Case study

Leveling up leadership: how Just Eat Takeaway upskilled thousands through play

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leaders sharpened their skills through League of Leaders

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higher completion rate than the industry average for e-learning

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countries reached with this scalable, global solution

The project at a glance

What if you had to turn thousands of new managers into confident leaders— immediately?

Just Eat Takeaway (JET) experienced explosive global growth, expanding across 23 countries. But with rapid expansion came a major challenge: how to quickly and effectively upskill all of the new and aspiring leaders? JET needed a scalable solution that would unify leadership behaviors and equip managers to lead confidently in a fast-moving, international organization.

In collaboration with &ranj, JET developed League of Leaders—an award-winning, gamified, story-driven simulation that immerses leaders in realistic leadership scenarios, fostering growth through experimentation and play.

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Our process: from challenge to solution

Understanding the core challenge

 Just Eat Takeaway’s rise from a local Dutch platform to a global food delivery powerhouse wasn’t without its hurdles. Following acquisitions like Grubhub and Just Eat, the company’s workforce spread across 23 countries, bringing diverse cultures, teams, and challenges under one brand.

With such growth came the need for strong, aligned leadership across regions. New managers were stepping into leadership roles during intense periods of transition, facing:
  • Constant organizational change and uncertainty
  • High turnover and ambitious targets
  • Talented but inexperienced teams

JET collaborated with the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship (ECE) to define five essential leadership skills that would guide their managers through this complexity:

  1. Creating Connection Building relationships and fostering diverse perspectives
  2. Taking Initiative Embracing challenges and ambiguity
  3. Empowering People Motivating teams and delegating with intention
  4. Being Self-Aware Reflecting on performance and promoting growth
  5. Setting Direction Driving decisions and seeking continuous improvement

However, awareness alone wasn’t enough. JET approached &ranj to develop a practical, engaging way to upskill their leaders – one that resonated (and scaled) across cultures and levels of experience.

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Teaming up to create a scalable and engaging leadership experience

Believing that leadership development should be playful, memorable, and impactful—not just another classroom exercise—we worked closely with JET to reimagine leadership training as an active, immersive experience. One where leaders don’t just learn, but practice, experiment, reflect, and grow in a realistic, engaging environment.

Through hands-on, creative workshops, interviews, behavioral research, and prototyping, we brought the five essential leadership skills to life—turning them into interactive, real-world scenarios that immerse players in the leadership challenges they’ll face at JET.

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Our solution: League of Leaders, an immersive and interactive leadership training

In League of Leaders, players join a fictional organization tasked with guiding JET’s rising managers through complex leadership dilemmas. Guided by the ever-supportive Dr. D. Delivery - an in-game mentor providing insights and feedback— leaders engage in five interactive missions, each mirroring the types of real-life scenarios JET managers face.

Set in The Leadership – a vibrant, animated headquarters reminiscent of Inside Out – players tackle dilemmas such as:

  • Managing tight deadlines with newly merged teams
  • Resolving interpersonal conflicts while balancing team goals

No decision is black and white. Players must weigh options, experiment with different leadership styles, and see the real-time consequences of their choices. After each mission, Dr. D. Delivery provides personalized feedback – reinforcing positive actions and highlighting areas for growth.

ECE’s behavioral research directly informed the leadership dilemmas designed into the missions, ensuring alignment with JET’s organizational needs.

Through trial, failure, and iteration, players grow more confident in their leadership skills, equipped to apply these lessons directly to their roles at JET.

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Our design choices powering leadership growth

  • Feedback is key: We refined our feedback model, drawing from learning theory to ensure it was timely, relevant, and actionable. Leaders learn not just what they did right – but why their decisions matter. This ensures impact even if the game is played only once.

  • Balancing realism and play: One challenge was crafting scenarios that felt recognizable yet efficient. We struck a balance between authentic dialogue and simplified decision-making to keep players engaged without sacrificing depth.

  • Representation and inclusivity: The game was carefully designed to reflect JET’s diverse workforce, ensuring players from all backgrounds feel represented. Inclusivity isn’t just an afterthought – it’s embedded in the game’s DNA.

  • Tailored to JET’s voice: From tone to visual design, every aspect of the game reflects JET’s company culture and leadership style, ensuring learners feel connected to the experience.
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The impact

Leadership development that delivers real results

The League of Leaders game has already made significant strides in strengthening leadership across Just Eat Takeaway’s global network. Some of the key results are:

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+2000 leaders trained

More than 2,000 leaders have actively engaged with the program, developing essential leadership skills through immersive learning.

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Scaled to 23 countries

The game has been successfully rolled out across 23 countries, ensuring a consistent leadership training experience worldwide.

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High completion rates

37% of players completed all content—far exceeding the 5-15% average for self-paced courses, proving the game’s engaging and effective design.

The success of League of Leaders didn’t go unnoticed. The project was honored with a prestigious Gold Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Award in Learning and Development – recognizing it as a standout solution for innovative leadership upskilling.
 
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Where we are now

Continuing the leadership growth at JET

League of Leaders continues to evolve as Just Eat Takeaway grows, remaining a core pillar of leadership development. As JET expands, the game ensures that new and aspiring managers gain the skills, confidence, and adaptability they need to lead effectively in a fast-moving organization.

With thousands of leaders trained and engagement rates far exceeding traditional e-learning, League of Leaders has become more than a training tool—it’s a long-term investment in JET’s leadership culture.

JET has also set a new benchmark for scalable leadership development, proving that interactive learning isn’t just the future—it’s transforming leadership training today.

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Services we provided:

  • Simulation design and development
  • Interactive scenario development
  • Media asset creation

Want to see higher completion rates in leadership training? Let’s explore developing a game-changing learning experience together.

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