The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the most massive disruption to people’s personal and business lives in our lifetime. Many small businesses closed down never to reopen. Even for large organizations, with solid contingency plans in place, this is an extremely difficult time.
For CEOs and other top management leaders, working and managing their teams from homes means treading on unknown territory. But it is also a huge learning opportunity. To help them make the most of this opportunity, XR business solutions company Talespin now offers “Leading Through Uncertainty”. It is a series of VR training modules teaching workplace leaders and managers how to communicate more effectively during crisis situations.
Navigating Crisis Situations with Confidence and Empathy
Team morale and motivation are critical for any company that wants to emerge successfully from a crisis situation. Thus, CEOs and top managers need to know how and when to communicate, using an adequate tone in their written and spoken messages.
In the current context, VR training is one of the most effective tools to polish key skills, such as active listening, empathy, de-escalation of difficult situations, and short and effective communication. As Kyle Jackson, co-founder and CEO of Talespin, explains in a press release:
“The COVID-19 pandemic has sent every organization into a period of self-reflection as we ask ourselves: what we can do right now to better take care of our people and customers. We saw ‘Leading Through Uncertainty’ as a way to help organizations take a people-first approach to their business operations, enabling them to leverage XR, one of the most impactful learning and empowerment technologies we’ve ever seen, to better prepare their leaders and teams.”
How Do “Learning Through Uncertainty” VR Training Modules Help?
The series of VR training modules immerse the user in a real-life office environment. Assuming a human avatar, the user has to deal with a series of situations where they learn to use calm, thoughtful communication and develop empathy with their employees.
The VR training program has five modules dealing with core aspects of handling crisis situations:
Module 1 – Creating Calmness Through Succinct Communication
In this module, workplace leaders and managers learn how on-point and clear communication can calm down the team and de-escalate crisis situations.
Module 2 – Regulating Emotions During Uncertain Times
Self-regulating emotions is a core skill for any leader. Losing control of their emotions when dealing with an unruly employee may lead to losing their professional attitude and taking rash decisions.
Module 3 – Communicating Productively with a Distraught Employee
Sometimes, personal problems can burden an employee and make them lose control over their emotions. An effective leader knows how to reach out to that employee and help them get over this difficult situation and refocus on work.
Module 4 – De-Escalating an Emotionally Charged Situation
Stress and emotional projections can affect the entire team, starting from one person. A leader with empathy and good communication skills will know how to restore calm and order during this sensitive time.
Module 5 – Disagreeing Productively During Challenging Times
The final module of the VR training program for leaders and managers shows how to move on after addressing a current difficult situation and reaching an agreement.
Why VR Training?
As a company focusing on transforming the workplace through modern technologies, Talespin believes that all workforce needs to acquire new skills to move forward after the current pandemic. They cite a World Economic Forum report in the press release, stating that by 2022 half of the current work skills will change.
In this context, VR training and learning is one of the useful tools for sharing and transferring these job skills. This is exactly what Talespin is doing through its proprietary XR platform, Runway.
Who Can Access “Leading Through Uncertainty” Program?
Talespin is distributing the VR training program for CEOs and other leaders both on the Runway platform and on Cornerstone, a people development platform. This collaboration is the result of the investment Cornerstone made in Talespin as part of the company’s Series B funding round.
“We are excited to offer Talespin’s ‘Leading Through Uncertainty’ modules to our clients as we believe VR is a powerful and effective tool for teaching leadership capabilities that will help organizations build long-term resiliency”, said Heidi Spirgi, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at Cornerstone.
“Leading Through Uncertainty” is available to organizations both in VR and desktop format.
