E39 How to Drive Real Change as a Game Producer with Leslee Sullivant

Building Better Games

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1y ago 40:49

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Having opposing views from your team or struggling to communicate with senior leaders and stakeholders are just a couple of common issues game producers have when trying to make changes to improve the game dev process. That’s why it’s crucial for leaders to understand what it takes to drive change in a positive direction, and to make sure everyone is on board.

First up in this episode, senior game dev leader Leslee Sullivant shares her definition of a producer, and how her ideal role lends itself to effective leadership. Then, we discuss the difference between leadership and management, ways to build trust amongst change, and how to lessen roadblocks and distractions for your team.

Leslee also shares the key skills that have helped her drive change at multiple companies, her process for making any team functional, and how she implements change even with different types of resistance. Plus, you’ll hear an example of how she improved a key process while working on Marvel Strike Force.

Tune in to hear our key takeaways for all game dev leaders in this conversation with Leslee!

Topics discussed in this episode:

Where leadership fits into a producer role
Types of resistance and how to deal with them
The skills that have helped Leslee drive change
Lack of agency
How to plan and implement changes
Leslee’s process for driving change on a dysfunctional team
Prioritization and the true goal of a producer

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