Caring Your Way to Success in Leadership

Fond Memories and Not-so-Fond Memories

My time in games has been marked by a lot of managers. When I was at EA, we used to joke that, if you didn’t like your boss, you just needed to wait a month and you’ll have a new one. Such are the dynamics of the industry.

Like it or not, we are a product of our past leaders, good and bad. Sadly, too many software companies don’t invest time into leadership training. Companies often promote individual contributors into leadership roles without ascertaining whether or not that’s the right fit for them. Too many leaders lack the skills and decorum to be great. Ultimately, it’s up to each individual to pursue leadership growth for themselves. I’ve had good bosses and utterly horrible bosses. I remember them all with varying degrees of fondness.

When people ask me who my favorite was, I always mention the two I was most fond of. Both of these leaders put the team before themselves and were genuinely kind people. More than anything else, they focused on the accomplishments of the team over the individual. Before anyone asks if their approach yielded good results, I can assure you that the teams they led were the most successful I have ever worked with. Product output was on time, on budget and profitable. Moreover, those team members went on to be successful leaders themselves, passing on the values they learned.

Conversely, I have had a handful of very bad bosses. These were people who were arrogant, self-aggrandizing, political micro managers, who tended to recognize those on the team who got the job done at any cost. And usually that cost involved disparaging other team members rather than focusing on their own achievements. The output of this was a team divided unto itself and the results showed. These leaders usually ended up with failed products and their inevitable end was to be shown the door. I couldn’t blame them, though. They were simply the product of their past leaders.

So, now that we have disproved the theory that leaders have to be pushy and cruel to get the job done, let’s explore activities that can make you an effective, and beloved leader.

The “No Assholes” Rule

When I worked on the FarmVille leadership team, we had an amazing level of camaraderie and trust. It was one of those rare groups where everyone got along and the rest of the team reflected our behaviors. We all agreed that we would always maintain a “no assholes” rule: we would treat each other with respect and manners and expect the same from our teams. I will always look upon that time in my career with great fondness. I am still good friends with several of those people today.

Let me be honest with you. I’m not sitting here writing this because I was an instinctively effective leader. I never just just “got it” from the get-go. I am pretty sure there is a string of former employees out there who would have very few positive things to say about me, and they would be right. I’ve made a lot of mistakes as a leader, but I’ve learned from each one of them. It’s taken me a long time to learn this rule, but the output of my team and their morale has been worth every second of my time. I’m now at a point in my leadership career where I feel comfortable sharing my lessons with you.

Set Yourself Up For Success

• Learn from the best (you know who they are) — Remember high school? Like me, you probably had some teachers you remember with great fondness. They were probably people who took the time to understand the adolescent human condition and made you feel valued. Now think about your career. Do you have a boss or a leader within your organization you look at the same way? Think about what they do that engenders loyalty and do the same. Better yet, ask them to mentor you. Meet with them regularly (weekly, monthly, whatever works for them) and allow them to pass their wisdom along to you.
• Humble yourself to learning — Good leaders, even very experienced ones, know that learning is a lifelong endeavor. There are a ton of leadership courses and books out there written by the greats. Do some research and pick one (or two, or three). At a more local level, seek feedback from your team. I used to conduct anonymous surveys of my team, soliciting feedback on my performance and used it as a jumping off point for my quarterly goals. If you are comfortable doing this, or having someone do it for you, the benefits are astronomical. If nothing else, it signals to your team that you really care about their input.
• Keep a light touch on the helm — I enjoy a good naval metaphor and this is my favorite. Good sailors know they don’t need to constantly correct their steering to stay on course. Similarly, great leaders know they don’t have to micromanage their team, if they have the right systems in place. This is where I have found Agile practices to be incredibly useful. An effective leader sets the team’s course at the beginning of the sprint and only needs to watch as the team drives itself. And there’s always the daily standup to ask questions or weigh in an opinion. That’s all you need!

• Praise more than you criticize — People tend to remember criticism more than praise, so don’t be shy about heaping it on with sincerity. Keep a weather eye on your team’s accomplishments and be quick to commend a job well done. If you conduct one-on-ones with your team (and you really should), take some time to go over their achievements and thank them for their work. Remember, human decency costs nothing.
• Keep your promises — If you’re dangling the carrot of promotion or compensation, make sure you follow through. Treat these promises like verbal contracts. Don’t let your team down or they will very quickly lose trust in you. Do what you say you’re going to do. If you can’t because of factors outside your control, or their performance, let them know as soon as possible so the situation can be rectified.
• Remember people have lives outside of work — Once upon a time, we were all single twenty somethings and our jobs were the center of our universe. Nowadays, more and more software teams include staff who have families and commitments outside of the workplace. Sometimes these things are more important than the job itself (gasp!). Be understanding. If someone needs to be home for a sick kid, to take care of an elderly parent or for some other unforeseen circumstance, give them the grace to take the time they need and feel okay about it. Today’s cloud-based technologies mean that working from home or offsite once in a while is completely do-able. Be there for them when they need support. Remember, they spend more waking hours with you than just about anyone else!
• The team over the individual — This one is controversial, but bear with me here. Companies that reward individual performance alone create an environment where unhealthy competition can breed. Many people find it a lot easier to bring someone else down than to achieve something by themselves. I have been a part of teams with toxic environments like this. Not only were they horrible and exhausting, they actually got very little done. Team members were more obsessed with one-upping each other than building a better product. When you make the team’s accomplishments a priority, that creates an environment where people will support each other, praise each other and inevitably, celebrate their successes with each other. Doesn’t that sound like a great work environment?

Let me leave you with this: it’s easy for a leader to be a hard ass and get the job done. You can get your team to perform that way and you can accomplish your immediate goals. But is that how you want to be remembered? Our industry is smaller than you think and inevitably people know someone who knows you. Abusive leaders eventually find it difficult to get a good job over time. Conversely, great leaders leave a legacy that persists long after their work life is behind them.

How do you want to be remembered?

Look for my upcoming book on Leadership in the Game Industry to be published in the summer of 2019. Subscribe to my blog for weekly updates: https://medium.com/total-kinetic and check out my website to learn more about my services: https://www.totalkinetic.com/.