In 2021, I left my hometown behind to move to Denmark and work for Tactile as a Penny & Flo producer. I knew a lot about management already from my previous jobs, and I also was pretty deep in the mobile F2P industry but never worked in an international company or story-driven game. My previous studio was 45 people - the P&F team alone was 50. I knew that Tactile put some trust in me, and I paid back by putting all my efforts into impacting the company positively.
Looking back, with no hesitation, I can say I did. I worked with the most amazing teams (Penny & Flo, gameboard, Saga) and helped them to be the best versions of themselves, P&F has been nominated as the best live-ops game, I onboarded monday.com to introduce a better way of planning for story teams, served as an evangelist of knowledge-sharing with Tactile Workshops and series of Did-You-Know insights, I ensured smooth processes and applied Tactile values to every team I worked in. Of course, it wouldn't be possible without all my amazing teammates, and I'm grateful for working with them.
Today, I would like to share a few things that I learned during my work with these fantastic teams. Some of them are from my own experience, some are from the things I saw, and all are conclusions that I made subjectively so "opinions are my own".
Hopefully, this will be helpful for some of you:
1. Patience.
The number one lesson is the importance of patience. For all the hyper-drivers with a can-do attitude and urge to jump into action - learn to be patient. It's so versatile that it deserves a separate post, but still... When a new teammate is onboarding, be patient. When you try to delegate things, give other people time to pick things up. When you are pushing for a new initiative, give it time. And don't turn back on your ideas when they don't work from the first attempt - be patient. Building something (team, trust, new game, or studio) requires time and a lot of effort; it's like growing a plant - it does not tolerate rushing things. So play puzzles, sleep well, meditate - do whatever you need to always be able to control your cadences.
2. Different teams require different approaches.
WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT - one of the mantras that pierce through my life. One of the lamest things a producer can do is to fall for the law of the instrument, aka Golden Hammer: when you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail to you. I, of course, knew about different management techniques and different cultures, but here, I saw them in the trenches. Tactile has over 50 different nationalities, people of all possible ages from 20 to 65, all different backgrounds. You can't apply the same setup for them when you combine all those wonderful people in teams of various sizes and purposes. Yes, the general framework, i.e., Scrum, can be the same, but Details Matter (and that's one of the Tactile values, by the way). You must identify only parts that make sense for the team and apply everything that improves the process, leaving out everything that slows you down.
3. Always speak up.
Another Tactile value is that Everyone Counts. When you have something that bothers you, there is always a person (your team lead, your manager, people partner) who will hear you out. Sometimes, for different reasons, we don't believe that our problem will be solved, or we think we will get in trouble for speaking up. But without voicing the problem, no one will know that it bothers you and hence won't be able to help. So don't be silent.
4. Don't ignore issues of other projects.
If you occasionally figure out that something can be improved on a separate project, share that idea. We are all in the same boat, and keeping the good practices secret does not make sense. It's a collaboration, not a competition. If you ignore the problems of other projects or teams, they may eventually end up on your plate.
5. Don't lean entirely on team lead.
As a producer or project manager, you should trust your team lead. But remember that they are another team member who requires the same attention and care as others. Don't lean on your team lead to solve all the problems in their team. The team lead works together with you, not for you.
6. Your background matters.
Finally, use all the things you have learned until today. Any previous experience might be helpful, and I'm not just talking about work experience or connections. When I joined the team, I started to do short rap verses before the weekly report meetings to keep engagement and team spirit. It was a fun, slight touch that was much more impactful than I thought. So be yourself, and don't be afraid to be proactive.
