Ep. 124  From Simulation to Success: Why Gamified Learning Builds Better Leaders with Matthew Confer episode artwork

EPISODE · Nov 12, 2025 · 21 MIN

Ep. 124 From Simulation to Success: Why Gamified Learning Builds Better Leaders with Matthew Confer

from Business Growth Spotlight · host Heidi Schalk

Show Notes:In this episode of The Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Matthew Confer, Head of Strategy at Abilitie, an experiential learning company transforming leadership development through simulation-based, gamified learning experiences.Matthew shares how Abilitie is redefining leadership training—moving beyond traditional lectures and workshops to create immersive, simulated environments that challenge leaders to make real-time decisions, manage teams, and build business acumen.From their innovative use of AI-driven roleplay to their rapid global expansion across 50 countries, Matthew reveals how Abilitie helps companies build stronger leaders, retain top talent, and future-proof their organizations for a new era of learning.Key Takeaways:Why experiential, gamified learning is more effective than traditional training.The four essential leadership skills every emerging leader must master.How Abilitie scaled from 8 employees to a global team driving growth in over 50 countries.How AI is enhancing—not replacing—human connection in leadership development.The biggest challenges companies face in scaling leadership training—and how to solve them.Bio: Matthew Confer is the Vice President of Strategy at Abilitie, a Leadership Development company based in Austin, Texas that has worked with over 100,000 leaders around the world. Matthew has spoken on the topic of decision making at the TEDx Conference with a talk entitled Before You Decide that has been viewed over 1 million times. He also hosts the Learn To Lead Podcast.To connect with our guest, click on the links below:LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewconfer/Website:  Abilitie - Leadership Development Powered by PracticeCheck out the Learn to Lead Podcast:  Learn to Lead - Podcast - Apple PodcastsConnect with me:🎁Spotlight to Scale:  Spotlight to Scale BlueprintLinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/

Show Notes: In this episode of The Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Matthew Confer, Head of Strategy at Abilitie, an experiential learning company transforming leadership development through simulation-based, gamified learning experiences. Matthew shares how Abilitie is redefining leadership training—moving beyond traditional lectures and workshops to create immersive, simulated environments that challenge leaders to make real-time decisions, manage teams, and build...

NOW PLAYING

Ep. 124 From Simulation to Success: Why Gamified Learning Builds Better Leaders with Matthew Confer

0:00 21:24

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

The Small Business Startup School – Business Notes | Financial Literacy | Retail Psychology – For Professionals & Entrepreneurs The Small Business Startup School Inc. Starting or buying a small business? While personal circumstances may vary, business patterns remain timeless. On The Small Business Startup School, we explore strategies, insights, and practical solutions to help entrepreneurs confidently navigate their journey.Hosted by Ola Williams—a retail entrepreneur, fintech founder, and financial coach with over two decades of experience—this podcast marries financial awareness and retail psychology with optimism to deliver actionable takeaways.Join us to learn, grow, and connect as we uncover the keys to business success.Let’s continue to learn together and be encouraged to keep on connecting! LIGHTS, CAMERA, SMILE! Creatives Club Media Lights, Camera, Smile, is a podcast for anyone with a dream to share something with the world, out of the overflow of themselves - be it their mind, their heart, their personalities, and much more. Each of us are alive in this moment in time, with an innate ability to have ideas and create various things to benefit both ourselves and the people around us for a reason, and here, you will find the encouragement, the inspiration, and the motivation to do just that. Hosted by Cicily, founder of Creatives Club, she dives into various topics surrounding creativity and business. Exploring entrepreneurship for creatives in a corporate reality, sharing tips and tricks in a media centered company, answering questions regarding what a creative actually is are just a few of the things discussed on this podcast. Be encouraged to create for yourself as Cicily gets vulnerable by pivoting the camera to herself for the first time.To submit questions for Cicily to answer, or have her address certain t Solving for Change MOBIA Technology Innovations Solving for Change welcomes business and technology leaders to share stories of bold business transformation within complex organizations. In an era when technology and markets are changing around businesses, the key to staying competitive is to evolve in response to those changes.  MOBIA’s Mike Reeves and Marc LeBlanc investigate business transformation, deconstructing the challenges, ambitions, and market disruptions that drive companies to embark on transformation journeys, and exploring their unique approaches to achieving meaningful outcomes.  What sparks leaders to pursue business transformation? How do they overcome the challenges along the way? What are the keys to creating enduring change?  Through in-depth conversations with business and technology leaders, Mike and Marc answer these questions and explore how businesses evolve by pulling four key transformation levers: people, process, technology, and culture. The Lee Olsen Show Lee Olsen CJF I want to help you improve all areas of your life by 3 types of podcasts!👉Blood, Sweat & Blessings-Interviews of normal people that have achieved BIG things!👉Series!!! For Love of the Horse- Brad Jackman DVM & Lee Olsen CJF, how to help your horse!👉Business Tips- Proven Life Changing Business Strategies with Lee Olsen

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Business Growth Spotlight?

This episode is 21 minutes long.

When was this Business Growth Spotlight episode published?

This episode was published on November 12, 2025.

What is this episode about?

Show Notes:In this episode of The Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Matthew Confer, Head of Strategy at Abilitie, an experiential learning company transforming leadership development through simulation-based, gamified...

Can I download this Business Growth Spotlight episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!