Unconventional Leadership:

Dungeons and Dragons

Emma Hindman
Welcome!
Heres the plan:

Ill share my personal experiences/thoughts on leadership through D&D (my

example of unconventional leadership)
Participants will have the opportunity to reflect and share their own leadership
experiences and insights individually, in small groups, and in the larger group.

Outcomes of our time together:

An understanding of leadership beyond titles/roles/structure

New awareness of what role leadership plays in our everyday lives
That D&D is fantastic
First things first...

Write down all of the leadership experiences

youve had in one minute.

We will use this later!

Unconventional Leadership
In My Life
Carlos the Dwarf - Freaks and Geeks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJAGxAeV7YU
A breakdown of D&D to give you context...

DM (Dungeon Master): organizes the story/creates NPCs (Non-Playable

Characters)

PCs (Playable Characters): playable individual characters that make up a party

Every playable character has...
Ability scores (strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, charisma)
Race (human, halfling, gnome, half-orc, elf)
Class (barbarian, bard, cleric, druid, fighter, monk, paladin, ranger, rogue, sorcerer, and wizard)
Backstory
Skill points (appraise, balance, bluff, climb, concentration, craft, decipher script, diplomacy, disable device, disguise,
escape artist, forgery, gather information, and many more.)
Alignment (neutral, chaotic, lawful, good, evil)
Weapons/armor
Hit points (HP)
How do you actually play?

You roll dice to see if you can successfully complete

actions-
From disguise checks, to singing checks, to hitting
an enemy
You act out characters actions- saying what they say,
explaining their mannerisms and movements, etc
There is a gridded mat that is used to show where
your location is in comparison to others during
battle.
What does this have to do with SLI?
A lot actually
While I play Dungeons and Dragons for fun, I can honestly
say it has helped me improve my leadership skills and
ability to collaborate with others.
So- what have I learned from D&D that applies to
leadership and teamwork?
 The 10 lessons, tips, and tricks
Dungeons and Dragons has taught
me about real world leadership and
teamwork.
1. Exploring different roles,
responsibilities, and methods of
leadership
2. The need for collaboration in
order to be successful
3. Needing a balanced party
4. You level up over time- be
patient!
5. The importance of communication!
6. The ability to think creatively
and on the spot.
7. You can only prepare so much-
and then you have to roll the dice
8. Any meeting, event, or moment
can be greatly improved with food.
9. Sometimes you fail- and thats OK
10. Your journey is continuous and
has no end.
Unconventional Leadership
In YOUR Life
Find your party (get in a group)...
Come together and discuss the following:

What makes a person a leader?

Is leadership something that can be quantified/measured? Why?
Do the roles/titles you wrote down at the beginning of this presentation give
others a full understanding of who you are, what youve learned, and the
impact youve had as a leader?
What are unconventional leadership experiences
that youve had in your life and what did you learn
from them?
Lets come back together

After having the chance to talk a bit- what are are

your thoughts, reflections, and new questions?
 How will you go beyond a title
or position?

How will you live as a leader

outside of structure?

How will you learn, grow, and

recognize opportunities as a
leader?
Questions?
Emma Hindman

Email - ehindman@luc.edu

Twitter - @drowsydreams

Loyola University Chicago - Higher Ed. Masters Program

Dominican University - Bachelors in Psychology