Playmakers™

Playmakers™ is a reflection tool and a business simulation focusing on the leadership aspects of project management. It challenges the participants’ ability to handle all the different aspects of project leadership, including the ability to lead a project team as well as being aware of and act on all the different interests presented by different stakeholders. The simulation is about project leadership rather than project management.

Project leadership with many faces
Project management is not only about planning and budgeting. Projects often change character over time and many different stakeholders are involved in the course of the project. Often steering committees define goals and visions for the project while other stakeholders – either internal or external - have other agendas that might influence the project. Both external stakeholders and internal team dynamics must be handled. Project leadership has many different faces that the project manager must deal with. For many this is a difficult task.

Training in Project leadership
Playmakers trains and teaches participants in the task of leading people: project team members, steering committees, and others that might influence the course of the project.

The simulation focuses on leading individuals as well as groups.

It focuses on motivation and conflict management as well as communication and negotiation. Playmakers offers the participants a safe forum where they can try out difficult leadership tasks, and learn with and from each other.

The simulation
Playmakers is based upon a concrete case that defines the setting. During three phases of the simulation, participants are challenged to lead a concrete project that changes character as they play. Unforeseen difficulties arise, and goals and visions are changed. The participants must relate to the long-term goals of the project as well as the crises that inevitably arise. The participants work in teams to ensure knowledge sharing and joint learning. The simulation supports participants in the ability to analyze, recognize and handle organizational, group-based, and individual dilemmas within project leadership.

”Playmakers gives a fantastic insight into the many different aspects that demand consideration in a big company – both on a political and a personal level - to ensure optimal performance. The simulation offered us a great platform for common understanding about what good project management is to us –the way we do it.”
Søren Skafe Overgaard, CEO, e-Types

 

FACTS ABOUT PLAYMAKERS

  • Playmakers is for organizations and companies that want to train project managers and steering committee members in the art of running a project successfully.
  • One set of Playmakers can be used by 3-5 participants.
    It is possible to use more than one set of Playmakers during the same training course of e.g. 20-80 participants.
  • The duration of the simulation is 4-6 hours.
  • Playmakers can be used as a training course in itself, or it can be an integral part of a course on project management.
  • Playmakers is based on a number of accepted project models and theories – among those are Daniel Goleman, J.R. Katzenbach and Bruce W. Tuckman.
  • Playmakers can be facilitated either by consultants from Workz or by internal consultants following a certification course.
  • Playmakers is available in English and Danish.

Playmakers is used by numerous organizations including Danfoss, ISS, Novo Nordisk and on various Mater programmes at Copenhagen Business School.

 

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