Facilitating leadership development with virtual reality : A qualitative analysis of the potential of virtual reality in leadership development

Abstract: New technologies are continuously emerging, and as technology advances new applications are explored. One such application is in leadership development, an extension of leader development with a key differentiation being an inclusion of the collective as a dimension. Currently, organizations as well as their environment are increasing in complexity, emphasizing a requirement for better equipped leaders able to collectively face the consequential challenges incurred. Virtual reality is an emerging technology that has existed for some time, allowing both the hardware and software to become refined. This thesis explores the potential of this technology, i.e. virtual reality in a leadership development context, mapping out current uses and identifying potential areas for application. Furthermore, the thesis explores how virtual reality could be applied to enhance leadership development in organizations and what enablers and barriers this would entail. This was done by conducting a literature review and by gathering qualitative data, interviewing 6 researchers in the field and 5 practitioners from companies related to virtual reality and leadership development regarding their views and uses of this technology. The data was then utilized in two frameworks, the Dialogue map, categorizing methods of leadership development into 5 distinct categories, and the Multi-level perspective, defining three levels of a socio-technical system and the interactions between them. The findings of the thesis suggest that the technology indeed has potential in a leadership development context, with education and developmental relationships being the two most apparent areas of application of the technology. Furthermore, implementation of virtual reality in an organization should not replace existing leadership development methods such as instructor-led sessions or e-learning, but instead exist as a complement. Lastly, factors such as culture, demographics and the specific leadership development application should be considered.