Both matter. A person may know how to get an answer and still need practice deciding whether to act on it.
Learn to use the tool
Tool training can help people write useful instructions, use approved systems and protect information. They learn what the tool can do and how to use it in their role.
Practise the decisions
Business decision practice asks different questions. What should you check before approving this recommendation? What has the summary left out? What may the AI agent do alone? Who should decide when a case falls outside its limits?
These questions connect the tool to work that affects other people.
| Tool skills | Decision practice |
|---|---|
| Ask AI to draft a report. | Check whether the report supports the decision. |
| Ask AI to compare suppliers. | Decide which evidence matters for your business. |
| Set up an automated customer workflow. | Decide permissions, exception handling and responsibility. |
| Use AI to create several plans. | Choose a plan, name the risks and set a review point. |
Tool training has clear value. Decision practice adds to it. It does not replace it.
Where StepSim fits
StepSim is a business simulator: an online exercise where you take a work role, review information and make decisions. It gives managers realistic decisions to make, feedback on the case and a record to discuss with a trainer.
You can run a StepSim session on its own or include it in your trainer's programme. You do not need to complete a separate course before playing.
The session helps the team practise and discuss how it works. Certification is a separate route, with assessment missions the participant has not seen.
Why feedback matters
A review of 335 employee samples found that leadership training improved how people applied their learning at work. Feedback was one of the features linked with better application. This supports including feedback and discussion in a learning experience. It does not measure the effect of a StepSim session. Read the review.
Read next
- What happens in a StepSim team session
- Compare practice and certification
- Why AI skills now include business decisions
- For trainers: bring StepSim to your clients
Sources
- Lacerenza, Reyes, Marlow, Joseph and Salas (2017). Leadership training design, delivery and implementation: a meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology 102(12):1686–1718. PDF.