by Ed Finn

Created on: December 17, 2007

Review of Virtual Leader 2007
Edward W. Finn III
Indiana University School of Continuing Studies
OLS 574: Managerial Training & Development
Dr. Charles Feldhaus

What is Virtual Leader?

Quite simply put, Virtual Leader is "a simulation that teaches leadership skills." (James L. Morrison, 2003, p. 1) While this is a rather simplistic statement as to what Virtual Leader really is, it is the one put forth by Clark Aldrich, the creator of this software program. In an interview, Mr. Aldrich takes this explanation of Virtual Leader even further and explains how leadership is taught in the simulation:

To pull this off, we created an interpersonal genre. The player is in a room discussing issues with simulated characters"bots"whose words and behavior are controlled through artificial intelligence (AI) (James L. Morrison, p. 3).

This is a very interesting way of looking at how Virtual Leader was developed. It is more along the lines of an interactive game than that of a true simulator. While Aldrich is very quick to point out that Virtual Leader is far more advanced than a typical game, as well as much more cost effective, he still maintains that to "understand simulations, the first thing to do is get comfortable playing computer games. Try The Sims, the newest Midtown Madness game, and Roller Coaster Tycoon." (James L. Morrison, p. 5)

Even though Aldrich compares Virtual Leader to an advanced form of interactive gaming, he also emphasizes that the gaming aspect is only the beginning (James L. Morrison, p. 2). The eventual goal, although he admits that no simulation will ever be perfect or else the process could be automated, is to have a simulation that can effectively increase the number of variables incorporated into it over time (James L. Morrison, p. 7).

Gaming seems to be an emerging trend in corporate training (James L. Morrison, 2003; Jana, 2006). This has helped to lead to the introduction and rise of simulators such as Virtual Leader. The fact that a on the job gaming option can cost either five or ten percent of comparable military and entertainment games makes it a very cost effective and viable training option (Jana, 2006).

Virtual Leader combines some of these gaming attributes with a stated desire to teach leadership skills to those who participate in the program. According to SimuLearn, the main focus of Virtual Leader is to:

Practice and Apply Key Skills in a Virtual Role-Play Simulation, Influencing Others, Conflict Management, Innovation and Creativity, Teambuilding

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