Differences and Building Strategies Between 'Missionary' and 'Mercenary' Teams Within a Team
When a product starts selling, the people who made it usually join in the operation. However, this has its limits. First of all, those who have worked hard to make it need some rest and compensation, and may show symptoms such as burnout. And since customers always want better and better products, they have to enter a market of infinite competition.
At this time, it is necessary to divide the existing team into missionaries and mercenaries. Missionaries are people who are passionate and constantly challenge new things, and mercenaries are people who are skilled at doing what they have been doing. In fact, there is no difference between missionaries being better or mercenaries being treated better. They just have different roles. In fact, mercenaries and missionaries used to travel together in medieval Europe.
In fact, missionaries seem very idealistic, but in reality, it is very difficult to form a team of only missionaries. In reality, I think mercenaries are also necessary because humans do not have infinite passion and energy.
Characteristics of the 'Missionary' Team and the 'Mercenary' Team
'Missionary' Team: Missionary teams have a deep understanding of the business and a strong empathy for customers. They are engaged and motivated, and reflect the critical characteristics of strong leadership, organization, and product teams.
'Mercenary' teams: Mercenary teams lack connection with actual users and customers and are focused solely on solving problems. They are motivated by rewards rather than authority or responsibility, and tend to follow orders from above.
Why Organizations Fail to Build ‘Missionary’ Teams
Leadership problem: Many executives think they already know the answers and don’t want to hear from their teams.
We need to re-establish the direction of the organization by training the leadership team.
People Problem: Even leaders who recognize the importance of a missionary team often inherit a workforce accustomed to the mercenary model. This can be even more problematic when it comes to outsourced designers or engineers.
Starting with product managers, you need to move up the level to designers and senior engineers/technical leaders. A durable, functional, co-located team structure is essential for effective product teams.
Process Issues: Some product development processes are based on a mercenary model. For example, a model like SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) may not be suitable for a technology-centric product company that relies on continuous innovation.
You need to implement a process that includes a strong product vision and measurable key outcome goals for each product team.
The difference between a 'missionary' team and a 'mercenary' team has a huge impact on the performance and culture of the organization. If an organization is willing to pursue a change toward a 'missionary' team, it can do so by focusing on three key areas: leadership, people, and process. In fact, in game development, the team that develops new content and the live team that is in charge of operations often operate separately. This can also be distinguished as missionary and mercenary.
I looked it up and found a video that was filmed by Kwon Do-gyun, the CEO of one of the leading VCs in Korea, at TTimes last year, so I'm sharing it with you.
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