Player Associations Archive
Thread: What is a Guild Leader?
I see the guild leader as the one who facilitates the growth and development of the guild. He or she must be one who leads through example both in diplomacy and combat. He or she must be inventive and unselfish both in skills needed for the guild sake and in the credits needed to get the guild started and to help it continue growing.
The guild leader is no king or queen. They are the ones who must find a way to keep communication open, provide a ear to hear and mediate complaints and problemsfairly, justly.They must be able to communicate the vision and goals of the guild and provide positive avenues for the individual members growth for themselves and the guild's sake.
Both of your posts are in the spirit of what I wanted to say, especially Ryutek's additions. Thank you.
[Edited for clarity.]
Message Edited by Seiryuu on 02-09-2004 03:22 PM
Seiryuu wrote:
I had a long post written up which I deleted it because it did come out the way I wanted.
Both of your posts are in the spirit of what I wanted to say, especially Ryutek's additions. Thank you.
[Edited for clarity.]
Message Edited by Seiryuu on 02-09-2004 03:22 PM
I understand completely. The post still doesn't really seem to say it the way I want it to read, but I just can't put it in words yet. Maybe I'll take some time to write it up outside the forums and come back here and post it.
Very good posts, my addition would be that a Guild Leader, if good has to be the most patient and kind person in membership. Patience is by far the best virtue of this position since organization comes with varying personalities. A Guild leader's job is no different from a manager or executive of a business,some leadersdelegate jobs out and in turn manage a few who have leadership over the main core ofthe guild whilecertain leaders will undertake all responsibilities and decisions.
It's not a position that many seek: multi-tasking, mentoring, directing and repremanding are but a few of the things a leader has to do - and then he/she must still maintain a life within the SWG universe. Pretty cumbersome weight sometimes.
EcadMistflier wrote:
I see the guild leader as the one who facilitates the growth and development of the guild. He or she must be one who leads through example both in diplomacy and combat. He or she must be inventive and unselfish both in skills needed for the guild sake and in the credits needed to get the guild started and to help it continue growing.
The guild leader is no king or queen. They are the ones who must find a way to keep communication open, provide a ear to hear and mediate complaints and problemsfairly, justly.They must be able to communicate the vision and goals of the guild and provide positive avenues for the individual members growth for themselves and the guild's sake.
The guild leader is in many ways the embodiment of the guild if they successfully surround themselves with those in the guild who are equal to or even stronger than they in any particular arena of engagement. The leader must be dedicated to the people of the guild not just the "vision" of the guild or it's purposes. I'd like to take this a step further...the guild leader should also be able to guide the members of the guild toward that "vision" while at the same time maintaining the individuality of each member. The more diverse the guild is the better chance at success, but only if everyone works toward a common goal.
In addition, I think the guild leader should be available for the members for any reason. If you cannot count on the guild leader to help you achieve your goals then you are not in the right guild.
The guild leader should be strong enough to take control of a situation should the need arise, but should focus mostly on leading by example and not dictating their wishes. Oftentimes it is this quality that I think is overlooked the most. Anyone can create and lead a guild, but a successful leader will flourish, as well as the members of the guild, whether the group they choose to associate with be 5 people or 500 people.
own guild. Then, there are guild leaders that are either compelled or
propelled - sometimes almost against their will - into the position of
leadership. The former either quits leading or becomes the latter.
The best guild leaders can take on a rainbow of roles. They need to
be able to adapt to whatever the social situation requires, or they
must find and promote a member who can fill in their gaps. In the
beginning, a leader must establish the vision and theme of the guild,
and care for the guild's foundation as challenges arise. This
includes establishing policies on recruitment, allies, enemies, etc.
They are many things to their guild members. Leaders are asked to be
delegators and diplomats, it is no wonder that so many are also mayors
and politicians in SWG. They are also used as a panic button.
Members come to the leader seeking encouragement and motivaton, but
they are also expected to make the final judgement on any acts of
discipline. Much of a leader's time is spent in conversation, from
the moment they log in to the moment they log out. A large guild with
centralized control can fill up a leader's chat box before the loading
screen is through.
Some guild leaders claim to be masochists.
They are for some reason compelled to neglect character advancement and relaxation for the
strange high of conducting a social concert of personalities,
motivations, and goals while trying to stay true to the guild's
vision. The best leaders succeed in creating a persistant atmosphere
of harmony where the guild faces each of its goals and challenges as a
whole. This is why I have come to enjoy leading all female character
guilds, though I care little about the gender of those in RL. In my
experience and in the experiences of others, that fountation of role-
played sisterhood is the perfect common ground even when there are
strong opposing opinions among members.
Yet, many of those roles listed above are played out offline. Guild
leaders have a passion that transcends the game. Quite a bit of their
free time may be spent out of game maintaining websites and forums,
writing charters, cleaning up rosters, screening recruitment
applications, and visiting the sites of enemies and allies.
Occasionally, guild leaders get overloaded and withdraw from
responsibility. They may make secret alternate characters just so
they can see what it is like to play with no distractions. They may
even make vows not to lead a guild for a while, "not this time" I told
my husband. Yet, a certain breed inevitably ends up in a position of
respect and responsibility once again. They either change their
minds, or end up in a leaderless guild that simply needs them to step
up.
The most important lesson I learned between leading 3 guilds and
founding SWG-RP was one of delegation. When I started this guild for
SWG I created it from the foundation up so that officers would have
responsibilities to go with their titles. Choosing the right people
to help lead and giving them the right amount of authority is crucial
to sanity and stability. The more game mechanics can support this,
the better.
There are some clear ways to make Guild Leaders happy. One, allow
them to customize the structure of their guild as much as possible
(the worst that can happen is they drive people out of the guild).
Two, give them as much information as possible about their members
(name, title, faction, last time online) if it can be exported to a
file, all the better! Three, give them convenient tools for managing
their mini communities.
I hope we have access to more tools soon, as many guild leaders are
sorely missing some features that were available in past games, namely
I speak of a who's online listing (that is not dependant upon manually
adding friends) and a message of the day. Once some foundations are
in place, enhancing our abilities to connect with other guilds
(guildwar revamp, alliance implementation) would be some great options.
In our list of prioritized requests,PA Hall lot/storage requrements will lead. PA
Leaders feel particularly penalized because they already give up so
much of their time (read: opportunity for advancement), just by
assuming the position. A sizable percentage also spend a good chunk
of their skill points on Politician. I mastered my first profession
(Weaponsmith) just last month and I've been playing Jascentia since
day one. If a player wishes to be an "achiever" AND a PA leader,
multiple accountsare aboslutely required and I strongly suggest a
situation that includes few RL demands.
Despite the relatively calm nature of the PA Forum
I hope it is understood how PA mechanics can impact the game on a larger scale.
When a player is temporarily unhappy with a bug or balance issue,
their social group is what keeps the gaming experience positive.
Likweise, when a guild disbands or chooses to leave a game some of
their members may quit playing as well. When we have the tools to
create thriving communities, the game can't help but thrive as well.
I was leader (passed it on to another now that I'm mayor and need to devote time to that...plus he was doing more stuff then I was so I felt a little guilty) of a very ecclectic PA so my experience of the leader is somewhat similiar to the english monarchy or the federal gov. during the articles of confederation. Just the head honcho that everyone knows/knows about that is more then happy to answer questions and help where they can but otherwise has no true power.
We have an egalitarian PA where everyone has every power except for declaring war, disbanding the PA, and changing the name (I reserve practical jokes to the leader) everyone is as powerful as the other and therefore noone is truly overly powerful. If the leader has an issue he just asks for counsel and picks what he feels to be best, but like I said the only real thing that would need to be decided would be to declare or accept a request to war so that only happens to your PAif you want it to on my server.
Since we are just a medium small guild this works out quite well (such as hippie communes) but would probably not work out for large guilds (such as "communist" russia). If you are really big then I'd say go autocracy/oligarchy in order to keep a working beaurocracy between the grunts and the founders or go with a republic if you are really big so that people can feel like they are a part of the PA and not just a group that happens to be in the PA. If you don't know what those government types are or the philophies surrounding them then I would suggest you learn it on your own. It'll be good for you.
A philosophy post! This could be fun! While I agree, very much, with what everyone has said so far, I just feel the need to add my two cents.
A guild leader is a little bit of everything to everybody. To some, we are the healers. We heal, and help our members to get over the "bumps and bruises" that the galaxy hands out. To others, we are the facilitators. We know the people who can help make things happen. To others still, we are a beacon. We light the way towards a vision that was created - of what the guild can, nay what the guild WILL one day be. We may have been involved in creating that vision, or we may have been drawn to the task. We are also the gatekeepers. Through the guild leader, comes trust and friendship. Anyone can lead, but it takes a specialbreed to lead well. Especially when we're talking about such a diverse group of "geeks, nerds, and loonies" that tend to play SWG.
One of the fundamental principles of our guild is that we are a family. Often dysfunctional, but highly supportive and loyal. When our guild was founded, I'm not sure how much of this "family" was really envisioned. I'm not sure how much of that feeling has been created by me. But, I do know that, whatever I am, to whomever is asking, I've managed to create a mutual respect for all in our guild. Not only do I respect our players, but they have a strange respect for me. It's a little overwhelming, at times. We've had one really bad incident in our guild, and afterwards, I needed to take a break for a little while. One of our other founders had some ideas that he was wanting to try out, so leadership shifted. The outpouring of support that I received at that time made me realize just how much a leader can mean to their guild.
A really good leader must often set aside thier own personal goals and dreams to better the guild. They'll pick up a profession, and keep it for a little longer than they'd really like if it fills a niche in their guild. A really good leader must be flexible. We let our players do almost whatever they want. You want PVP? Go PVP! You want to be a Master Armorsmith? Here are some materials to help you on your way! You want to go and hunt Kryat? Sorry, I'm a little busy (not to mention a melee fighter), but here are 3 other guys who'd love to go and help. A really good leader is also immovable on important points. If the guild rules are reasonable and have consequences for being broken, then they must be enforced (and the guild leader often gets this onerous task). Most importantly, a good leader must be a champion. They must be willing to champion the causes of thier guild; they must be willing to champion thier guild members. They must be willing to sacrifice for the guild. It would probably be easier to say what is NOT the role of a guild leader, or what guild leaders DON'T do. We do it all, or find someone to get it done.
Just my ramblings for the day.
I'm just terribly proud of him, I can't help it lol =D