At first glance, a guild of pimply faced middle and high school students sitting in front of a television playing an exciting game of Halo, Counter-Strike, or even World of Warcraft might seem to be wasting time and having fun but they are actually learning valuable job skills that are hard to acquire outside of a traditional classroom. The skills that lots of modern video games (VG’s) teach already include those that are valuable to the workforce . This is especially true when you examine leadership, management, and communication skills.

Communication Skills

• Teamwork- VG’s encourage teenagers to utilize technology like Voice Over Internet Protocol which promotes working within virtual teams. International businesses have been opting out of travel to use this technology because it saves money and resources as opposed to an international flights, hotel, and food costs. Those who play games as teenagers will be able to have a competitive edge in terms of experience with virtual groups and teamwork.

Management

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  Group Motivation- In World of Warcraft by Blizzard Entertainment, teams known as “guilds” form to perform tasks that would normally be to difficult to accomplish as an individual. There are some tasks in the game that require weeks, if not months, to accomplish as a group. The challenge of players who take leadership skills in the games are most often maintaining the group to be motivated toward achieving goals. In the professional business world, the challenge of a manager is how to motivate groups. This training provided through these types of game provide application to communication theories learned in schools.

• Retention of Talent- In the business world, the better your talent improves the quality of your team. The same concept is seen in gaming, especially games that utilize Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games like X-Box 360 and other computer games. The challenge presented with guilds is how you ensure the talent remains loyal. If you already have situational knowledge of how to handle a similar situation in the workplace, you are more likely to save and make the company money.

Leadership

• How to Lead a Team- VG’s allow for the experience of increased leadership by allowing players to have experience working within groups and teams which allow for fluid-ability in the leader and follow dichotomy which is something that doesn’t really seem to happen on things like regular sports teams.

So, the next time you have free time nothing really to do, get some friends online and start playing video games. You will thank yourself with for the experience when you’re in a group or virtual group and you must either lead or follow, at least now you will have situational knowledge.