The Guild Leader Revised
MMO guilds have the distinct quality of being similar to each other in general ways but unique in the specifics. One generality they do share is that no matter how they’re organized, the guild leader will be the most visible role to both members and outsiders. The visibility of the guild leader is the main reason that a group of players should take their time and truly consider all the issues when selecting a leader. Questions like, “How do we want to organize our leadership?” and “What criteria should we have for picking a leader?” must be asked and it is important to study them in depth.
The organization of the guild leadership role has both a physical and logical component to it. Numerous MMOs only allow one character to physically hold the title of guild leader. In most cases no other member can usurp this tag without customer service intervention or the willing surrender of the player who wields it. This is important to state because many players do not consider just how much power is retained within the role. No matter how you write your rule documents and state that three people are the guild leader, the person with physical control of the tag is always the final authority of the guild’s user interface. This single leader condition will also have the side effect that everyone external to the guild will view him or her as the guild leader in the singular sense. They will not read your rules before trying to contact the leader. Assumptions will be made and that is to be expected.
Logically speaking, a guild’s leader role can be organized in any way that the founding members see fit. Should the founders decide that they would like five equal guild leaders operating in a council, that is fine. In general a single leader will be more efficient but a group of leaders will be more effective. It is advisable that the number always remain odd to avoid a deadlock or so that a specific councilor will have the power to break a tie. This logical design must also be clearly detailed in writing and made available to all members. The member who holds the leadership flag should act as an equal to the others in the council and show that the rules do hold power. With that in mind, however, there are two important points that must be reinforced.
The buck stops here: No matter how meticulous and well documented a guild’s logical structure is, the physical structure cannot be changed. All responsibility is ultimately placed on the member with the leader flag. If a fellow “leader” is going on a tirade and removing members, his logical rank will not save him from the leader’s physical rank. The final decision rests in those hands: Remove or don’t. Demote or Promote. Disband the guild or allow it to live. Only the physical leader may do this and that is why it is so important to select the correct person to hold the flag.
Ambassador to the people: It is important to state once more that no matter what a guild’s logical structure looks like, outsiders will always view the person with the leader flag as higher than anyone else. He or she will be the person to whom other guilds come if they have a member complaint. Your physical leader will also be the one who interacts with employees of the MMO when dealing with an issue. There are ways to minimize this but it is important to be mindful that your physical leader is the default point of contact.
These are all points to consider when deciding on the logical structure of a guild and will hopefully give founders at least a moments pause in doing so. Many guilds form up first and deal with these issues later. But, once that is done the physical flag is already in someone’s hands and power can be hard to release. Assuming that a structure is in place, it is time to answer the second question, “What criteria should we have for picking a leader?” Here are some questions the founders should ask:
Is this person qualified? Does the founder in question have any leadership experience in life or MMOs? If they do, is it applicable to your situation? Can they compromise and change their style a bit? Will they?
Can this person speak well? Does the candidate speak well in voice chat and express themselves effectively without profanity? How is their writing? Do they communicate eloquently? These may sound like cruel questions but it matters a lot when dealing with other guilds, potential recruits and MMO employees.
Does this person agree completely with the founders? Do they? Do you want them to or do you want someone who will play the devils advocate? Having a yes man leader can be a dangerous thing but that might be the intent.
It is important to understand why these are the questions to ask. The first question should be fairly obvious. If someone is a bit immature, has never led anyone and is un-trainable, they’re probably not a good choice for guild leader. On the other hand if you find someone willing and eager to learn you can overlook a lack of practical experience. The second question might seem less clear, however. It is important because if your leader cannot express their opinions and ideas appropriately, they will not fair well against (a carefully chosen word) the members. This will be compounded if your member base is mature and educated. Few people will follow someone they perceive as ignorant or foolish. Even a genius can be viewed as a poor leader if they writ lik an epileptic muppet from aza. Shy players can also suffer as leaders. They might be timid and passive. While they can be a great administrator, they may be a poor line officer. Finally, an unnecessarily rude leader can only go so far in the guild motivation department.
The most complex of the questions was the third one. Does a guild want a “yes man” or a devil’s advocate for a leader? It is something to really think about. Many people do not like disagreement or strife but often times the best decisions are made out of a compromise. Tunnel vision and group think are both dangerous things and it is best to find someone who can break out of the mold a little bit. To what degree they do that is up to the founders.
These questions are all important to ask and will help founders pick who should be their guild leader or who should replace the previous one. There is one more piece of parting advice when it comes to selecting a leader. Just because a member is the best (insert class name) on the face of the planet, don’t assume they’ll be a qualified leader. In fact it can often be the exact opposite. A player’s skill rarely equates and translates to management potential. Remember that well when making a decision.
Consider discussing “The Guild Leader Revised” on the Epic Slant Forum!
One thing Meridian 59 has is in-game voting for guild leader. Every player has to pick who they support for guild leader; if someone else gets more support than the current guild leader, they will be promoted to the position. This can be great if the leader goes MIA, or if they snap and are suddenly obnoxious or rude about ruling the guild. The downside is that a few enemies let into the guild of the appropriate rank to vote for leader can elect one of their own and destroy the guild from the inside; a big concern in a PvP-focused game. (M59 had all sorts of guild drama before EVE turned it into PR.)
It’s one way where the logical leadership can become physical leadership without involving CSRs, but it has its potential downsides.
That can be pretty scary but in a way I would really like that sort of system as an option in games. It would be great if you could set permissions to allow certain ranks to vote. Of course how do you stop a guild leader who is about to be deposed from turning that flag off?