An escape room is one of the best games or activities to develop a leader. Leaders emerge when there are many people with a common objective and they need a direction. In an escape room, participants can only succeed with coordinated efforts and a good sense of direction. If you are planning to train and develop new leaders, an escape room is a perfect place to see them learn essential leadership skills.
Here are essential skills that participants learn from an escape room:
1. Leading by Example
In an escape room, all the participants may not know what to do, what to touch or search, and lots more. But in an escape room, a player that takes the lead and starts moving in a direction to solve a puzzle will see other players follow suit. Other players or teammates will follow anyone that takes the lead.
2. Leading by Delegation
Many leaders do not know their skills until they get to an escape room and start to coordinate with other players. They will delegate tasks and activities to solve the puzzle on hand. They will ask others to contribute to finding clues to solve the challenges they are working on. You will see them give instructions and ask for results.
3. Leading by Motivation
One of the duties of leaders is to motivate others. This becomes clear in an escape room when players are confused and lack direction. The leader amongst them will take the leadership role by directing and motivating them. Even when their efforts do not bring much success, the leader will encourage and motivate them not to give up but try harder.
4. Leading by Using Other People’s Strength
An escape room can teach players to lead by using their teammates’ strengths appropriately. Players have different skills and talents, which if well managed in an escape room will ensure their success quickly in solving their puzzles. A leader among them will assign the players according to their strengths and uniqueness.
5. Assumption of Authority
Surprisingly, many times in an escape room, players that emerge as leaders or captains do so by self-appointment. They start giving instructions, suggestions, and directions even if that is their first time in an escape room. Meanwhile, their leadership was activated by the ambiance and challenges in the escape room.
Takeaway
An escape room is the best scenario to develop and discover leaders. If you want to bring out the leaders in your employees, organize an escape room event for them and watch the leadership in them play out.
