These past two months I’ve been all over the place.  There were various games, a plenitude of communities, and a swarm of  guilds of which I’ve dipped my toes into.  It has been quite some time since I’ve been able to experience first hand the strong effects of differing leadership styles which populate internet gaming.  And here we were, simply listening to my one man (and girl) show about our lonely guild management troubles.  “DIVERSITY!” the people cry, “LET US SEE FREELY!”

IRL Guild Officers

-Close knit leadership team, or exclusive guild clique?

I’ve recently had the joyous opportunity of becoming included in a guild ran by IRL (In Real Life) friends.  If my recollections do not evade me, I would say there were 40 members- 8 of which holding the officer position.  Progression was fairly current and the gear was prevalent in the “group” of IRL friends, as I’ll now refer to them.  Now rather than turning this into a grand ole story time and risk upsetting the few of you who hadn’t thought to pack their blankets, I’ll cut to the nitty gritty of my observations.

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Would you consider yourself a registered nanny?  Do you enjoy whining, crying, and bickering?  Perhaps you have children of your own, and just LOVE it so much that your /gchat holds a special place in your heart due to resembling loud children.  Or maybe, and I know I’m going out on a limb here, just maybe, you’re ready to pull out your hair in large clumps while engaging a /gkick spree that would make even Luis Garavito jealous.

All in all, while you shoulder a long list of responsibilities to the guild, babysitting your members should not be one of them.  Hell, setting up raids and recruiting new members should not be either, but that’s another opinionated story of mine.  Some day we may see that post, but not today.  For now, we’ll focus on the rowdy daycare that has become of your former respectable, mild mannered guild.  Whether it be unchecked complaining in guild chat, or manipulation of your officers by the members who know what they can get away with, solutions are needed to curb and prevent such behavior from occurring.  I hope you brought your supply of pacifiers…

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When it comes time to step up to the plate, one must do whatever is necessary to move their guild forward. The dedication that members show within their guild throughout the months, even years, can grant them the possibility of an Officer title. The promotion to such an honorable title is an achievement in itself if the member is able to handle the challenge which awaits him or her. What I have found during my MMO roller coaster ride was that becoming an Officer was more than just having experience, knowledge and showing respect towards other members. It was the dedication I gave to my guild. Being loyal can greatly increase your value as a member beyond anything else.

Unfortunately, this may not always act in your favor. You see, for me, being dedicated and loyal actually cost my rank to a clan I wanted to help succeed in every way possible. The rank was taken away from me by another Officer of the clan. This is where many might argue that a sense of leadership was taken more as a threat, than as a blessing.

This is my Officer Mishap:

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Guild Merges are horrible. If you take anything at all away from this entire post, take that.

Two guilds, each unable to fulfill their goals on their own, combine in attempts to create something epic. More often than not, however, it falls apart in a heap of fail, leaving a terrible taste in the mouths of everyone involved. Oh guild merge, why must you tempt me with your sweet scent, yet taint my taste buds with your rotten secretions. We are just two guilds who want to raid and shower in the purple rain. It seems that due to leadership greed, selfishness, and power struggling, the members are the ones who truly suffer. Poor members, I shed a tear for you.

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Remember back to the young days of your guild?  When a 10 man raid consisted of 85% of your guild and you took it however you could get it?  Decisions were easy, drama was near non-existant, and all the important news traveled via word of mouth?  Stop daydreaming, Sally.  Those days are long gone; All we can do is dream about the times when we’d log on and be showered with rose petals, singing, and 99 virgins.  Today’s raiding guild consists of a delicate balance of officers, members, and strong decision making skills.  If you’re lacking on one of those three, well, you’ve got your work cut out for you.

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Here is my most sage advice.  Don’t.

It’s easy to think that within the span of three days, you can find a core team of officers who will back you with what you need the most: a group of great, knowledgeable players.  At which point, of course, you will all hold hands and sing as bosses die and epics covered in cookies and twenty dollar bills rain from the sky.  It almost never works like that, which is why 99% of the guilds you see looking for charter signatures in the trade channel last, tops, a month.  The main mistake I see people making, is having a huge amount of false confidence in their abilities to run the show. Someone has to be the leader and it’s not a pretty job.

Running a guild takes an incredible amount of dedication, time, and money, in which every day a small piece of your sanity might die. There are no cookies, there are no twenty dollar bills, and you need to be the first one to step aside for loot and raid spots.  This is not to say that I think everyone else fails and I’m completely pro, but I’ve been around long enough to see what works and what doesn’t work.  So many places give the positive qualities which will make a guild succeed, so I’m going to be the negative nancy who will tell you why guilds fail (which is entirely more common).
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Part 1:  Mic-less Members

Throughout my vast raiding experience, I have found voice communication to be a huge benefit to my guild.  Whether it’s communicating on the fly during a battle, explaining a boss encounter, administering a guild meeting, or simply socializing with your teammates, the ability to harness the ease and convenience of a microphone has proven to be just short of required.  What happens when a player refuses to use such a tool?  Perhaps they choose not to purchase a microphone, or not to utilize it.  What actions do you take concerning such a player, if any?  While a large convenience, it is just that, a convenience, and not a aspect of the game.  Can we really hold people accountable and segregate who and who does not have a microphone?
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I’m willing to bet that even the mightiest of GM needs his/her officers.  Not just “needs” them, but NEEDS them.  I need my officers as badly as a man on fire needs a lake.  Does that mean I’m not doing my job in any way?  Of course not, it’s the support, coordination, and motivation that come from having a well-built team of officers.

Picking out the right seeds

You can’t just go and promote any old schlub to officer, can you?  Well, you could if you were a crazy, “so what” minded risk taker.  I don’t care what the server’s /Trade troll says, I have a sneaky suspicion that you’re not that crazy guy.  Why, do you ask?  I’d say it’s because you’re browsing this site, trying to better yourself and your guild.  So who, out of these thousands of people playing this online sensation, do we promote to 2nd in command of your wonderful guild?  Let’s take a look at a few classic character traits you should be watching out for.
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