The key to leading a successful game development team

Any game developer will say that the role is an incredibly varied and exciting one, despite the stresses and challenges it may bring. For me, in addition to developing new features, creating unit tests, fixing bugs and building new versions of the app, I’m also proud to lead an amazing team of four.

Whilst we’re based in different corners of the world, we’ve got a real sense of openness and transparency, where there’s no such thing as a silly question, and catching up on life is just as important as catching up on work! 

Creating a strong culture was extremely important to me when it came to building a team. Having worked in the industry for around 20 years, with small-scale start-ups and global brands, I’ve experienced first-hand what a positive team culture should, and shouldn’t, be. 

To lead a successful team of developers, the most important factor is building a culture of trust and open communication. This manifests in a number of ways:

Taking a people-first approach

Being people-first is also one of Product Madness’ guiding principles, and one that I strive to implement in my day to day, whether that’s ensuring my team can work flexibly, or being there when life gets complicated.

Some days the perfect storm appears like a twister, and puts us under more pressure than usual. We had one instance recently where we had to deliver a task and fix a bug, but someone was ill. Of course, that person was told to take time off to recover, and the team stepped up to deliver. 

I took over the critical bug, and helped the team re-prioritise their tasks to meet the other deadline, which resulted in delivery as per our usual high standard, without burning out. 

Expanding conversations beyond bugs and beta-tests

Each day, we meet virtually to check in on work and life. Every individual has the opportunity to share new ideas, concerns, and feedback, without judgement. However, this is paired with regular one-on-one meetings where more sensitive or serious matters can be discussed. 

Driving empowerment and ownership

A good leader wants their team to take pride in their work, deliver their tasks in the best way, and get creative! 

To achieve this, delegation can’t be done as a blanket approach; it needs to be changed according to each individual, their skillset, and levels of experience. For someone taking on a task for the first time, a leader needs to offer more support and input, gradually becoming more ‘hands off’ as their confidence and competency increases. 
 
In our team, suggestions are always taken onboard and shared with relevant stakeholders - regardless of that person's level of seniority. This makes them feel more empowered, and offers exposure to more senior people in the business, which is key for fostering growth and confidence.

Learning from mistakes

Whilst quality will always be a priority, mistakes, bugs and errors are just par for the course when it comes to game and app development. It’s important that these are seen as a learning opportunity, and not something to be afraid of. 

It’s my job to ensure that there is no fear of failure; that my team can approach me when they make a mistake and that I’m open about my own!

People leaders can only shine when their team members do, and it’s only through creating an open, transparent and collaborative team culture that they achieve it. Whilst I’ve worked on numerous exciting projects, and reached many key milestones, my biggest success in my time at Product Madness is my team. Seeing them go from strength to strength has genuinely been amazing. 

The work that we do each day is so impactful, bringing joy to the lives of thousands of players. In the six years that Lightning Link was launched, we’ve:

• Onboarded an extremely talented team, which currently stands at 70 people
• Reached over 38m downloads
• Developed 158 special ‘seasons’ filled with themed levels and quests 

None of which would have been possible without the work of my, and the wider Lightning Link, team. Thank you all for building our amazing culture.