Here in Banff at the Applied Improv conference it’s no surprise my mind is on games. I enjoyed The Inner Game of Work on the flight over which has a great introduction by Peter Block, who says this:
We worry about the “transfer” of learning: how to take the learning and bring it “back” into the workplace. The Inner Game resolves the tension between learning and doing by showing us that they are both part of a bigger whole.
This thought was echoed by folks from the Banff Centre who suggest it’s foolish to think people learn leadership on courses: they really learn it in their everyday lives. How they learn it may merit more reflection.
There’ve been plenty of engaging sessions, but for me the highlight has been the impromptu game of Werewolf played by 30 of us last night. (It’s basically the same game as Mafia, described here, with a few name changes.) What’s so intriguing is how animated and committed the players become… suggesting that in an apparently pointless activity, something fundamentally important is going on… to do with our innate desire to learn and our preoccupations with relationships and status. We may think our business meetings are about the formal agenda, but I suspect we’re really playing a version of Werewolf without really acknowledging it.
I’m sure I could explain this better, but the morning session is about to start…
