What the Workplace can Learn from Gaming Mechanics

At lunch recently, a friend told me that her company had recently been awarded one of the best places to work for women. Then, she paused. I asked her what that meant, and she paused again. “I really don’t know.”

There are any number of awards out there that recognize companies efforts to increase gender diversity, especially in senior management. Applauded efforts include mentoring programs, flexibility, and board diversity. ForbesWomen even recently published the ranking of the 10 Best Cities to live in for working mothers.

These are all good efforts. But while companies employing these strategies are recognizing the importance of women, they aren’t fundamentally trying to change the workplace itself. They are, as Steve Blank writes, still asking women to know the boys rules and be willing to play be them. These are the rules that make women feel like the odd (wo)man out in an organization; the rules that favor hierarchy and competition over collaboration, and are a little chincy when it comes to the positive feedback. Tired of these rules, women will pull the “it’s not you its me” line and high tail it out of management. More likely than not, she’ll start her own gig, but without economies of scale or access to the capital she needs for big time enterprises. There is a 94% chance that her business will never net more than $1 million in revenue.

Serendipitously, a friend wrote a piece for the Stanford Social Innovation Review -- noting that civic organizations had a lot to learn from gaming mechanics. It got me intrigued enough that I tracked down Jane McConigal’s TED talk about how gaming can change the world. In her research, gamers are head over heals committed to their work because of the 4 elements of gaming mechanics:

1. Urgent Optimism. You are given an urgent task to save the world, but it is calibrated to your skill level, so more often than not, it’ll be hard, but you can do it!

2. Collaborators and community surrounds you. Collaborators want to see you succeed, they offer you help, AND they give you positive feedback. You are part of a tightly woven social fabric.

3. Blissful productivity. You are working hard, solving problems, and there is nothing that makings you happier.

4. Epic Meaning. Enough said. Everyone wants to be part of something meaningful. Something bigger than themselves.

These are the same mechanics that underscore feminine ways of leadership. Which might explain why, according to a recent Forbes’ article, “the new face of videogaming is almost as likely to be a 30-something woman as a teenage boy--and not just in her leisure time.” McConigal would tell you that people become addicted to gaming because they are more successful in gaming than they are in the real world. Given the overlay of feminine leadership and gaming mechanics, its not hard to make the leap that women will be more successful in the gaming world than in the world of management.

Which begs the question, what can companies learn from gaming mechanics that would also help them really engage, retain, and unleash the power of women in the workplace? According to Forbes, companies are recognizing the value of gaming for training; what would it look like if we incorporate gaming mechanics into organization design? Would this change the rules? And in changing the rules, would it improve the environment for everyone?

I would put $10 on yes.