Would you board a plane knowing it was the pilot's first time flying?

Of course not. 

Pilots undergo hours of simulation training before they’re cleared to fly a real passenger plane.

So why do we expect our leaders to effectively manage change from the get-go if they don’t know what strong human-centered skills—like adaptability, communication and consensus-building—actually feel like?

In many ways, leaders and pilots are alike. Both guide others toward new destinations—whether they’re navigating 40,000 feet of open-air or four months of organizational change. And both must adapt when challenges arise.

Yet, only one is required to test their new skills before taking off. 

With leadership development high on the HR agenda, creating training programs that truly build better leaders means challenging traditional, content-based approaches and asking, "Are the methods we're using to develop our leaders resulting in genuine behavior change?" 

As we head into 2025, it’s time to consider a method that does: simulation training.

What is leadership simulation training? 

To understand simulation training, we must first explore its foundation: experiential learning. The Association for Experiential Education defines experiential learning as a teaching philosophy where “educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection.” 

 At ExperiencePoint, we simply define it as “learning by doing.” 

Simulations are a powerful form of experiential learning that mirror real-world scenarios in controlled environments so learners can practice new skills without risk.  

This philosophy is the driving force behind our flagship simulations, ExperienceChangeⓇ and ExperienceInnovation™ Learn, which ensure leaders don’t just understand valuable leadership skills—but can live them. Over the past three decades, more than 500,000 people worldwide have used these simulations to become better leaders, from top organizations like TransAlta and Google to business schools like The Wharton School.

Recognized by the Training Industry as a 2024 Top Experiential Learning Technologies Company, ExperiencePoint and our simulations continue to exemplify the indispensable role of simulations in leadership growth. Here are three reasons why simulations are so effective for leadership development:

1. Drive behavior change, not just learning

Ideally, when you invest in leadership training, it’s because you want your leaders to start doing something new—and you also want that something new to stick. Simulations excel at making that happen because they go beyond imparting knowledge. They catalyze new habits through practice.

Human-centered skills that leaders need, like collaboration, communication and empathy, require this practice to become second nature—similar to riding a bike. After all, no amount of theory could replace the feeling of getting on a bike and learning how to balance, pedal and sometimes even fall on your own. 

Time and again, studies confirm that people retain 75% of what they learn when they “practice by doing,” compared to just 5% retention through lectures and 10% through reading. From Confucius to Aristotle and Maria Montessori, educators have long asserted that direct experience is essential for the kind of deep learning that develops new skills and behaviors. Echoing this sentiment, Benjamin Franklin famously quipped, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”

That’s why we recommend leaders go through simulation training. These experiences not only help leaders build new skills but, more importantly, ensure they retain the habits that lead to meaningful behavior change. As ExperiencePoint co-founder James Chisholm explains, “Leadership development success isn't measured in terms of the knowledge people gain, but by new behaviors that drive business goals.”

“Leadership development success isn't measured in terms of the knowledge people gain, but by new behaviors that drive business goals.”

- James Chisholm, co-founder at ExperiencePoint

2. Accelerate decision-making skills in safe scenarios

Leadership often calls for making high-pressure decisions with limited time and information. Simulations replicate these intense scenarios, providing leaders with the opportunity to develop and refine their decision-making skills before facing real-world stakes. 

Unlike traditional training, simulations expose learners to their decision-making blindspots and collaboration biases, creating invaluable cognitive dissonance that paves the way for personal growth. In these safe settings, leaders can experiment, make mistakes and sharpen their instincts, building both confidence and skills that seamlessly transfer back to their teams.

Take ExperienceChangeⓇ, for example. At the heart of this workshop is a simulation where learners must guide a realistic company—GlobalTech—through a change crisis. This gamified experience encourages learners to work together to identify and implement change strategies under time constraints that mimic real-world urgency. By testing their responses to complex and high-stakes challenges, learners effectively hone their decision-making skills. The simulated environment offers invaluable practice without the fear of failure—because it’s better to “fall off the bike” in the backyard than on your first solo trip down the road. 

3. Develop a culture—not just a leader

Beyond professional development, The Wharton School finds that simulations offer shared experiences that build a strong foundation for better organizational cultures. By engaging in collaborative activities, learners develop shared language, mindsets and methods that transform how they work together. This “common ground” fosters a work environment where new behaviors are more likely to thrive long-term, even after learners return to their regular work settings.

Simulations like ExperienceInnovation™ Learn build lasting behavior change by encouraging learners to practice new ways of working together and hold each other accountable. Built in collaboration with IDEO, this simulation condenses a four-month innovation project into four hours. Learners work in teams to apply the tools and techniques of human-centered design, learning to embrace the discomfort of setting aside their own ideas, build on teammates' input and create quick, cost-effective experiments. These skills foster the cultural norms of an agile workplace, which can only thrive when everyone shares a common experience and language.

The lasting impact of simulations for leadership development

Simulations provide leaders with the practical experience they need to excel by driving genuine behavior change, accelerating decision-making skills in realistic yet risk-free environments and fostering a cohesive team culture. Whether you want your leaders to refine decision-making, enhance collaboration or build teamwork, simulations equip them with the confidence and skills needed to tackle today’s complex challenges and become better leaders. Just like pilots, simulations give business leaders the confidence to navigate turbulence and take people to new heights.