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 Features
Becoming a Stellar Games Industry Manager, Part 1: Building a Great Team
 With your help, team members need to “own” their jobs and be held responsible for finding the best ways to support each other and do excellent work. Multi-skilled team members should know what each role does, and should be able to cover at least one other person’s job if necessary. This kind of flexibility makes the team stronger and provides additional insurance for success.
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DON’T |
Change your leadership style according to the team’s needs |
Dismiss conflict as someone else’s fault – be sure you’re not the one to blame. |
Stress and support values established by the team |
Ignore issues that call for management intervention, either yours or those above you |
React positively to new and creative ideas, even if you don’t agree with them. During a brainstorming session, there are no “bad” ideas. |
Fall victim to the “not invented here” approach that kills new initiatives. |
Encourage individual and team learning at every stage of development |
Remove team members simply because they lack formal training |
If you’re a new leader joining an existing team, be prepared for caution and doubt mixed with hope and interest. To some extent, your ability to succeed depends on the previous leader’s standing and the reason for the leadership change, so it’s important for you to make a positive first impression. If the team you inherited has done well under a strong leadership, recognize that; if not, presume that the members hunger for reform. However, even if your predecessor was disliked and regarded as totally incompetent, or if the team is failing, don’t dwell on past faults or poor performance and don’t bash the departed. Demonstrate trustworthy behavior, promote team bonding and appear confident without being brash or egotistical. Refocus the team towards the goal – in essence make it clear that you’re all going forward from here together.
Things to Avoid
- Especially if you’re working for a major player in the entertainment industry, try not to get all “Hollywood” on everyone. You may be asked to work with voice talent, a famous writer or sports figure. Odds are pretty good that your team will be a little jealous, so don’t rub it in (too much, anyhow!) and don’t be condescending when introducing the celebrity to team members. Don’t turn into the Drooly Fan or the Geeky Gamer Person either. The celebrity probably doesn’t want to hear how many times you saw his most famous movie or how you modeled your Level 70 Dark Elf after his famous fantasy character. Be professional! Management will appreciate it and so will your team.
- Don’t play favorites with team members. There will be some you like better than others -- that’s natural -- but your job is to make the best product in the shortest time for the least amount of money. Keep the drama to a minimum and get things out in the open the minute as quickly as possible. Festering problems turn into major issues that can stop production dead in its tracks. There’s an old game master adage, “If you can’t be fair, be arbitrary.” That works when you’re programming the AI for the final boss but not when you’re the team leader. Be fair, be consistent, be flexible.
- Having fun is important but all play and no work means the game doesn’t ship and none of you will have jobs. Know when it’s time for a party and when it’s time for the team to push on through the night.
- A few words about crunch time: do everything you can to avoid it. According to the IGDA, “In the short term, working over 21 hours continuously is equivalent to being legally drunk.” Crunch time is one of those odd status symbols in our industry that everyone has probably gone through at least once (or knows someone who knows someone who…) People brag about surviving it and in some cases, have come to believe it’s a necessary evil. Can it be avoided? Not totally. Is it fun? Not hardly. There is little or no romance about being stuck in the office for several days with your co-workers, without benefit of showers or any contact with the outside world except for the pizza delivery guy. While crunch time appears to increase productivity, it’s really an extremely expensive way to get the work done.
Points to Remember
- A team is crucial if you want to survive to enjoy all the work you’ve done!
- Take the time to gather the best people you can
- Make sure everyone is committed to the team’s goal and willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen
- Be sure each team member can cover the job of at least one other person
- Encourage your team to take responsibility for their jobs and reward their initiative
- Create a positive energized work environment
- Be accessible and flexible
- Keep it real!
In part two, we'll discuss managing your dream team!
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