Fear. It can control any situation, including situations in the workplace. Fear of making mistakes, fear of criticism, fear of losing credibility to your peers and superiors, fear of feeling unprepared.... these all inhibit creativity and prevent what Dallan Guzinski calls "psychological safety," a feeling of safety allowing individuals to be comfortable  contributing ideas and feedback. Based on his experience working as Director of Culture and Engagement at The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), Dallan introduces ways to build trust among your team and and more effectively solve serious workplace problems through classic improv techniques. 

In this blog series written by Great Game employees, we will highlight some of the highest rated sessions at the 2018 Gathering of Games conference. Account manager Dan Heisler covers the session "Begin with the Right Leadership: The Essentials of Leadership in a Great Game Company" led by certified Great Game Coach Kevin Walter. Based on his years working with Great Game companies, Kevin defines what it takes to become an effective leader in a Great Game and open-book environment. Here, he highlights the difference between traditional leadership styles and the most effective approach for Great Game companies, emphasizing the impact of having the right leadership in your organization.

Over 1,000 business books are published every month. Over 100 of those have ‘leadership’ in the title. It seems that we are always looking for new ways to lead in an ever-changing world of business. But has true leadership ever really changed? Here’s another question to consider. Is leadership different in an open-book environment?

Is your leadership team ready to make the leap into open-books, but the rest of your employees lagging behind? If you’re ready to start sharing financial and operational business information with your employees, but they’re just not ready to play along, there are probably some very logical –and common – reasons why. Here are the top four reasons that your employees haven’t jumped on the open-book management bandwagon.

As a company manager (or owner), it’s your job to have all of the answers, right? Wrong. While you might feel accountable for finding/knowing/having all of the answers all of the time, sharing problems with the rest of your employees might provide some unexpected benefits for you, your employees and your business.

As Jack Stack says, “One of the challenges in leadership is you need to know when to push, when to hug, when to cheer, when to boo, and when to kick people in the butt.”  For any individual in a leadership role, there are endless responsibilities, people and tasks to keep in order. We've compiled a checklist of tips and questions to help our Great Game leaders reflect on their leadership styles and stay on track. Check out our best practices for GGOB leaders below! 

    Are you ready to introduce the Great Game to your employees? Reading the book as a group is a great way to establish the concepts of the Great Game of Business® with employees, whether your company is new in implementing open-book management,  introducing new hires to the Game or refreshing your Great Game knowledge.  We recommend providing everyone a copy of the book and meeting weekly in small groups to go over one chapter at a time. This study guide is a perfect complement to this type of ‘book club’. Some companies assign a different discussion leader each week to share the leadership role and encourage engagement. 

    Kiolbassa Smoked Meats, 2014 Great Game Rookie of the Year and subsequent All-Star Finalist, celebrated achieving their first quarter bonus in a unique way.  Instead of shaking hands and handing out bonus checks, President Michael Kiolbassa decided to send videos to the entire team during "Bonus Week" to show his appreciation for their hard work.  In addition, Mike wanted to emphasize the company’s core values and how he saw those values in action as an instrumental factor to hitting the bonus.

  If you are just getting started with The Great Game of Business, let me begin by saying that last year I was you:  sitting in the audience at The Gathering of Games, at the beginning of our Great Game journey.   Fast forward a year, and we are a 2018 All-Star Rookie of the Year finalist.

“Alright, stop. Collaborate and listen.” - Robert Van Winkle Amy’s Ice Creams is back with a brand-new invention.  As open-book management businesses we know that when we harness the wisdom of our team, stick to an empowering vision, and measure progress, no problem is too hard to solve.  But ask yourself this, “what problems should your team focus on?” There is a plethora to choose from, but sometimes the right issue is hard to find.

Everybody loves a great story. So what’s yours? The benefits of good storytelling ripple out from gaining exposure to new customers, partners, and even employees—all of whom may be inspired to join your cause. Your story should be part of your brand and, at a minimum, be part of your website. But you don’t have to stop there. You can also use your story to connect with the media, or as an internal tool to help on-board new employees to help them understand what your company culture is all about.

We love to see and hear the inside stories of companies putting the principles and practices of The Great Game of Business to work in their organizations, which is why we love to find videos by and about Great Game practitioners!  Here are three of our favorite videos representing three very different stories...