Merry Christmas to me I suppse . Was voted in as guild leader this week. There is a core group of folks in my guild whom have been playing since friends/family beta and others, like myself, who popped into this crazy World of Warcraft shortly after retail release and of course we have some newly addicted. Our founder recently decided to hand over the reins in order to give more time to his family.
Although I won with close to 50% of the votes between three people I've already heard rumblings of those who don't think I will succeed. Our guild is at a turning point. We are small but fiesty with a great amount of talent. We have hit that wall where we don't have enough hardcore players to get all guild runs into the 15+ player dungeons and some of my end game minded folks are getting bored.... Task one is recruitment.
Would love to hear any tips you may have for the this new guild leader and a guild that is going through transition.
I was a Guild Leader in DAoC and a game called "Xenimus". Being a Guild Leader can be a full-time job. The job is hard, horrific, and full of precious moments you will never forget. *smiles* Remember to be fair & firm in all you do and you should be okay *smiles*
Good Luck
*smiles*
DAoC
Tylla Hunn(Thana Anaht),Midgard,Nimue,Retired
Kyee,Hibernia,Ector
Fellowship of the Realm WoW
Kyee,Horde,Feathermoon
Northern Guard
Re: Any tips for a new Guild Leader?
Loyalty is your biggest concern at first. You can run a million successful events, but if you have people working against you in the background, you won't have happiness in your guild and you won't be in a secure position. How are those that you won out? Are they supportive? Those people and the people who voted for them are your biggest obstacles. Are they good enough people to become promoted to your trusted advisors? If they were thought to be leaders, then I would think that they are loyal to the guild. One warning, if any are backstabbers, you'll not even want them promoted, obviously.
If they can be trusted to be your advisors, make sure it is known that they are in a very high position within the guild and they should be respected as such. This will help show them that you do believe in them and their leadership abilities. This will also show those who oppose you that you do have the ability to recognize good leadership skills in others.
Send out the word to your trusted advisors, officers and such that if they know of anyone who has the same playstyle as the guild's goals, to welcome them to the guild. Also, I would not recommend the in game broadcasting that you see. It usually does not attract the members you seek and in fact, detours those you would want from checking out your guild. Although, it's not a great thing to do, I have had success with posting on my servers official forum. Be sure to be specific to your guild's playstyle and let it be known that you are picky about accepting members because you want those who will go well with your guilds beliefs and playstyles. Perhaps request or even require that they post on your guild's website if you have one, to show that they would like to enlist. This will help to weed out the flighty initiates. Flighty initiates will only frustrate you anyway. You want people who will look at what your guild is about and realize that that is what they are looking for. People who are flighty will just pop on and /quit and really work at the confidence of your other members.
In times of instability, you will lose members. It is upsetting, but don't worry on it too much. As long as you are loyal and determined, you can rebuild and you will retain those that are most loyal and devoted to the guild. Circle of Trust has come close to popping out of existance more than once. But there was always a core, a heart of the guild, that stayed true and played through any hard time. When you get through that hard time, you will come out stronger than ever, and those loyal to the guild will be there for you.
You will really get to know who you can trust. Make sure they know you appreciate them. Some will leave. Wish them well. This is a game, and they need to go where the game is fun for them. Showing them that you care enough about them to let them go is rare in guilds. When people are bitter to /leavers, it only makes them sure that they'll never come back and it also hurts your position with those that liked that person. Remember the good times and hold a secret hope that someday they'll return and get back to work on your guild.
Being a guild leader is alot of work, but it should be enjoyable too. Kinda think of it as a hobby. A hobby can be a load of work, but if it's a labor of love, then it is its own reward. Your main concern is finding out what your guild wants to be, and then making it that for your memers. Oh ya, make sure all your members know that this isn't some magical thing that happens overnight and you will need their help to get the guild in a place you all want it to be at. A good guild helps its members, but good members help the guild.
Re: Any tips for a new Guild Leader?
I've been a guildleader in WoW since day one....but I don't do it alone, I co-Lead with Jnani and I think that helps a ton as far as pressure and decision making. That and the fact that we have amazing officiers who all have a specified role within the guild.
*shrugs* each of us have our strong points so we use them to lead the guild, for instance...*looks to make sure Jnani's not around*...* Jnani isn't the best at deplomacy, although he is getting better so most sensitive issues that require that attribute I deal with.~ Disipline..isn't my strong point..It's his so he does that part. Kinda like good cop back cop lol.
Bottom line is have fun. When logging in gets to be a chore it's time to stop. Good luck with your new role as Guildleader btw *hugs*
Re: Any tips for a new Guild Leader?
Thank you all. I truly appreciate the warm thoughts and advice. It's been a challenge and I see it cotinuing to be that way as we move through the transition. Our former guild lead is very beloved and missed (I miss him as well). Currently we are working on restructuring the officer ranks so cross your fingers for me lol. One of the founding fathers and officers stated that we should do away with the Guild Lead position and just utilize a strong officer team. Makes it even more interesting that this is one of my real life best friends (my best girlfriend's husband) *sigh*.
I truly do love the guild and the game so I'm not letting it all get me down. I've gotten lots of supporting whispers, private messages and in game letters so apparently I'm doing something right .
May need to pick your brains from time to time if no one minds .
Re: Any tips for a new Guild Leader?
Aisling, you'll do great! Just remember to be honest and fair, and things will fall into place.
Like Zeli said, CoT has come a LOOOOONG way, and for a long time most of us didn't think it was going too make it. But because of GREAT leaders, and there has been a few over time, we are still here and better then ever! Zeli and the other Coucilers puts SOO much work into CoT, it makes it a really great place to log into. When I haven't had much time for gaming, and I really need to login, it's not for the game, it's for the people, I miss them. Now THATS a guild.
"No, we're never gonna quit
Ain't nothing wrong with it
Just acting like we're animals
No, no matter where we go
'Cause everybody knows
We're just a couple of animals"
Quote:One of the founding fathers and officers stated that we should do away with the Guild Lead position and just utilize a strong officer team.
Don't EVER do this. You're playing a game, not setting up a Democratic Republic. Setting up a Council will simply lead to hours and hours of pointless debate over who gets the next Warrior BP or Caster Boots. You don't want this.
A large number of the Uber Guilds try and follow a military idea with regards to leadership. Some assume this means setting up an aggressive dictatorship that's strict to the point of being harsh with it's members. This is wrong, but a benevolent dictatorship is the best way to go. Be sure to have strong and reliable officers, and heed their opinions and concerns, but always make it clear that whether your hand is stern or gentle, yours is the final opinion and holds the final decision.
No one is perfect and mistakes will be made, if it happens, all you can do is apologize to the wronged parties and make it up to them. On the other hand, if someone throws a fit over being passed over for "Hawt_Loot_01" this week and an assurance from you that they will get the next one or a suitable replacement isn't enough to calm them, then odds are they are not mature enough to be playing in a raid guild anyways.
Guilds form for one of two reasons, Friendship, or Loot... sometimes Both. If your guild is focusing on Loot, that means raids, and raids will innevitably lead to someone feeling slighted for some reason. A leadership council will either become a clique unto itself that will appear to be self-serving, or each person on the council will have "favourite" members in the guild, be it a spouse, family member, best friend, etc. who they will try to see rewarded as they see fit. Conflict will arise.
My wife and I currently lead a small guild on Icecrown that is looking at the possibility of joining a raiding alliance so we can get some ZG, Onyxia and MC runs in and get some gear. We're almost all people who quit from hardcore raid guilds and don't want to go back to a 6 day a week diet of raiding, but we still love a good raid and like purple loot. I find myself asking a lot of the same questions you have.
I hope it's ok with the other CoTers that I link this.
"No, we're never gonna quit
Ain't nothing wrong with it
Just acting like we're animals
No, no matter where we go
'Cause everybody knows
We're just a couple of animals"
. Was voted in as guild leader this week. There is a core group of folks in my guild whom have been playing since friends/family beta and others, like myself, who popped into this crazy World of Warcraft shortly after retail release and of course we have some newly addicted. Our founder recently decided to hand over the reins in order to give more time to his family. 
.
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