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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?