As a keen cyclist I'm inclined to think there are many lessons we can take into our professional lives from life in the saddle. For instance, I've previously compared innovation to climbing a mountain. In cycling, you can focus so heavily on going up a mountain that you fail to give due care and attention to going down the other side. In terms of innovation, we can often devote huge amounts of attention to generating ideas, but precious little to the implementation of them.
I think there are also parallels with our desire for purpose at work. You see, such is my passion for cycling that I consume resources and information on how to train more effectively or how my diet can be improved. I religiously follow the major races on the pro circuit. The passion for cycling piques my curiosity for it, and I seek out ways to do it better.
Watch on FORBES:
Through the course of this I naturally seek out others who share this passion with me, be that online via the many cycling forums and networks, or offline via clubs and activities. These connections inevitably involve a constant flow of advice and feedback. Knowledge courses between participants, each one seeking to help and improve in equal measure.
This desire correlates easily with a desire for new challenges. Whether this is gradual improvements in training or new mountains to ride each summer somewhere in Europe. What might prove stressful for someone that does not share such a passion actually becomes exhilarating for those that do.
It's clear to see how this sense of passion and purpose could have an impact on our professional lives, and indeed a recent study found that those of us with this strong passion for our work not only earned more, but even lived longer than our passionless peers.
Life As A Game
Such purpose was found to be worth several thousand dollars a year in extra income, but the lessons from cycling don't end there. In a bid to inject some vigor into my training, I've recently enrolled in the virtual world of Zwift.
Zwift connects with your indoor trainer, and allows you to power a virtual avatar through a number of virtual environments. Whilst training, you can also engage with many other people doing the same thing, with both organized group rides and even races a feature of the platform.
A powerful aspect of the environment is the gamification element it brings. Nearly everything is measured, from standard variables such as speed and power, all the way up to league tables for certain segments of the course, and bonus virtual goodies for sustained performance.
The platform also offers coaching and support, with a range of training programs I can choose from, and in-game coaching to chivvy extra effort from me as I train.
In my first week in the game, I've already secured a number of prizes, and even managed to join Norwegian champion Edvald Boasson Hagen for a ride as he undertook what I can only assume was a very gentle workout (for him, it wasn't for me!). Of course, it's early days, but my training and effort levels in this week have seen a real boost as a result of the novel environment I've been riding in.
Gamifying Work
Such game based mechanisms are increasingly used in the workplace too. For instance, a startup called EvaluAgent utilize game mechanics in its platform for call center staff.
The aim is to use points and rewards to make previously boring tasks slightly more interesting. Managers set staff goals that are aligned with those of the business, with agents then able to earn rewards for achieving these targets.
There is also an element of coaching and support offered should agents be falling behind target. Of course, despite the approach being relatively interesting, it is nonetheless trying to make a dull process more interesting.
That games have the ability to enhance our performance is perhaps not that surprising. Indeed, a 2013 study published in Nature highlighted the cognitive boost gaming can provide.
The study found that a well designed game can give a healthy 60 year old the mental powers of someone 25 years younger, with these improvements lasting a good six months after they stopped playing the game.
To achieve this benefit, the game had to be designed with a specific goal in mind, which most gamification efforts do as a matter of course. Then, with around 12 hours of playing under their belt, the participants in the experiment began to see improvements in their mental performance. They could multitask better for instance, whilst their short-term memory also improved.
There are undoubtedly many benefits of applying the kind of game technology that I'm using so effectively in my cycling training to provide a boost to performances in the workplace, and the examples above are just some of the case studies where this is happening.
I'd love to hear any stories you have of using gamification in your professional life to drive you on to better performance.
