Leadership seems one of those endeavors that is uniquely human, but new research from the University of Canterbury highlights how virtual reality can be an effective platform through which leadership skills can be developed. Indeed, the study suggests that VR can be as effective as face-to-face role playing at developing leadership skills.
The authors highlight how so called “practice-based training”, which includes role-playing, is often used in training sessions to improve our absorption of skills. Such approaches can be expensive, however, as they need trained actors to create realistic environments.
Virtual reality presents the possibility to provide a similar experience at lower cost. The researchers developed eight virtual humans to operate in both virtual reality and mixed reality environments, before pitching 30 volunteers, split into three groups, into training sessions with them.
Virtual training
The participants were scored on how well their leadership style matched that particular situation they were placed into both before and after they were given coaching. The results show that those in the virtual scenarios were able to improve their performance as much as those placed with human actors.
“The most remarkable finding is that virtual human role-players have been shown to be as effective as real human role-players to support the practice of leadership skills,” the researchers say.
The researchers were most intrigued by the strong performance of the MR setting. They argue that this is perhaps because such a setting combines reality and virtuality, thus providing a safe environment for participants.
“Participants were able to perceive their real bodies and characteristics of the physical room where the experiment was conducted while interacting with virtual humans,” they say. “On the other hand, the experience provided by the VR scenario was completely new for the participants.”
Expansive options
Virtual training environments not only provide a cost-effective means of providing training, but their virtual nature means that participants can be placed into a much wider range of environments than might otherwise be the case. Indeed, these environments could even include those that would be physically dangerous in real life.
The researchers note that a number of barriers remain before such technologies are widely adopted, however, not least of which is the difficulties in developing high-quality virtual environments. They don’t believe these obstacles are insurmountable, however.
“More sophisticated and automated content creation tools will arise over time, and their implementation will only strengthen the adoption of XR technologies for the creation of more effective and engaging learning experiences,” they conclude.
