The Change Game

Abstract

Leading change is an essential skill for managers. Instructors in management education must not only teach theories on effectively leading change but also convince students of the necessity of developing their change leadership skills. Students may underestimate the difficulty of convincing others to work toward change; the authors developed the Change Game as a tool to help students experience the difficulties of leading change and identify opportunities for skill development in the area of change leadership. This 45-minute exercise can be used with a range of courses in management curricula, and it scales well for small to large seated classes. Students are divided into two groups (managers and workers) that must cooperate to complete a task and earn a reward. The exercise simulates resistance to change by giving the workers an incentive to stay with the status quo. Classes typically fail to complete the task, which allows for a lively follow-up discussion on successfully leading change, as well as on topics such as communication, intergroup dynamics, trust, power, and motivation.