Games Leadership Network exists because when Melissa Phillips needed support and guidance on how best to develop her burgeoning leadership skills, there was nowhere for her to turn.
Like many game industry leaders before and since, Phillips found herself promoted into a senior management role with no training and no opportunity to learn from the best practices – and the biggest mistakes – of her peers.
That's why two years ago she established and now leads the Games Leadership Academy. Through bespoke training, coaching, and networking, it equips managers of all types and stripes in the game industry with the tools and skills they need not only to bring out the best in themselves but in their teams, too.
With almost 20 years of experience to draw upon – including a complementary background in psychology – Phillips has essentially seen and heard it all. That's why we sat down with her to talk about the evolution of mentorship, why we should refresh outdated ideals about what being a mentor – or, indeed, a mentee – is all about… and why it starts with collaborative and empathic leadership.
"I do think that some of the power dynamics that we have in the games industry are one of the reasons that we [have] the problems that we do," Phillips says. "The time of the auteur is dead, and it's like these creatives are untouchable, as if, somehow, they make the game all on their own. Absolutely not!
"We should be talking about facilitating teams. How does this team work together? Let's talk about what we want as a collective versus what I want. And let's talk about those differences. I don't think enough of that happens."
Consequently, Phillips sees mentorship as a collaborative process rather than a top-heavy relationship, where instead of reinforcing already rigid positions of power and powerlessness – positions that are often mirrored in society and emphasise gender, disability, and racial inequality – mentors and mentees meet in the middle in a position of trust and transparency.
"There's a lot to be learned from mentorship, and a lot to be learned from challenging what that traditional mentorship status looks like," Phillips explains. "[For mentors] it doesn't have to be this [position of]: I know everything. I think a lot of leaders put pressure on themselves to be the source of all knowledge, but actually, it's okay to admit that we don't know. It's okay to make mistakes. It's okay to try new things."
There's a lot to be learned from mentorship, and a lot to be learned from challenging what that traditional mentorship status looks like.
"As an industry, we're really bad at forgiving. The stakes seem super high for leadership to try anything new. Even if it seems frivolous or silly or fun, leadership is very, very nervous to be seen to be doing the wrong thing. And actually, part of creating a sustainable studio is to try something new and open up the conversation. I think that's always exciting."
For Phillips, this makes mentorship about connection – for both parties. And impactful mentorship is when two people connect and learn from each other, sharing their experiences so that both of them can go forward with new ideas that make them better staff, game developers, and people.
As she wryly points out, we all know what bad leadership looks like. We've all had a terrible boss or manager that has left us feel undervalued, overworked, or both. But rarely do we talk about what good leadership looks like. And when Phillips fruitlessly sought a place in which she could learn about what makes a great studio head or senior manager, she set up the Games Leadership Academy, which provides training, and the Games Leadership Network, which is a non-profit organisation. To date, around 250 game industry leaders have been coached by Phillips.
"I've learned a lot. It's been really interesting," she says. "There's different nuances, but we essentially all have the same problems. They're just showing in different ways."
The issue, Phillips says, is that for a long while, the industry excused itself as being one of the less established entertainment businesses, as though it didn't know any better and that's why it didn't have effective leadership. Developers without the necessary people skills were sometimes promoted into management positions by dint of their tenure or their design capabilities, regardless of whether or not they'd make good leaders.
But, as Phillips explains, the industry does know what good HR looks like, how to run a business, how to treat people decently, despite how 'young' the games business purports itself to be.
"I think we are entering into a stage where we are going to see funding be prioritised for studios that have the whole package. No longer is it just a great idea," Phillips says. "We have to change the industry in terms of, you know, have they got a good business plan? Have they got the right support? Have they come with the right team of people that can make it?
"For too long, we've been putting a priority on creativity. I'm not saying that creativity isn't important – it absolutely is – but if we're wanting to create businesses that last and have longevity and go into the future, and we're looking at a future-focused sustainable industry that brings in the next generation, we have to start creating sustainable studios, and I don't think we've been prioritising that.
"It requires a team of people who may never choose to socialise together. But we need the introverts and the extroverts and all of those in between. So, for me, it makes total sense why traditional leadership models – and traditional leadership discussions – don't work in this space."
That's why Phillips believes it's time for a different approach to both leadership and mentorship.
"For me, leadership is about understanding the nuances between how those different power dynamics work and what we are responsible for within that space. There's a lot to be learned from mentorship, and a lot to be learned from challenging what that traditional mentorship status looks like. Getting to know your team is so important, you know. What do they want? What are their hopes and dreams for the future? Are you building that together? If not, then what are we doing? Let's have that conversation."
In Phillip's view, excellent mentoring is ultimately about connection and growth for both parties.
"Nobody consciously enters into a mentorship relationship, I don't think," she says. "I think they happen very naturally, often before we even realise. It's about two people connecting and learning from each other and sharing their experiences so that both of them can go forward with new ideas.
"That, for me, is what mentorship should be about."
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