We have a tabard: Make it so
by Amanda Dean 
Jul 16th 2009 at 3:00PM
Warning: This guy is probably not someone you'd want as an officer. Nor is this video safe for work, small children, or anyone who is sensitive about cursing or animated depictions of sexual acts. But with that said, everyone and their grandmother has seen it, so enjoy.
Adding officers to your guild can help ease burdens on the Guild Master, and up efficiency within the guild. But poorly chosen or corrupt officers can do more harm than good within. Even before you select a cadre of officers, you should have an idea of what you'd like them to do for you. Let's take a look at the different types of officers you should consider having in your guild, and how they all interact with each other and your fellow guildies.
Adding officers to your guild can help ease burdens on the Guild Master, and up efficiency within the guild. But poorly chosen or corrupt officers can do more harm than good within. Even before you select a cadre of officers, you should have an idea of what you'd like them to do for you. Let's take a look at the different types of officers you should consider having in your guild, and how they all interact with each other and your fellow guildies.
Class leaders are the first to come to mind. This type of authority should have a keen knowledge of the common specs and rotations for their class. They should be familiar with itemization for their charges and advocate for them in loot decisions.
Raid leaders are an absolute blessing for dungeon-crawling guilds. He or she can either be in charge of raiding as a whole or just fill in for the GM as needed. It is very helpful to assign an assistant Raid Leader to the Loot Master position so that the raid can continue with trash pulls as loot is distributed. Raid Leaders should be intimately familiar with the fights, and have enough patience to be able to explain them.
Another special officer, and one that I'm looking for right now in my own guild, is the lead healer. Obviously, I'd prefer someone that's a healer themselves, that understands the strengths and weaknesses of all the healing classes. It would be absolutely fantastic to have someone make adjustments when necessary.
On Discipline in WoW
I hate to use the word "discipline" in WoW. I figure most of my guildies are adults who's spanking days are long behind them. Even the youngsters are playing a game to have fun, and deserve an opportunity to be kids. Still sometimes groups need to be reigned in, performance needs to be improved, and attitude adjustments must be made.
Your corps of officers must be prepared to take a role in these processes. Some officers are better suited than others for correcting certain issues. Officers should be able to resolve issues without being curt. In the end, even those who have been on the receiving end of "discipline" are often thankful for the correction, as are the people around them. I generally find it better to try to work with someone and explain what needs to change and why before they are removed from the guild.
Remember that your officers should be respected. They must be people you can count on to take the high road in disputes without resorting to degradation, insults, or anger. I believe that corrections should be discreet, and officers should make every effort to minimize drama. When officers remove people from the guild, generally the guild deserves an explanation as to why.
Though it may sound like a powerful position, being a good officer is a lot of work. They must attend to the guild and guild functions regularly. They do not have the luxury of being able to ignore a guildie that they do not like or playing favorites with loot or raid spots. Officers do what needs to be done.
The guild as a whole should have some input on how many officers are necessary and how they should be selected. Small guilds do not necessarily need leaders for each class, large guilds may need additional officers to help maintain order. Some guilds elect their officers while others select the best raiders or best in class.
Good leadership can make or break a guild. Guildies don't have to like all of the officers in a guild, but they should respect them.
WoW.com offers a plethora of information on guild leadership and guild membership. Be sure to check out Scott Andrew's Weekly Column Officer's Quarters and keep an eye on the community with Mike Schramm's Guildwatch.Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Guilds, Odds and ends, (Guild Leadership) We Have a Tabard
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Twotoe Jul 16th 2009 3:08PM
Not even remotely @#$%ing imaginable
Bod Jul 16th 2009 7:47PM
someone really should track down this raid leader and interview him - he's a legend in his own arrogant lifetime.
Aldheim Jul 17th 2009 1:57AM
Ask and ye shall receive.
http://kotaku.com/gaming/feature/wow-profile-this-years-leeroy-jenkins-174801.php
Enjoy.
pretentiouslatinname Jul 17th 2009 3:27AM
This video is really old, and the guy has been interviewed before. His name is Dives.
Bod Jul 17th 2009 7:11AM
@aldheim lmao, well done, who would have known.
Makavelix Jul 16th 2009 3:09PM
Lame.. Guy is trying to copy group X.
kevingroover Jul 16th 2009 3:11PM
I like it when darth Vader does it.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9BMjpCkAVY
Rodrigo Jul 16th 2009 3:13PM
Wow that guy is Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame!
Discolando Jul 16th 2009 3:20PM
Since we're reminiscing over old WoW videos, let me plug a remake a guildie of mine made of the Onyxia video a couple of years ago... she has the cutest voice. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6wXRHMnGRA
Jeff Jul 16th 2009 3:23PM
I've found the idea of class officers a little antiquated. That would require 10 officers at a minimum, 12 if its not your RL and GL. Instead we try to focus on the functions or roles in WoW . Tanks, melee dps, ranged dps and healers. A much more manageable 6 officers is only required now and authority is clearly defined. Then again we share the responsibilities a little differently too. The RL defines the overall objectives and strategies but the tank officer still decides the best tank for the job and the healing officer still makes those assignments. It eases the burden on the leaders and the players.
Mordockk Jul 16th 2009 3:46PM
ya but look but your ranged dps leader would have to know hunters, shamans, mages, locks.....priests!
melee dps must know rogues, shamans, dks, warriors, palladins....etc.
class leaders are legit in larger guilds.
Dreadmaker Jul 16th 2009 7:13PM
It's the same Idea we function on in my guild. class leaders is a bit much, especially when you have lots of alts. I'm the GM/RL, but I also function as the 'class leader' for mages (I have a T7.5 geared one) druids (of all playstyles) and rogues (because feral dps is very similar to rogue dps). one of my officers functions as the leader for DKs and warlocks (for the same reason as me, he has two 80 alts).
I can see the system working; if you know mages, for instance, after doing some research, learning the other casters (moonkin, ele shammies, locks and Spriests) really isn't that difficult; same goes for the other similar roles.
As long as your officers do their research, the world becomes a better place.
themann1086 Jul 16th 2009 3:24PM
I love that sound clip. That guy's voice is just... priceless. Whenever we were getting setup for Thaddius, we'd break the raid into 6 groups, where 1 3 and 5 went left and 2 4 and 6 went right. Someone (shamefully, I'll admit that it was usually me) would always chime in "7 and 8 are whelp groups!"
Fierna Jul 16th 2009 3:32PM
Class leaders always sounded like overkill.
Kylenne Jul 16th 2009 3:50PM
Class leaders are just plain common sense if you're dealing with anything more than a super casual friends & family guild. Having a go-to person for knowledge on a particular class can be invaluable in terms of helping people get geared properly, fine tuning a rotation, etc. I was mage leader in my old guild and it's really more about mentoring than anything else.
In my experience, most good guilds have class leaders even if they're not formally labeled as such. There's always that one person that knows a lot more about a class or spec than others that (smart) people go to for help on things.
Dinaer Jul 16th 2009 4:52PM
You don't need class leaders if there are good helpful people in the guild.
We have an awesome Mage. If anyone has Mage questions they ask her. No need to clutter up the ranks, everyone knows who to ask.
avengangel Jul 16th 2009 3:44PM
Raaaage!!!@@@1111111
impurezero Jul 16th 2009 3:45PM
I've always decided that I wouldn't mind being yelled at in a raid, as long as it was from someone with that guy's voice.
Neirin Jul 16th 2009 3:50PM
My favorite officer layout for semi-large raiding guilds is GL (obviously), with 2-3 RLs (who usually also have about the same power as the GL so they can fill in if the GL is offline), then a handful of officers (generally one from each roll i.e. tanking/healing and occasionally a simply exceptional player). These people make up the loot council and are the go-to people for guild problems. Just below them, however, you also have a rank of experienced raiders and/or class officers. Rather than approaching these people about guild problems, these are the people you'd talk to about what they should be doing in a certain encounter to maximize your dps, or to bounce new ideas for talent specs off of so the GL isn't constantly spammed.
talonal Jul 16th 2009 3:52PM
We're a small guild with a raid leader, a heal lead, and a couple administrative officers that organize groups, keep the vault clean, etc. Works for us. I think the "one officer per class" thing is way overboard.