I am a 19-year-old student enrolled in an International Politics and Government program at Bocconi University. This summer I was searching for an internship opportunity to gain experience and came across a wonderful team working with flow theory, and a serious game called FLIGBY. Before starting the internship, I was encouraged to complete the FLIGBY game, which taught me various valuable lessons about management and leadership.
FLIGBY is a game that teaches how to generate flow at the workplace through presenting players with a real life management situation, where they must deal with certain issues and make 150+ decisions. These decisions are immediately followed by feedback, praising and supporting players on their decision-making, or suggesting a different, more suitable, way to handle the situation. After playing the game, individuals should typically experience more self-awareness about their abilities as leaders, knowledge of problem-solving and dealing with people, and management/business skills.
My own experience with the game is largely positive. During the game, I truly felt as if I were the General Manager of Turul Winery, therefore I empathized with the employees and their problems, was concerned with and felt committed to managing an environmentally sustainable organization, and aimed to make a high profit. Thus, I think most playing the game will feel similarly immersed in this simulation, even experiencing flow itself while playing. FLIGBY is fundamentally helpful in the professional field to prepare students and aspiring leaders for being in positions of leadership and managing people and businesses successfully. However, this is not the only thing the game provides you with, I also left the game feeling much more aware of myself and my interactions with others. The game’s feedback and results confirmed and reinforced that (based on the scores) I am empathetic an active listener, and emotionally intelligent to name some of the most important strengths. It also confirmed my points of weakness: assertiveness, time management, business-oriented thinking, again to list the most important ones. The game tests emotional and business/managerial intelligence, so as a first-year undergraduate student it makes sense that I would score well on areas of emotional intelligence, and not so high in areas that are taught to those already studying something along the lines of management or business.
The structure of the game itself was highly instrumental, as the real-life situations that demanded decision making were followed by instantaneous feedback. Feedback in itself is useful, but it speaks volumes to flow theory as it is one of the most important aspects of flow. Moreover, I am part of the generation that not only desires, but expects instant feedback and response, and this computer game provides just that in an educational way.
In my experience, FLIGBY was a game that was entertaining, and the right amount of challenging to complete- making certain decisions was tricky, but I never felt anxious about the decision-making while playing. In conclusion, one of the best outcomes of FLIGBY for me was that the knowledge and skills I acquired are not only applicable in the workplace, but in everyday interactions.