Virtual reality leadership training is an immersive scenario, completed by leaders wearing VR headsets that take them into a virtual world. In the case of multi-player VR training, leaders are immersed in a virtual world where they are expected to collaborate and successfully complete a series of tasks. An effective VR experience lasts 5 to 15 minutes and enables facilitators to test and observe a range of soft skills, including empathy, communication, collaboration, innovation, continuous improvement, agility and much more.
Virtual reality works by engaging our senses (sight, touch, hearing), which in turn sends signals to our brain to help us interpret and understand the world around us. With a VR headset on, your brain is tricked into believing you are in a very real environment using a stereoscopic display, which gives the impression of real world depth in 3 primary ways:
1. Clever use of shadows
2. Making objects farther away from you move slower, and
3. Displaying two slightly different angles of the scene in front of the user
In addition to the sense of depth, the VR headset allows you to move around and interact with the virtual environment by touching objects and moving things around. In the case of the HTC Vive for example, the headset uses 70 different sensors and "room-scale" tracking technology, allowing the user to move around in 3D space and use motion-tracked handheld controllers to interact with the environment. Spatial or 3D audio is used to complete the experience; this is the virtual placement of sound in a three-dimensional environment, emulating sounds from different angles.
All of these techniques combine to create a fully immersive training experience, enabling facilitators to see participant’s authentic, natural and instinctive reactions to the scenario they are faced with.
How is Virtual Reality already being used for training?
With such high stakes, pilots and formula one racing car drivers have been using hyper-realistic simulations for many years to practice in a controlled and safe environment. The corporate training world now has the same opportunity to assess and develop leaders in equally real and challenging scenarios, using virtual reality.
With the very survival of an organisation and the wellbeing of its employees potentially at risk from poor leadership decisions, the value of leveraging VR leadership training is inevitably gaining momentum with L&D and business leaders.
If you want to find out more about Biz Group virtual reality leadership training, GET IN TOUCH with us here.