Practice makes perfect \u2013 we\u2019ve heard the phrase all our lives but in the information age where repetitive actions get automated and outsourced away, businesses seem to have forgotten about the value of practice.\u00a0 Then when a problem is encountered, leaders can\u2019t understand why their staff struggle to know what to do.\u00a0 The good news is that the tools needed to solve this issue are sitting right in front of us: simulation and muscle memory \u2013 one of the most under-utilized tools in business.<\/p>\n
In modern business, the area where the need for competency is greatest are in the areas of problem-solving and critical-thinking.\u00a0 Most employees have received some sort of training or have picked up some basic skills at some point in their career, but few have refreshed those skills recently or practice them regularly.\u00a0 \u00a0That is unfortunate because regular exercise of problem-solving and critical-thinking skills can lead to increased employee alertness to potential issues, faster responsiveness and more confident decision-making.<\/p>\n
Many leaders don\u2019t understand what the tool is and how to use it effectively. The purpose of simulation is not to provide scripted responses (If\u2026 then do this\u2026) \u2013 that would indeed discourage critical thinking.\u00a0 Instead, the simulations should establish complex scenarios, similar to situations employees might encounter in the work environment and provide a chance for them to practice breaking down the problem into parts, collaborating with others, evaluating alternatives (with no clear right answer) making a decision and then observing the consequences.<\/p>\n
The goal is not for a perfect outcome but for employees to experience ambiguity, make mistakes and learn from them.\u00a0 The muscles that we are trying to build are those of deductive reasoning, stress management, interpersonal communication skills and making decisions under pressure.\u00a0 The more employees can be comfortable in these skills, the more confident and prepared they will feel when a real-life scenario arises.<\/p>\n
The types of situations and problems that lead themselves well to simulation are functions with an underlying process structure (that can be used to frame a scenario), places where problem-solving includes a lot of ambiguity and areas where multiple people need to work together to come to a solid solution.\u00a0 Some of the common functions where these factors exist are: Manufacturing Operations, Business Continuity Planning, IT Service Management, Risk Management (Finance) and HR.<\/p>\n
Simulation and muscle memory are one of the most under-utilized tools in business \u2013 but if used effectively can lead to increased employee confidence and organizational preparedness for dealing with unknown events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Practice makes perfect \u2013 we\u2019ve heard the phrase all our lives but in the information age where repetitive actions get automated and outsourced away, businesses seem to have forgotten about the value of practice.\u00a0 Then when a problem is encountered, leaders can\u2019t understand why their staff struggle to know what to do.\u00a0 The good news […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":878,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[163],"class_list":["post-25447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n