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Raise the Bar
Custom Coaching Game
Context
Nike challenged us to reimagine leadership training for their 2025 Coach Conferences: how could we prepare 600 people leaders to handle real team challenges with practical skills they could use straight away?
Our answer was Raise the Bar — a board game where Nike leaders took on real-world coaching scenarios, made high-stakes decisions, and practised giving feedback, supporting team members, and managing tricky situations, all in a fast-paced, competitive setting.
Objectives
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Develop Coaching Skills: Equip Nike’s people leaders with the skills to support, guide, and grow their teams.
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Enable Real-World Application: Create a space where leaders practise these skills through realistic day-to-day scenarios
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Ensure Scalable Engagement: Deliver a solution that engages up to 150 participants per conference in a high-energy, interactive setting.
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Make Learning Memorable: Use a hands-on board game format to ensure learning is impactful, competitive, and fun.
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Foster Peer Learning: Strengthen leadership skills by having participants solve challenges and share insights together in teams.
Format
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In-person board game experience
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Delivered at 4 Nike Coach Conferences in 2025
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150 leaders per session, playing in teams of 5
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Over 600+ Nike leaders participated in total
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2 hours per board game
Activity description
Stepping into the
Coach Role
Nike leaders were grouped into teams and introduced to the Raise the Bar board game. Each participant became a “coach” responsible for leading their own team of athletes through a slew of workplace scenarios.
The board’s design mimicked real Nike dynamics — from onboarding new talent to handling promotions and team changes — making the learning experience instantly relatable.
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Facing Real
Coaching Scenarios
Throughout the game, players encountered event cards that reflected day-to-day leadership moments — managing absences, resolving conflicts, celebrating team wins, or navigating hiring freezes.
Teams also drew challenge cards and answered multiple-choice questions, requiring them to apply Nike’s coaching frameworks to solve problems, make decisions, and demonstrate strong leadership under pressure.
Learning That Sticks
Teams earned “high-fives” for effective coaching, teamwork, and use of the right tools. Each challenge helped participants reflect on what worked, apply strategies, and connect lessons back to their own leadership roles at Nike. By the end, leaders left with real-world experience, practical tools, and renewed confidence to raise the bar with their own teams.
Rated 4.7 out of 5 — one of the highest scores of the conference — Raise the Bar proved that hands-on, team-based learning delivers real impact.
