I was browsing around www.theromwiki.com when I came across a link to this blog about leading a guild. So I read a bit of it, and mostly came to the conclusion that writer was mostly writing a guide about WoW guilds and how to run them effectively. And I thought to myself, "I like to write, I'm a guild leader, and I think I can contribute something to the discourse in a meaningful way."
So now you're reading my blog about being an accidental guild leader instead of one my insipid rants. Don't you feel lucky?
First up on my to do list: Background.
I wasn't always the GL of Theblacktower, the guild I run on the Runes of Magic Artemis server. I in fact joined it after a couple months of playing RoM sporadically. My first toon, a r/s named Dyoji, was actually a member of another guild that didn't talk or anything before joining up with TBT. Algren, my main character now, wasn't even conceived yet.
Anyhow, there I was in this great guild of people, making friends and generally just having a good time. My wife had finally joined up after I bugged her relentlessly, and we had each created new toons to play together with. After one particular run we were approached by the guild leader at the time, and he asked us to accept officer positions. We did, and I've tied my fate to the fate of the guild ever since.
It wasn't long after that that a dramatic turn of events resulted in my holding the title of "guild leader".
The Situation
So you've found yourself the leader of a guild, all the officers have left and you're stuck holding the bag. Well, all is not lost my friend. There is hope for your little band. But you have to ask yourself some questions first.
1) Do I really want to be the guild leader?
The answer to this question can only be supplied by you. Being the guild leader has it's share of perks, but it also has it's downsides.
The perks include:
* Your the Head Guy in Charge now. Your word is final and as absolute as you want it to be.
* There's now a whole guild that looks to you for answers, input, and leadership.
The Downsides include:
* Success or failure of the guild lays on your head now.
Other considerations for contemplating this question are: Do you believe in the guild? Can you see the potential there for the guild to flourish and grow? How willing is the rest of the guild to follow your lead?
My answer: Yes. I felt a particularly strong attachment to the guild that I had joined, and a responsibility toward it since I was an officer there. I didn't want to let my guildmates down, so I accepted the offer of the former lead to take over leadership of the guild.
First things first: Establish your lead.
This isn't really all that hard, just organize the guild into a structure you're comfortable with. If that structure is already there you might just roll with that for awhile until the guild just naturally evolves into something else. In my case, other than my wife, all the other officers of the guild had left. They were all family of the GL and had left to form their own guild, and he decided to go with them. Family drama kicks the snot out of guild drama, believe me.
So what did I do? I searched around me for people that were loyal to the guild and whom I could trust to help me operate it. Who did I consult with? Who was showing real leadership within the guild? Those are the people I approached about being my officers. I made them officers, I gave them authority, and more importantly, I listened to them.
I can't stress that enough. Whatever your personal feelings for the guild you need to be able to adapt to the evolving needs of the guild. And without feedback from the guild you're never going to make it. My officers provided me with a range of viewpoints and experience, and I listened. The only time I shut down any of their ideas was when I felt it would be a detriment to the guild as a whole or went against the guild's theme and mentality.
So then I had myself as head, officers one tier below me that I trusted, and then the rest of the guild.
It was a good start.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Politics, same as it ever was
I don't think that politics have changed much really, even in the past 20 odd years when so many advancements in communication and sharing of information have come to be. We all still believe we are right and will adamantly argue the point with anyone who disagrees. Sometimes coming to blows, most often turning to the tried and true method of labeling, undermining, and discrediting. Seems as long as our political opponent appears wrong, we appear right by comparison. It doesn't occur to anyone that they could both be wrong.
Take for instance when President Bush was in power. How many times have we heard the phrase that he "lied" to bring us to war with Iraq and Afghanistan? Really? Ok, why? And if he was lying, why in the world would a Democratically led Congress agree with him? Including one Barack Obama? If they didn't agree, they sure as hell went against their conscious when they declared war in Iraq. In truth, we finished the job that should have been done 10 years prior and removed a tyrant from power. And Saddam DID have WMD, he'd even gone so far as to USE them. His regime was even actively trying to block UN inspections teams. Rather shady behavior from someone who wasn't hiding anything. The sheer amount of animosity directed at Bush was just insane. Most of it I'd wager were due to the fact that he just disagreed with those who attempted to label him.
The best example I can think of to illustrate how divisive the arguments are was just after Bush was elected the first time. Half of the voting populace voted for Bush. Get it? Otherwise he would not have been elected. Granted he lost the popular vote (not by much as I recall,and I'm far too lazy at the moment to check) but he did win the electoral college vote. Argue as you may the viability of such a system, it IS the system we have in place and thus Bush was the duly elected President of these United States. And what happened immediately after he was elected? Everyone who voted for him was called an idiot, or ignorant, Bible-thumping morons. There were even cries that he had stolen the election, or his brother gave it to him.
And now Barrack Obama is President, and the pendulum has swung back the other way politically, but not the divisiveness. He's been accused of everything from being a Muslim (which is a derogatory phrase how???) to faking his Birth Certificate. What do I think of Obama as President? Not much, but then I'd rather have ANYONE other than a politician in such a powerful office. It's not that I don't trust him specifically, I just don't trust anyone who's job description includes trying to make everyone happy, especially those in their own party.
As far as political mindedness goes I'm pretty conservative. I support less taxation, less government intrusion and such. Other times I'm pretty liberal, for instance I agree that gays should be allowed to marry. Which is pretty much where I believe most of us are. Which in my eyes is the problem. We either elect a conservative, or a liberal, and only half of the population is served well. And the other half raises hell and pulls out their tinfoil hats. Maybe next time we can find someone who actually represents us and not some political ideal? HMM?
Freaking stupid people
Take for instance when President Bush was in power. How many times have we heard the phrase that he "lied" to bring us to war with Iraq and Afghanistan? Really? Ok, why? And if he was lying, why in the world would a Democratically led Congress agree with him? Including one Barack Obama? If they didn't agree, they sure as hell went against their conscious when they declared war in Iraq. In truth, we finished the job that should have been done 10 years prior and removed a tyrant from power. And Saddam DID have WMD, he'd even gone so far as to USE them. His regime was even actively trying to block UN inspections teams. Rather shady behavior from someone who wasn't hiding anything. The sheer amount of animosity directed at Bush was just insane. Most of it I'd wager were due to the fact that he just disagreed with those who attempted to label him.
The best example I can think of to illustrate how divisive the arguments are was just after Bush was elected the first time. Half of the voting populace voted for Bush. Get it? Otherwise he would not have been elected. Granted he lost the popular vote (not by much as I recall,and I'm far too lazy at the moment to check) but he did win the electoral college vote. Argue as you may the viability of such a system, it IS the system we have in place and thus Bush was the duly elected President of these United States. And what happened immediately after he was elected? Everyone who voted for him was called an idiot, or ignorant, Bible-thumping morons. There were even cries that he had stolen the election, or his brother gave it to him.
And now Barrack Obama is President, and the pendulum has swung back the other way politically, but not the divisiveness. He's been accused of everything from being a Muslim (which is a derogatory phrase how???) to faking his Birth Certificate. What do I think of Obama as President? Not much, but then I'd rather have ANYONE other than a politician in such a powerful office. It's not that I don't trust him specifically, I just don't trust anyone who's job description includes trying to make everyone happy, especially those in their own party.
As far as political mindedness goes I'm pretty conservative. I support less taxation, less government intrusion and such. Other times I'm pretty liberal, for instance I agree that gays should be allowed to marry. Which is pretty much where I believe most of us are. Which in my eyes is the problem. We either elect a conservative, or a liberal, and only half of the population is served well. And the other half raises hell and pulls out their tinfoil hats. Maybe next time we can find someone who actually represents us and not some political ideal? HMM?
Freaking stupid people
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