About Hutch.
Based in London, Hutch is a games studio that was born out of frustration from working in big game development factories. Their 5 founders are committed to creating a better studio built on autonomy and quick decision-making and the space for creativity and fun to thrive. They are known for their car-themed mobile games and are considered one of the best places to work in the games industry.
Why they came to us.
Hutch is a rapidly scaling business that doesn't believe hierarchy is the answer to scalability. As their more senior managers and leaders took on new responsibilities in their roles, they began searching for a more structured approach to managing their very autonomous teams.
After participating in our ScaleUp Management program in partnership with BackedVC, the COO of Hutch saw an opportunity to bring a similar program in-house. He found our programme to be particularly relevant to the challenges Hutch was facing. The course seemed a good fit due to its long term schedule, that allowed time to discuss various challenges and topics in depth.
As a company that is grounded in its people and culture, choosing a course that was centered around a coaching approach, self-learning, and developing an understanding from the shared experience of the group was vital.
And that’s exactly what we gave them.
Our Approach.
We designed an intensive management program grounded in the belief that leadership at Hutch is more hands-off than hands-on. We created opportunities for the team to reflect, learn, and experiment together through practical application and peer-based learning.
Each session was paired with a pre-thinking workbook, and each module had a short assignment so that they could test themselves and learn as we went through the program
We centered the PROGRAM around these key themes:
CHANGE MANAGEMENT: How to lead, communicate and adapt to change when it's a constant.
COMMUNICATION & INFLUENCE: Enhance their ability to have difficult conversations and regular feedback.
FACILITATION & SELF-AWARENESS: Clear strategies on how to lead instead of directing your teams to deliver results
What we they did.
We enabled them to find a leadership framework that maintained a balance of taking charge and letting go in order to guide their teams and allow them to have the space to create.
We worked with the Hutch team to create a roadmap for a sustainable culture that they could live and scale by without losing the integrity of their playful and people first culture.
The team left with a full toolbox of management plays, a group of peers they could lean on, and a consistent approach to leadership as the team continued to grow.
The Impact.
After 6 sessions in a span of 12 weeks, there was a noticeable difference in how the teams are communicating. From the top down there was a greater appreciation for what needed to change from the teams, and how they can support one another.
Improved Meeting Approaching
The team changed from 1 lead host to a co-facilitated meeting approach, this helped equalise accountability and increased engagement. The team brought back their monthly meetings and revitalised them to be more engaging and inclusive.
IMPROVED LEADERSHIP STYLE
The majority of participants found that our program had a significant impact on their management styles.
IMPROVED SELF AWARENESS
By being more self-aware of their style, they are able to communicate with their teams much more efficiently.
100% of participants would recommend the ScaleUp program to another manager.
Communication is key.
With the results of our survey, we noticed that only about one third of participants felt that they were getting consistent feedback about their management style and effectiveness. This was a key realization that there needed to be more communication from both the top down as well as from the bottom up. It is important for everyone to receive feedback, as that is the best way to grow collectively. This became a key issue that everyone felt was important to address and fix moving forward.
- Andy Watson COO