Leadership styles and skills developed through game-based learning

Game-based learning (GBL) as a universal approach to developing leadership skills have been winning attention from researchers and practitioners. There are numerous studies which support the positive effects of games on learning and knowledge development; however, more research is needed regarding how games may influence development of leadership skills. This paper examines recent literature regarding game-based learning influence in leadership skills development and if new leadership styles can emerge during a collaborative gaming process. The research questions were: 1) what were the leadership skills developed, during a GBL course? Moreover, 2) what kind of leadership styles emerge in the gaming context? The methodological approach was quantitative and also qualitative, privileging the interpretative approach and the primary technique used was content analysis from the forums of discussion of 8 GBL courses with 15 participants in each course summing a total of 120 individuals and also factor analysis based on data collected by a questionnaire about the leadership skills developed, and which conducted to the identification of the leadership styles. The findings suggest that a game-based learning approach is an effective approach to leadership skills development and the primary skills developed were: motivation, facilitation, coaching, mindset changing, and communication. The significant originality of the research was the analogy process between the games situations and the organisational life resulting on the creation of a leadership typology.