Being a guild leader is hard. It’s really hard. In fact, it may as well be considered a full-time job in a lot of cases. Between knowing all of your members just like a manager at work, running websites and forums just like a standard website owner, and organizing activities for everyone like some type of deranged virtual event planner, being a guild leader can bring out the best (or worst) in anyone.
Leading a guild is about so much more than just a small list of tips though. Every leader is different, just like every guild has a different purpose. Being a guild leader is about so much more than just playing a game and organizing your members – it’s about leadership. After reading this list if you’re interested in a more in-depth primer on how to be a great guild leader, then you should definitely check out The Guild Leader’s Handbook by Scott F. Andrews – it’s a bit outdated at this point, but you have to do your homework if you want to be great, right?
5) Pick a Leadership Style Early
According to Kurt Lewing, there are three general styles of leadership: authoritative, participative, and delegative. Obviously you don’t have to pick a bucket and force yourself to remain restricted to those tenants, but generally speaking most people fall into one of those three overarching categories. It’s important that you identify what type of leader you are to not only understand and maximize your ability for leadership, but also so that you can communicate honestly with your members and identify what will and will not work.
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For example, an authoritative leader may require you be online for a certain number of hours each week and that you complete new content in a timely manner, whereas a participative leader may allow you to be more flexible and not really require everyone be up to standards all the time. Then a delegative leader may create different tiers of play and set different rules for each and let subordinates manage expectations. There are pros and cons to all
4) Be Ambitious
When you first start out, getting enough resources to just make it a reality can seem like a huge and daunting task. So once your guild is up and running, it’s easy to get complacent. The trick to really taking your guild to new heights and being successful though, is to remain ambitious.
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When you’re starting out, you’re not going to take over the server as the biggest and baddest guild in town, it just isn’t possible, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t one of these days. Start small, have a plan, and build from there. The first dozen members are often the hardest to get, but after that as long as you’re determined, you can quickly amass a guild with dozens of members and huge goals for the future.
3) Create Activities for All Play Styles
Keep in mind though, that everyone enjoys the game differently, no matter which MMO it is. Maybe you have a solid group of people that love end-game raiding, while another group love exploring, questing, and leveling alts. Moreover, there could be some people that love the competitive aspect of PvP in a casual way, while some others are intense and dedicated about being the best in the PvP arena. While it’s perfectly acceptable to focus your guild on one or two aspects of gameplay, it’s still important to understand the variations among people even within those specific subsections of players.
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Perhaps instead of just raiding all the time, you can organize other events. Find a secluded area of a map and just go hang out in Vent for a while, like you might do in real life. Organize a raffle to give prizes to players. Coordinate an event with a live streamer for your guild to be featured in a stream. There are lots of things you can do that go beyond just setting times for people to get on and do “the usual” in the game.
