Leadership Learning through Virtual Play

Abstract

Understanding the complexities of leadership and its development is an ongoing challenge. Some researchers are turning to virtual gaming environments for the purposes of researching how leadership arises and how it plays out in the context of the large, dynamic and intricate social systems found in massive online multiplayer gaming environments. The potential of these virtual gaming environments to shed light on leadership and its processes is evident in literature and is the focus of the present chapter. Some design considerations for the development of serious virtual gaming environments to help learn leadership through play are highlighted.