Badges and gamification in teamwork

Do you like collecting badges?

One of the ways I'm navigating my way through the monotony of lockdown life is to increase my personal badge collection:

• Cycling routes and "ride ons" completed on Zwift;

• Running miles and "kudos" given by friends on Strava;

• The annual book challenge on Goodreads.

I'm like a big kid collecting Scout badges.

Why?

Because it gives a sense of forward motion, of progress, of evolution.

A fun escape from the "stuck-ness" of groundhogging through Covid life.

Of course, even a "like" on social media is a badge of appreciation.

Some have described this as "gamification" and there's a lot of research to say that it is a very effective way of self and team development.

To quote from the Wikipedia link, by offering:

Points

Badges

Leaderboards

Performance graphs

Stories

Avatars

Teammates

It is possible to improve engagement, performance, training and the sense of community.

There's a deep lesson to be learned here in leadership.

Another day at the coal face isn't much fun to contemplate.

Another day taking part in "the game" fosters a completely different perspective.

The question to ponder - how do you turn your work into a game, without in any way diluting it's professionalism?