Guild Leadership: What to expect
Guild Leadership: What to expect
by. Ktok Th'Rooks - 03/15/06
So you want to be a guild leader? OK, why? Personal glory? There is no glory in leading a guild. Rewards, yes, but not glory. Perhaps you fancy yourself a leader. What gives you that idea? Maybe you simply don't like being told what to do. In which case, I have troubling news for you. Guild leaders are told what to do every day by the ebb and flow of morale within the guild. Are you fully aware of the rigors of what you propose to undertake? Find a comfortable seat, because you are about to be enlightened.
A guild leader is not someone who sits on high and issues proclamations to the assembled masses like some despotic ruler. You should not expect those under you to pay fealty, or even to respect you unless you have earned it. Using /shout or /ooc to assemble a group of random people and footing the bill for a guild tag does not this respect earn. What you can expect, however, assuming your guild exists for any respectable length of time, is that someone will eventually challenge your authority. You are placing yourself in a very prominent position, and you will come under fire. You will toil as though working a second job for free, and you will get very little thanks for it. You will hear mostly of the problems, and seldom of the things that are working well. You are a servant to your people, not they to you.
You must be prepared to sacrifice copious amounts of your time, both in game and "real life", in order to tend to your guild and keep it healthy and happy. Your guild is the fertile ground in which your members grow. It is your garden, and it requires daily attention. Problems must be resolved without delay, weeds must be removed, and your members, unlike plants, are free to uproot and relocate to a more well tended garden on nothing more than a whim.
As the guild leader, you must be there. You can not simply form a guild and then grow bored with it. A guild is a commitment, and if you do not see it as such, you should save your coin and never form one to begin with. You must be able to provide not only your charming presence, but also wisdom, advice, guidance, and counseling. You must be able to deal with your members' problems, both in game and personal issues. You are their guild leader, and as such, should also be a friend and confidant. If you are uncomfortable with the idea of a sobbing guild member seeking to confide in you about a messy personal issue such as divorce, adultery or even abuse, then this is not the line of work for you. This is not simply a game. Your guild members are not heartless automatons. They are living, breathing, thinking, feeling people who can and often will need attention on very personal issues. If the concept of a game character being the representation of a living person confuses you, please, do not make a guild.
For all the need for compassion and understanding, you must also be prepared to be shown none in return. There will inevitably be members within your guild who are simply bad seeds, or who are envious of your position, though they haven't the foggiest idea that it is nothing to envy. These members will stir dissent among the others, covertly swaying them against you, and you will lose members who you thought were friends. Someone who you have been a confidant to for year and who cried on your shoulder the day before could stab you in the back today. It will happen. What will you do? Will you lose your will to go on? Will it devastate you? Or, will you pick yourself back up, grit your teeth, and move ahead? Are you prepared to be betrayed by those you have nurtured? If you do not think you could survive such treachery, you shouldn't form a guild. You would be doomed to inevitable failure.
Is it all bad? Is it nothing but an endless cycle of nurturing and betrayal? No, it isn't, but these things are real, they do happen, and you have to be aware of them if you want to go forward with leading a guild. I speak from three years of experience. You may wonder why anyone would subject themselves to this for so long. I do it because I love my guild, my guild members, and the job. My reward is seeing my members pleased when the guild helps them complete a quest, or provides them with a Fabled item from the guild vault. I do not seek personal glory, and in fact seldom ask for help with personal goals. I am there to serve and to enable. I am a rally point, an advisor, and a General leading my friends into battle for their own gains and not my own. So must you also be, if you truly want this job.
There are thousands of failed guild names in EverQuest II already, after little more than a year. They litter the database like headstones. Monuments to those who felt they knew what it was to be a leader, or who thought it was no matter of import. Will you add one more to the list of failures, or will you forge a guild to stand the test of time and trials of fire? It hinges on you and you alone. If you doubt yourself, spare those who would be your members the trouble, and abandon your ambitions. If you still feel you are prepared, gods bless, and good luck. You are about to solo the biggest challenge in any MMO.
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by. Ktok Th'Rooks - 03/15/06
So you want to be a guild leader? OK, why? Personal glory? There is no glory in leading a guild. Rewards, yes, but not glory. Perhaps you fancy yourself a leader. What gives you that idea? Maybe you simply don't like being told what to do. In which case, I have troubling news for you. Guild leaders are told what to do every day by the ebb and flow of morale within the guild. Are you fully aware of the rigors of what you propose to undertake? Find a comfortable seat, because you are about to be enlightened.
A guild leader is not someone who sits on high and issues proclamations to the assembled masses like some despotic ruler. You should not expect those under you to pay fealty, or even to respect you unless you have earned it. Using /shout or /ooc to assemble a group of random people and footing the bill for a guild tag does not this respect earn. What you can expect, however, assuming your guild exists for any respectable length of time, is that someone will eventually challenge your authority. You are placing yourself in a very prominent position, and you will come under fire. You will toil as though working a second job for free, and you will get very little thanks for it. You will hear mostly of the problems, and seldom of the things that are working well. You are a servant to your people, not they to you.
You must be prepared to sacrifice copious amounts of your time, both in game and "real life", in order to tend to your guild and keep it healthy and happy. Your guild is the fertile ground in which your members grow. It is your garden, and it requires daily attention. Problems must be resolved without delay, weeds must be removed, and your members, unlike plants, are free to uproot and relocate to a more well tended garden on nothing more than a whim.
As the guild leader, you must be there. You can not simply form a guild and then grow bored with it. A guild is a commitment, and if you do not see it as such, you should save your coin and never form one to begin with. You must be able to provide not only your charming presence, but also wisdom, advice, guidance, and counseling. You must be able to deal with your members' problems, both in game and personal issues. You are their guild leader, and as such, should also be a friend and confidant. If you are uncomfortable with the idea of a sobbing guild member seeking to confide in you about a messy personal issue such as divorce, adultery or even abuse, then this is not the line of work for you. This is not simply a game. Your guild members are not heartless automatons. They are living, breathing, thinking, feeling people who can and often will need attention on very personal issues. If the concept of a game character being the representation of a living person confuses you, please, do not make a guild.
For all the need for compassion and understanding, you must also be prepared to be shown none in return. There will inevitably be members within your guild who are simply bad seeds, or who are envious of your position, though they haven't the foggiest idea that it is nothing to envy. These members will stir dissent among the others, covertly swaying them against you, and you will lose members who you thought were friends. Someone who you have been a confidant to for year and who cried on your shoulder the day before could stab you in the back today. It will happen. What will you do? Will you lose your will to go on? Will it devastate you? Or, will you pick yourself back up, grit your teeth, and move ahead? Are you prepared to be betrayed by those you have nurtured? If you do not think you could survive such treachery, you shouldn't form a guild. You would be doomed to inevitable failure.
Is it all bad? Is it nothing but an endless cycle of nurturing and betrayal? No, it isn't, but these things are real, they do happen, and you have to be aware of them if you want to go forward with leading a guild. I speak from three years of experience. You may wonder why anyone would subject themselves to this for so long. I do it because I love my guild, my guild members, and the job. My reward is seeing my members pleased when the guild helps them complete a quest, or provides them with a Fabled item from the guild vault. I do not seek personal glory, and in fact seldom ask for help with personal goals. I am there to serve and to enable. I am a rally point, an advisor, and a General leading my friends into battle for their own gains and not my own. So must you also be, if you truly want this job.
There are thousands of failed guild names in EverQuest II already, after little more than a year. They litter the database like headstones. Monuments to those who felt they knew what it was to be a leader, or who thought it was no matter of import. Will you add one more to the list of failures, or will you forge a guild to stand the test of time and trials of fire? It hinges on you and you alone. If you doubt yourself, spare those who would be your members the trouble, and abandon your ambitions. If you still feel you are prepared, gods bless, and good luck. You are about to solo the biggest challenge in any MMO.
лл Back to Main Editorial Page
