(Warning: These thoughts are based on my experience and I will attempt to never assert anything I write as fact. Many of these ideas may be in contradiction to the practices of successful teams. I believe every team needs to find its style of work to be most productive. These are simply my thoughts based on previous experience.)
Production is a balancing act. I find myself walking a fine line between guiding work in a specific direction and ensuring people have the freedom to work on what they desire. Without autonomy, I easily lose interest in my work, and I believe this is true for most individuals. However, without some traffic direction, autonomous work among many may not coalesce into a cohesive whole. There exists a continuous struggle to find balance as a Producer. It is easy to become what people call a “micro-manager” by planning out all the details of a project and how it should be accomplished. I believe this hurts a team by not providing people creative freedom to do their job. On the other hand, it is easy to not manage at all, resulting in ideas that never form into a final product. Therefore, I try to walk a fine line between these two extremes. I attempt to give team members the freedom to work as they see fit, but I sometimes encourage they work in a specific direction.
Since I am writing about people, here are three priorities I follow in Production.
- My first priority is always the safety, health, and happiness of my team members. I care about each individual on my team, and I want to see them succeed. The moment team members become tools for getting a task done, their maximum potential is lost. There is no reason for them to respect a Producer who treats them as such and no reason for them to care about what he/she says. It is important to invest in human beings and take interest in their success.
- I want to give my team members whatever they need to succeed. Maybe that means I have to connect them with the right individual to answer their questions. It could mean I need to hold a meeting so that ideas and intent are fully communicated. Maybe I cancel a meeting so they can get work done. At the very least, I should start bringing donuts and Nerf guns to team meetings. Whatever my team needs to succeed, it is my job to make sure they have it.
- I must meet a production schedule on time, within budget, and at the promised level of quality. If I take care of my first two priorities, this third is usually much easier to accomplish. Future posts will cover some thoughts I have on project management techniques.
I believe Production is first and foremost about people. When a manager does not care about the members on his/her team, they will lose the amazing talent that team has for creating enthralling game experiences.