How gaming can improve soft skills to benefit you as a CEO

How gaming can improve soft skills to benefit you as a CEO

Gaming has primarily been viewed as a recreational hobby, but scientific studies and research are now showing that it might also make you smarter with increased reflective learning and critical thinking among the potential benefits. For CEOs, partaking in a favourite casino game could help to nurture soft skills that can improve your ability to manage and lead in the workplace. But how exactly does it work?

In an article detailing how video games can “get you a better job”, the BBC reveals that businesses are “waking up” to how important gaming skills can be and that they are very much transferable to professional careers. This is because scientists have found that gamers are completing a range of complex mental tasks when they play, for example, an online action game or puzzle-based adventure title.

As players react to what is happening in-game and work through problems and come up with solutions, they are doing things that can be later applied to employee-based tasks in their jobs.

Assimilating the information on screen, reacting quickly to button prompts, and coordinating actions to succeed in a game are all positive mental activities that can be applied elsewhere in life.

A Royal Air Force spokesperson told the BBC that many of the attributes it looks for from new recruits are often found in people who play games and that those with experience in high-pressure online environments, such as in competitive multiplayer games, can be better under pressure in real life. These skills can be applied to a variety of different roles and jobs.

CEOs are renowned for their excellent decision making and strategic thinking, which can both be nurtured in games. Players have to make fast, hard decisions to progress through levels or ensure their online team wins against online opponents.

A study found that a group of players who competed in the online mode of Call of Duty for 50 hours made 25% faster decisions in non-game related tasks. These decisions were just as accurate too.

Leaders looking to hone their skills in-game should select from one of the many casinos in India that are certified and reputable. Both slot machines and live casino games require strategic thinking and decisive actions. Experts also recommend consciously thinking about the skills you are using in these games so you can hone them in games and then apply them to work roles.

Clear communication and collaboration are two other important skills that CEOs need to develop to succeed. Both of these are evident in online games, especially eSports, as players have to work together as a team to beat opponents.

This requires each player to be assertive and confident, relaying instructions and updates about what they are doing in easy-to-understand vernacular. Leaders will recognise these attributes in themselves, and the need to be transparent and approachable.

Gaming can also boost other skills that you may not have considered, such as creativity, fearlessness and passion, again which all can be applied to work in some form. CEOs can certainly benefit from using games as an outlet for nurturing all of these attributes in a less stressful environment which also provides fun and excitement.