Team Management Skills

To Make Better Games

SessionⅡ

Game Development Seminar

Team Management Skills

WOLFGANG HAMANNRadical Entertainment


What We Will Learn

Finding your own personal management style

Hire “Character” not just “Skills”Developing Core Values for your

company and your teamRetaining your best employeesYou can never have enough “Soft Skills”The importance of team and company

building skills


Two Short Movies

Movie #1: – Team management in the video game

industry is like managing a football team!

Movie #2:– How NOT to manage a team!


1. Determining Your Own Personal Management Style

Self Analysis– Determine

Your Personal Goals – are they in line with your company’s goals? Your team’s goals?

Does your company & team see you they way you see yourself?

Your strengths Your challenges Improve your strengths/shore up your

weaknesses


A B

Commander Facilitator

C D

Bureaucrat Entrepreneur

Directive Facilitative

Relational

Independent

Management Style Matrix


Management Style Matrix (cont’d)

Commander: “Captain Kirk of the Enterprise” Decisive, controlling, competitive, highly demanding,

perfectionist, confrontational, results oriented, power conscious, dominating.

Combine the directive interpersonal style with a strong relationships orientation. Commanders like being in control and thrive on using legitimate power to achieve excellent results.



Facilitator:

Characterized by people-pleasing, spontaneous, informal, sharing and participative, sensitive, accommodating,

non emotional, conflict-avoiding.

Are relational like commanders, but they prefer

to facilitate (guide, encourage, equip) team members

rather than to overtly direct them.



Bureaucrats:

Like to be: organized, efficient, politically

sensitive, closure-oriented, concern for routine, planner, formal, detached, information-focused, detail oriented.

Like to use formal, official policies and

procedures to efficiently direct ministry activities in a way that permits independent action and decision-making,

minimizing the need for group deliberation and group management. Bureaucrats favour orderly, routine

operations run "by the book."



Entrepreneurs: Characterized as: change-oriented, innovative,

persuasive, visionary, non traditional,

questioning, long term focus, experimental,

activist, controversial.

Prefer to operate independently of

organizational bureaucracy with an eye toward

facilitating change and innovation. They yearn to start projects with visions of making great games that no one has made before!



Which one are you?The best managers adapt to the situation

and use the right technique at the right

time or a combination of techniquesYou will not always succeedTakes time and a great deal of practise

and patience!


Situational Management

Effective managers manage the situation “Reading” the situation quickly is

importantFlexibility is importantListening is importantCommunicating effectively is important


Situational Management Examples

Simpsons:a) Communication problems

b) Team motivation problems

c) Conflict management problems

The Hulk:a) Conflict management problems

b) Team casting problems


Situational Management Examples (cont’d)

CSA – Critical Stage Analysis This process

a. Discovered these problems and others early

before they became major issues

b. Facilitated team input to solve these

problems

c. Acted as a “feed back loop” and team

building mechanism

d. Does away with Postmortems


2. Hire the Right Team Members

Important to have team members who are “self actualized”

Even when the going gets tough, team members with character will do whatever it takes to make the team successful

Important to have an extensive interviewing process

Both you and the prospective team member must have a clear and thorough understanding of each other before an offer is made


Hiring (cont’d)

If you can’t wait to hire the right team member, hire the best talent on contract to get the job done

And keep on looking until you find the right fit

It may cost a bit more in the short term but save you plenty in the long run


3. Developing Core Values

Important to have a company and team mission statement

Make sure these are “marketed” internally on a regular basis

Everyone must understand these Everyone must support theseThose that don’t should be encouraged to

“leave the ship”


Mission Statement Examples

Company:a) Work hardb) Have func) Balance personal life with workd) Respect each othere) Share your knowledge

Teama) Help your team mates become better artists,

programmers, designers…people!b) Make the best RPG game ever

Important to have participation in developing these from all relevant parties


4. Soft Skills

Such as Conflict Management, Time Management, etc..

These are not just for “managers”Internal and external courses to raise the

level of learning


5. Employee Retention

Is not about paying the most $$$$$It is about constantly getting feedback

about what your employees deem the most important

It is about making these changes in a positive way

You will not be able to make everyone happy all of the time

But it is important to show that you are trying


6. Company and Team Building

For your team and company to grow, they must grow together as a team and as a company

This means the company/team must grow as a “learning unit”

Important to set a unified directionImportant to have “buy in” from allIndividuals learning on their own is not

sufficient


Be A Team Player!

Game teams today are developed by

“teams” NOT “individuals” In order to have success your team

must have success! It is not a question of having

disagreements (disagreements are healthy!) But a question of how you resolve

those disagreements.


Team Player (cont’d)

A team member must effectively

manage: a) Themselves

b) Their team mates

c) Their boss!

A good technique is to treat everyone

…………….like your “boss” Even if you are “The Boss”!



Communication style is important Effective communication is made up of:

a) Listening

b) Understanding and

c) Speaking effectively

Feelings ARE important and should

always be dealt with first



Techniques for better communication

include:a. Blending - any behaviour by which you reduce

the differences between yourselves to find

common ground ie. “I understand you are also a

football fan!”

b. Backtrack – repeat what the other person said ie.

“in other words….”

c. Redirecting - any behaviour to change the direction of

the interaction to something positive

ie. From conflict to cooperation



Very Important!

Blend before you redirect



Five step action plan for better

communication:a) Blend verbally and non verbally

b) Backtrack some of the other person’s words

c) Clarify their meaning and intent

d) Summarize what you have heard

e) Confirm how the other person felt



Artists – Think differently than

Programmers who– Think differently than

Designers who – Think differently than

Sound artistsAll have their own language and ways of

communicating verbally and non verbally



To work better together, each should try

to learn each other’s language, style and

way of doing things


Famous Quote

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you will help them

become what they are capable of

becoming.” – - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe


Team Management Summary

In creating great games it is our job to help everyone we work with become the great person we know they can become

If we can do this successfully there is no telling what kind of great games we can develop


Finally

Great game concepts developed by great people in great teams make even better games!

To Make Better Games

SessionⅡ


Team Management Skills

WOLFGANG HAMANN

Project Manager/Manager Sound Depart

Thank You!

Team Management Skills

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Transcript of Team Management Skills