Author:@aestranger
Reading time: 9 minutes
You’re travelling through an unknown territory and you are met with an obstacle, a challenge that you must overcome. You ask your Chief Game Master (CGM) what the nature of this obstacle and challenge is. They explain to you in moderate detail what it looks like, how it functions and what types of ins and outs it has. You consider this new information and you devise a solution to this obstacle. You offer your CGM the idea that you have, detailing the method and route that you wish to take to overcome this obstacle. The CGM considers this and offers a few more pointers and additional information considering your solution. And with that, you are given free rein to enact your action plan to overcome the challenge before you.
Now this vague little story piece could be read in a few ways. If you were in a gaming mind and were primed by the Chief Game Master title, then you likely read this as a player who was trying to overcome some sort of challenge in a fantasy adventure. And the Game Master (GM) or Dungeon Master (DM) was telling them the information they needed to do this. And then after that they probably did their actions, maybe rolled some dice and found out if they were successful or not.
What I want to add is that this piece could also be read as an individual or team who is met with a difficult project and the CGM is a kind of guide, mentor, or consultant who helps the individual or team to navigate through the process in a way that is engaging, helpful, and non-directive. Just like a GM or DM in a tabletop game, a CGM can help people learn, grow, and succeed by providing them with guidance, support, and encouragement.
In the complex ever-changing environment of the game known as business, many of us yearn for a helping hand, someone who can help us navigate the twists and turns, not unlike a specialized tour guide or a ‘film-fixer’ who is a native in a foreign country and helps arrange the needs for a film production there. This guide doesn’t command you or smother you but operates more like a Game Master or Dungeon Master, aiding you in your journey.
In this article, I’ll explore the concept of the “Chief Game Master” in the business world and how it can be a transformative experience. Just as a Game Master assists players through intricate quests, I’ll discuss how a CGM can help you take charge of your business while seeking guidance and support to conquer various challenges and obstacles.
But first, we need to define what a CGM is. A CGM is someone who can help support you through any process, big or small. They may not be specialist in your field, but they can help you to set goals, develop action plans and overcome obstacles. And in addition to this, they will help you to learn, develop new skills as needed and ensure that you or your team grow.
A CGM is not your boss, nor are they a dictator. Their not there to tell you what to do or how to do it. But rather like a game master, their role is to provide you with the guidance and support that you need to succeed. And to help you reflect and iterate when you fail.
In essence, a CGM is a guide, mentor or consultant who helps you and/or your team to navigate through a problem with sound processes and methodologies that are engaging, helpful and non-directive. Allowing you to come to a solution in a collaborative environment.
That said the main difference between a CGM and a traditional guide, mentor, or consultant is that a CGM focuses on the process. They are more interested in helping you to learn, grow and achieve your goals than in telling you what to do. Without losing sight of the objective they are there to work with you, rather than direct you.
A CGM provides you with the tools and resources that you need to make decisions and craft the path that is best for you and your organisation.
The idea of the Chief Game Master (CGM) is a reframing of an approach to getting help through any process. A CGM is essentially someone who can help you and your team to learn, grow, and succeed by providing you with guidance, support, and encouragement.
Business, the same as life, is in a constant state of change. It’s full of surprises, challenges and adventures. Just as in the realm of tabletop role-playing games, where a good Game Master skillfully guides their players through fantastical quests and missions, a CGM in a business context can also help you to adopt a similar approach to your organisation and projects.
The GM doesn’t dictate every move, but acts as a knowledgeable and supportive presence, an outside party that can keep an objective, cool view of the process. The CGM helps the ‘players’ to make decisions, overcome obstacles, and achieve their objectives. You could see this as a form of gamification where the project has an additional member, the GM, who aids in forming the process, keeping team cohesion and fortifying the group for when change volatility will inevitably occur.
In essence, the Game Master philosophy here is about embracing a form of collaborative gamified guided leadership with a knowledgeable ally, a Gandalf if you will, by your side, allowing you to take control of the narrative of your business, project and/or brand.
The benefits of working with a Chief Game Master are many. A CGM can help you save time and money, by collaborating with you on a project and supporting you navigate through processes more efficiently. Helping you to avoid costly mistakes and delays that could otherwise derail a project.
A CGM can also make the process more enjoyable. For example, a gamified experience can be developed in conjunction with a Game Master, to help make a process or learning experience more engaging and interactive. The CGM and the experience can you and your team, your business, stay motivated and focused when the world around you is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.
Fundamentally the CGM’s role is to join you on your journey, guiding you, helping you learn and developing new ways to overcome obstacles and achieve your goals.
When considering a CGM for your business, there are a few qualities and characteristics that define an effective CGM. It’s important to select the right CGM as they will play an important role in your project or organisation and they will be taking on a variety of responsibilities that you and your team are currently not able or not equipped to.
The role and responsibility that a CGM has first and foremost when they join your team, or business, is to help you develop self-awareness. Much like a player in a game has a character and this character has abilities, statistics and limitations, so too does your team have a selection of strengths, weaknesses and motivations that they need to understand.
The role of a good CGM is to help your team set objectives, to essentially create a personal quest that details and outlines a path for them to reach their goals. Just like a Game Master crafts a world full of challenges and varying adventures, a CGM will help you define your problems, support you when you face your obstacles and make decisions and be there to guide you and aid you in adapting to changing circumstances.
The Chief Game Master’s primary role then is assistance. They will assist you in the process, offering insights, recommendations and encouragement. As well as additional resources and knowledge that your team may not necessarily have or be aware of within themselves. All the while they let you and your team maintain their autonomy, learn, grow and allow them to choose their path forward.
The position and role of the Chief Game Master is about striking a balance between autonomy and guidance. The collaboration and experience are a journey of continuous improvement and growth. To embrace this philosophy fully, you and your CGM need to start by setting clear objectives and outlining your business quest. A CGM will help you frame the experience or project with guides, plans, and resources that support the goals that you have set. Just like with a Game Master, together you will adapt and evolve as your business’s narrative unfolds, being open to new experiences and challenges. To have a truly successful and productive CGM relationship you need to embrace the idea that you are both the hero and the Game Master is your guide in your unique business adventure.
But what shape does this relationship take? As with any good relationship, when you’ve found your CGM, you need to establish clear foundations on how you wish to collaborate.
Be clear about the goals you want to achieve, and what your expectations are. Discuss with your CGM what your and your teams’ strengths and weaknesses are, what are you willing to work on, and what needs improvement. Together you can create an outline, a character sheet as it were, of what motivations, opportunities, aspirations and results you and your team want and have.
An important aspect to remember when working with a CGM is to be open to feedback and new ideas. The process won’t work if your thinking remains isolationist. One of the primary responsibilities of the CGM is to help you see things from a different perspective and to identify opportunities.
This naturally means that you must be willing to take risks and step outside of your comfort zone. Change is always scary and challenging, but it is essential to growth and success. The CGM is there to support you, to help you be patient and persistent and to keep you motivated. Remember change and results take time, don’t expect to see epic results overnight just because you have a CGM on your side.
A good CGM will ensure that you communicate regularly, so be sure to discuss with them the challenges you face. The CGM is there to guide you, but remember that they aren’t there to do the work for you, this is all about collaboration. Honesty and transparency are best, the more open and honest you and your CGM are with each other, the better the end result will be. Working with a Chief Game Master can be a rewarding and transformative experience.
Remember that every adventure is unique, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Embrace the philosophy of a gamified guided leadership mentor and allow a knowledgeable guide to assist you in your business. Just as Game Masters make gaming more enjoyable and memorable, a Chief Game Master can help you navigate the complexities of a project with new wisdom and insight.
If you are looking for a new and innovative way to get help through any process, then consider working with a Chief Game Master. A CGM can help you to learn, grow, and succeed by providing you with guidance, support, and encouragement. So, don’t think twice about it, level up, take charge, and embark on your business quest, on your brand narrative with a trusted guide by your side.
If this piece was helpful to you and gave you some new ideas to think about then I do encourage you to connect. Click the button below join the æStranger email list, and receive tips and advice on how to get the most out of working with a Chief Game Master. Follow me on social media for updates on my latest blog articles.
You can also visit the rest of my website to learn more about the service I offer and how I can help you to grow your audience, and engage with them better and how I can help you as your Chief Game Master.
I hope that this piece has given you some food for thought and helped improve your own methods or at least offered a different viewpoint to consider.
Do check out the other posts on æStranger.com, and do leave a comment or contact us if you have some ideas of your own that you wish to discuss or if you would like to see other topics discussed.
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æStranger officially started in 2018, but has been around in some form for a few years. It is a platform to promote a mission to engage people through adventure and storytelling, to better learn and understand from each other.
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