2001
The Zen of Solving Management
Issues
(Part 3 in the You're Not A Camp Counselor Series)
by Marc Mencher
To learn more about this series of
articles, click here.
If you missed Part 1, Creating a Cooperative
Work Environment, click here.
If you missed Part 2, The ABCs of Running a
Development Project, click here.
"Zen finds its source in the
experience of Shakyamuni Buddha, who, two thousand five hundred years
ago, while sitting in zazen posture, achieved awakening. This zazen
practice contains the essence of his teaching, which carries a message
of universal import: Zazen is nothing other than the return to the
normal condition of body and mind."
-- From the Association of Taisen
Deshimaru
"Game Industry Zen finds its
source in the experience of The Manager, who, two hours ago, while
pounding the Mountain Dew, alleviated conflict, achieved team unity,
and kept the development project on track. Game Industry Zen is
nothing other than making management issues less destructive and more
manageable while keeping the project on budget and with the creative
integrity it deserves."
Ommmmmmm.
Introductzen
As the pace of business and technology
incorporation continues to quicken, the opportunity for management
problems continues to multiply. Technological advances and their
incorporation can cause an avalanche of change. And change brings fear,
uncertainty, and discomfort for most people. Enter management problems.
Management problems, it should be noted,
are not always a bad thing. In fact, properly handled, they can be
beneficial. Properly solving issues can actually increase your teams
motivation, cohesiveness, creativity, and incentive for growth.
Learning how to handle management issues
is essential as your role as a Manager. It will largely influence how
successful you will be in your career and in reaching your goal of
creating a cooperative work environment.
Different types of management issues
involve different strategies for solution. It is helpful to identify the
type of issues you are dealing with, this way you can take deliberate
steps to modify, manage emotions, prevent escalation of the issue and at
the same time maintain group cohesiveness.
Let's categorize management issues into Day
to Day Issues, People Problem Stage, and Overt Conflict
Stage.
Day to Day Issues
(or Losin' the Mellow):
Although low in intensity, day to day
issues are those general problems we all face when trying to work with a
diverse teams of creative people who all have differences in values,
needs, personality, coping skills, etc. Day to Day Issues can be as
seemingly benign as Artist Betty is allergic to Animator Joe's cologne,
or, perhaps, you're creative team doesn't wake until noon, but meetings
are scheduled at 9am. As a supervisor, you know you are dealing with day
to day issues when you observe that team members involved are focused on
the issue itself, not the personalities of the people involved.
Listening and participation is essential
at this stage. Focus the participants involved in a common direction. Be
aware that minor issues can create a negative undercurrent and, if not
addressed, could cause future complications, possibly jeopardizing your
game development project.
Here are some strategies for solving day
to day issues:
- Actively Solicit Problem-Solving
Suggestions. When an employee brings you a situation, try to
involve that person in the resolution. Ask for suggestions on ways
to cure the problem or prevent it again. By making your team members
become a partner in finding solutions, you promote the teamwork and
cooperative work environment you want to cultivate within your
group.
- Seek Out Bad News. Huh?
Actively seek out bad news? Yes. You could be limiting your
effectiveness as a manager by not being in the habit of
"looking" for problems. It's a proactive stance to
habitually seek out and help gain resolution on minor issues. In
addition to preventing minor issues from blowing up into a crisis,
by seeking out bad news you engender open communication within your
group. When employees realize that you want to know about bad
news and that you won't react but, rather, coach them through the
problem, communication is strengthened.
- Coach Diplomatically. Naturally,
how you go about dealing with bad news will largely influence how
successful you will be in gaining your team's confidence. Allow
people to be honest. Allow them to share their work struggles or
obstacles. When problems arise deal with them honestly and fairly.
Go for some form of consensus solution if it involves the group.
Encourage your team to think on their own and work together to
navigate through issues.
- Know When to Get Involved.
Leadership in a game company requires a balancing act, knowing when
to get involved or when to step aside and allow your team leads or
employees to solve problems without your guidance. This article is
not advocating that you relinquish your management responsibilities.
Rather, we are suggesting that you balance management control
against employee empowerment. As a supervisor, you need to maintain
oversight and guidance in order to keep your project on track and
the creative integrity of your project in line.
Be A Leader. A consensus or
coaching style of management is not always possible or even desirable
in all management situations. What matters most is ensuring that your
team feels expressed. Ultimately, every suggestion can't and won't be
implemented. You, as the supervisor, are responsible for the final
decision, so you don't need to sweat the teamwork angle.
Employees usually don't want to be
decision-makers. They expect that their boss will make final decisions.
You're not giving away decision making ability by fostering a
cooperative work environment. Rather, you're empowering your authority.
Employees accept changes they may not agree with as long as they know
that they contributed to the decision making process.
People Problem Stage (or Entering the Zen
Challenged Zone):
When team members are more personally
invested in an issue you're most likely in People Problem Stage. In
short, people are the problem here. Perhaps one your programmer works
all night and is rarely seen during the day. Team "why is he so
special?" resentment may be growing. Perhaps your lead assigned one
background and the artist did six, many off the creative path of the
project. Saving face and self-interest becomes important. People sound
emotional around the issue. You notice words like "they" and
comments like "everyone", words of exaggeration like
"always" and "never". You hear put-downs and
sarcasm. You detect a cover-your-butt attitude.
Management issues are more complex in
this stage. It is very important that as a manager you do your best to
get resolution. While you could avoid dealing with Day to Day Issues, it
is death to your development project if you choose to ignore the People
Problem Stage. Conflict escalates. As people want to be right and win,
they can easily lose sight of the big picture.
Here are some strategies for dealing with
People Problems:
- Investigate the Issue. Get
clear on the facts of the issues you are dealing with. People are
more emotional at this stage so you will feel more like a therapist
as you patiently listen to each and every person involved in the
issue. These initial meetings should be one-on-one. You need to be
conscious about not taking sides. You need to filter out the
"what really happened" from the "story" each
person has created in his or her mind.
- Allow for Free Expression. We
all want to be heard. Sometimes we need to vent our frustrations.
Don't judge, don't be critical, and don't offer your opinions. Allow
the people involved to individually vent their feelings to you. The
level of emotional reaction will be reduced greatly when people feel
heard and understood.
- Have a Meeting. After you have
individually met with each person involved in the issue, and feel
you have an understanding of the facts (not the story), have a
meeting with all involved. Create a safe environment for this
meeting. Make it as informal as you can. Be in control by leading
the discussion. Have an agenda for resolution in mind but try to get
your team members to form their own solutions to the issue. Point
out directly when you feel people are taking the facts of the issue
and personalizing or creating story from them.
- Coach with Authority. Be hard
on the facts, while soft on the people involved. Suggest
alternatives you feel everyone can live with if you can't easily get
the members themselves to jointly solve the problem. Find where the
parties agree and work from this "middle ground" to create
solutions.
Overt Conflict Stage (or Zen This You
Piece of Crap Stage):
You know you are in Overt Conflict Stage
when team members are focused on being right and wronging others. This
is the hostile encounter and antagonistic state. Programmer Bob refuses
to work with Programmer Scott "because he never finishes his code
assignments on time and when he does get it in, I have to correct his
piece of crap work." People choose sides on the issue. A leader may
emerge from the group who acts as spokesperson. Positions are polarized.
Small factions evolve. You have a serious problem. Your team is caught
up on an issue not focused on the long-term goal of creating a killer
game. You must step in at this stage and re-direct the team members. You
are in negotiation and arbitration mode now.
Divide and Conquer. Logic and
reason are not very effective when you're in Overt Conflict Stage.
Team members are too emotionally invested. You need to prepare
yourself for an arbitration process with the conflicting team members.
Determine which team members are at a lower stage of conflict (People
Problem Stage or Day to Day Issues), re-direct their work plate and
get them out of the issue focused on their job. Once you have the core
group of individuals who seem most invested in the issue, a mini
arbitration meeting should be set. Inform all involved that you
expect each team member to have formulated at least one option for
gaining issue resolution. This is a time for you as a manager to
refocus yourself on your development project and the direction and
goals of your team.
Mediate with the Core Group.
Get the core group in a room so the issue can be spoken about freely
and openly. If you doubt your ability to mediate, consider asking your
direct supervisor to lend a hand in the process. Don't feel this shows
you are a weak manager. Actually, this is an opportunity to work with
your direct supervisor and solidify the relationship you have with
this person. Before the arbitration, inform your supervisor what the
issue is that you are trying to resolve and ask that they only jump in
if things get out of control. You want to maintain your authority with
your team, but at the same time you may need some mediation coaching.
Back to Zen
Obviously, we can't resolve all
management issues the way we may like. Don't allow management issues
however to drag down your game development project. Hone your skills in
dealing with conflict and issue resolution. Books like Managing
for Results by Peter Drucker, The
One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard, and Leadership
is an Art by Max Du Pree are excellent books that will
help you plan for and address management issues. Making management
issues less destructive and more manageable is paramount for developing
a game on time, staying within budget, ensuring creative integrity, and
maintaining your management Zen.
Bio
Marc Mencher
is a software engineer by training and worked for game companies like
Spectrum Holobyte and 3DO, before joining
GameRecruiter. You can
contact Marc directly at
marc@GameRecruiter.com
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