Escape Rooms, Mud Runs, and Game Nights: Cradles of Leadership?

"When a soft-spoken, strictly nine-to-five administrator joined our department's escape-room outing, no one expected much. She was polite, precise, and reserved. Yet, minutes into the challenge she came alive. She assigned roles, organized clues, and kept everyone focused as the clock ticked down. She even cracked the hardest puzzles. We escaped the mad scientist's lab with minutes to spare."

"She hated managing others, attending meetings, and staying late. The spark that blazed in the escape room dimmed under the fluorescent light of responsibility. Eventually we moved her back to her old job, where she again thrived and left at 5:00 p.m. on the dot."

""These kinds of activities can be fun, energizing, and great for team camaraderie," says executive coach Jon Bassford. "They can showcase problem-solving and create opportunities for people to step up. But they can also unintentionally reward charisma over capability. Too often, leaders confuse Type A personalities with A players.""

A reserved nine-to-five administrator demonstrated clear leadership during an escape-room outing by organizing roles, synthesizing clues, and solving difficult puzzles, prompting a promotion. The supervisory role failed because she disliked managing, meetings, and staying late, and she returned to her prior position where she again thrived. Escape rooms simulate organizational pressures—limited time, ambiguous information, shared goals, and diverse personalities—and they can reveal problem-solving, calm synthesis, and inclusive leadership. Such activities can also reward charisma over capability. Careful debriefing and assessment of fit and transferable skills are necessary to judge whether informal leadership signals translate to workplace performance.

Read at Securitymagazine