Don't Fly Solo: Why the Best Business Acumen Training is Team-Based

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Why Team-Based Simulations Work Better Than Individual Learning

This post is part of a series on how business acumen simulations can go wrong.

Near the top of the list:

Isolating participants.

Here's why that creates problems for learning and engagement.

Team-Based Simulations: Learning Through Interaction

A team-based simulation is interactive:

• It creates dialogue as participants with different job functions share their perspectives.
• It helps everyone absorb different points of view about what the simulated business needs.

To maximize this interaction:

1. The game should reflect real-world roles.
2. The team should cycle through these roles—taking turns as the:
   • Salesperson
   • Finance manager
   • Operations lead
   • Strategy planner

By rotating roles, participants will:

• Learn the rules of business.
• Understand the language of finance.
• See how different job functions impact decisions.
• Practice decision-making from different perspectives.
• Improve communication and teamwork.

The Risk of Isolated Simulations

When participants work alone or never cycle through roles:

• They lose the benefits of cross-functional learning.
• They miss opportunities to develop communication skills.
• They risk reinforcing silo thinking.

Key Questions to Evaluate Your Simulation

• How frequent are the dialogues?
• Is the dialogue driven by the need to make decisions?
• How many roles are represented?
• Who makes the decisions—individuals, teams, or the facilitator?

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