadership simulation lets you preview talent within your organization before they are promoted, revealing their leadership strengths and opportunities for growth.
2. Risk-free learning and engagement.
Our sandbox approach prepares employees for a variety of real-life situations: problem solving, teamwork, communication, conflict resolution, performance issues, and effective listening, to name a few. By experiencing these situations in a virtual environment, employees are more confident and prepared to face similar situations on the job.
3. Self-evaluation, “look in the mirror.”
Receiving outside feedback does not compare to the power of experiencing the moment firsthand – seeing what you did and learning the outcome of your decisions. Our leadership sandbox gives employees a realistic preview of a leader’s role, letting them experience the demands and rewards of the job for themselves.
4. A personalized plan for onboarding and development.
Our leadership simulation not only evaluates leadership qualities, it also creates an objective development plan personalized for each employee. If you agree that leaders are made, then the best path for success is to provide your future leaders with a clear, personalized plan to nurture and optimize their potential based on their individual strengths.
5. Leading with confidence.
Practice and preparation are critical success factors in any endeavor. To grow and celebrate the leadership strengths of your team, our leadership simulation sandbox is the ideal tool to equip your aspiring leaders to achieve their goals and lead with confidence.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
In addition to EASy Simulation for Leadership, our team of Industrial/Organizational Psychologists has developed “sandboxes” for specific leadership roles and types of jobs, including the following leadership assessment tests and development tools.
EASy Simulation for Team Leaders
EASy Simulation for Restaurant Managers
EASy Simulation for Teller Supervisors
EASy Simulation for Financial Center Managers
EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE
The best way to learn about our sandbox leadership assessment tests and development tools is to experience them first hand! Please click here to request your free demo or contact us at 888.332.0648.