Twelve years ago a small Finnish company published a browser game called Gunshine.net. Since then, having published five games on the global market and offices in Helsinki, Seoul, Shanghai and San Francisco, Supercell continues to grow their success and make history. But what Supercell is equally known for is their organizational culture. With over 400 employees and 40+ nationalities, Supercell continues to build a strong culture of high performance, innovation and psychological safety.
It is clear that the culture was not born and built accidentally, but has been a carefully crafted element in Supercell’s success as a company. In order to understand Supercell’s high performing culture, we had a chat with Frida Johansson, the co-Chief People Officer at Supercell.
What is your definition of a high performing team?
Frida: In my mind high performing teams have the following elements:
- Clear vision and alignment, everyone knows what the team’s direction is and everyone is moving in the same direction. Goals and responsibilities are clear for everyone
- “Team first” mentality – it’s not about promoting yourself or making yourself look good, it’s about making everyone on the team look good and promoting each other. Everyone cheers for each other and everyone wants the team to succeed.
- Psychological safety. Everyone on the team feel safe to ask tough questions, take risks, fail, learn and ask for help. Feedback is given and received well.
How are high performing teams built in Supercell?
Frida: We start with the Lead of the team. The lead is responsible for putting together the team, making sure there is a shared vision, that the team has the right people in the right roles, and making sure the team is performing well and driving results. We support both the leads and their teams and give them different tools in helping them build their teams.
What kind of a role does culture play in the performance of a team?
Frida: I think it plays a very important role. And with culture here I specifically mean the way the team works together, how they tackle problems and challenges, how they celebrate and communicate, and lastly, how decisions are made in the team.
According to you, do you think that there are some common elements among all high performing teams? Is there a “secret”?
Frida: I don’t think there is a “secret” as such, but sometimes the hardest thing is to put aside your ego, and have the humility and self-awareness to reflect on yourself, the way you work and collaborate, what your strengths are, and what skills complement yours. That can be very tough for some people. Being honest about when things aren’t working, or when things feel off and flagging that with the team can understandably also be very difficult for people to do.
What are some work practices that have played into shaping your team’s performance?
Frida:
- Communication. I don’t believe there is anything like “over communicating” in my world
- Trusting and empowering my team members to do their job that they were hired to do, that they also were vetted for in the hiring process. Then getting out of the way and letting them do what they do best, and at the same time keeping them accountable for their work
- Having fun together. We spend a lot of time together with the people we work with. Cracking a joke or two or laughing a bit together is good not only for the team but also for the soul.
What kind of tools have you used with a positive effect on your team’s performance?
Frida: We do a few things each year and then also like to try out new tools: trainings, team days and workshops around different topics. We’ve measured our team’s psychological safety, how we communicate; we’ve identified and agreed on our team values, we do goal setting together etc.
What kind of metrics do you focus on your team overall?
Frida: My favorite metric is the “get s**t done” metric” 🙂 if things are progressing and people are enjoying their work and feel that they are contributing that is already a good sign! Over the years we’ve tried a bunch of different things to measure: team health surveys, engagement surveys, culture surveys, inclusion surveys etc. I think it’s good and healthy to have some metrics to follow and measure, but these will vary between teams. I believe a good way to think about this is to define and agree together with the team on what metrics are the key to success for you and your team.
.png)
