Who we are
The Games Leadership Network is a non-profit organisation which aims to set the standards for Leadership Excellence in the Games Industry.
Our mission is to empower Game Industry Leaders through Awareness, Best Practice, and a vibrant Community.
We want to build a better workplace environment, where people can feel valued for their expertise and invest in their own personal development with a focus on emerging trends, industry standards, and collaborative growth.
We believe that everyone in an organisation benefits from having good Leadership and that companies of all sizes see improvements when they invest in training and personal development of their team members at all stages of their career.
Together we can shape the future of Leadership in Games.
Find out more about our Team here!
Leadership in the Games Industry
We believe that true Leaders are forged from active learning experiences. The best managers are those who seek out continued personal development and help support the development of those around them. As the Games Industry calls for more diversity, we realise that many of these new Leaders won’t have the experience and support of their predecessors and we hope that by providing free resources we can help create a more supportive Games Industry.
Leadership skills are not just important for those currently working in a Senior role, being confident in who you are and how you fit into your organisation can help grow strong team structures, encourage knowledge sharing and better work/life balance.
Current Games Climate
Senior Talent Needs:
In the last 12 months the UK has advertised more than 10,000 jobs (mostly mid-senior roles) required from a workforce of around 20,000.
SO?
We are passing around the same senior talent to make Games, with these roles changing hands roughly every 12-18 months in order to meet demand
Meaning?
We are facing a skills crisis both in needing more Senior Talent and being able to retain them into our workforce.
Many of our best employees are moving to make games outside of the UK as we start to fall backwards in a competitive global market.
Wellbeing & Mental Health:
38% reported either anxiety or depression (or both) (national average 17%)
Lead roles reported anxiety have increased from 23% to 30% in 2022
We are also facing a mental health crisis, with rates of anxiety and depression within our employees twice as high as the English average and specifically Lead roles reporting their anxiety have increased from 23% to 30% in 2022.
The last 5 years has also seen a large number of #MeToo movements that have exposed toxic working environments, poor mental health and destructive actions by individuals within Games Studios.
A lot of these incidents can be linked to gross misuse of power, lack of understanding of boundaries and poor support system within studio organisation.
Diversity in Senior Leadership:
Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people are more likely than White British or White Other to have made a diagonal move, but less likely to have been directly promoted
People aged 26-35 are the most likely age group to have been promoted
People aged 41 and above are noticeably less likely to have advanced
31% of Autistic people reported being directly promoted in the past 3 years (significantly lower than people with other neurodevelopmental conditions)
The Games Industry is lacking Diversity in our Leadership, with many new opportunities focusing on bringing more diverse talent into the workforce rather than sustaining, training and promoting them into Leadership positions.
References:
UK Diversity Census 2022 from UKie
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/everyone-hates-games-and-we-dont-care-but-we-should-opinion
What we do
Free Industry Coaching Programmes:
Our vision is to focus on individual support of current and emerging Leaders or Changemakers within the Games Industry.
We aim to offer over 150 individuals free 1-1 Coaching Courses over the next 2 years totalling 750 hours of free personal development.
These programmes run through an application process and offer 5 x Biweekly 1-1 Coaching sessions for any Individual currently working in Games to help support and grow their Leadership skills and achieve specific goals
Network Community:
We encourage an online Network to support and promote Best Practice and structures to
Individuals in the Games Industry interested in finding support for developing their Leadership Skills.
We aim to elect an Advisory Board in 2024 to help support the growth of this network further and to help shape future Best Practice Guidelines for the Community.
Events & Education:
Join us every month to discuss best Leadership Practice, methods and models in our online Webinar Series. This is open to everyone to join, even if you’re not currently signed up to one of our programmes.
In September 2023 we are Partnering with the Games Leadership Academy to release our first free 2 hour CPD Training Course on ‘An Introduction to Games Leadership’.
Still curious? Check out our FAQs