Officers' Quarters: An uncertain return
by Scott Andrews 
May 10th 2010 at 11:00AM
As I mentioned two weeks ago, we are really hitting the lull between expansions at this point. Many officers and guild leaders will be tempted to take a break from the game between now and Cataclysm. For a guild leader, it's a particularly tough decision. There's quite a bit of uncertainty about what will happen to a guild in its leader's absence. What many guild leaders don't think about, however, is the uncertainty that can occur once they return to the game. This week, one guild leader is returning from an extended break to find that the guild is still going strong, but that many things have changed in his absence, not the least of which is his own role.
Dear Scott,
I have a different situation than I have seen you discuss before. I am the guild creator and original GM of a raiding guild. I set up all the rules for the guild, with advice from my officers, set raiding rules, assigned ranks, and generally ran the guild how I wanted. It turned out to be quite a wonderful guild and I am happy that I was able to create a guild that functioned so well. Well, after leading the guild for more than a year, we started to grow rather large. We had 3-4 10-man groups going each week, 2 25-man groups, and other various activities. Even though I had asked some officers to step up and lead events, they didn't really pull through so I ended up leading a lot. At one point, I was leading 5 raids a week. With everything else going on in my life, I realized I couldn't maintain that sort of schedule for long.
I have a different situation than I have seen you discuss before. I am the guild creator and original GM of a raiding guild. I set up all the rules for the guild, with advice from my officers, set raiding rules, assigned ranks, and generally ran the guild how I wanted. It turned out to be quite a wonderful guild and I am happy that I was able to create a guild that functioned so well. Well, after leading the guild for more than a year, we started to grow rather large. We had 3-4 10-man groups going each week, 2 25-man groups, and other various activities. Even though I had asked some officers to step up and lead events, they didn't really pull through so I ended up leading a lot. At one point, I was leading 5 raids a week. With everything else going on in my life, I realized I couldn't maintain that sort of schedule for long.
I decided to take a break. I promoted a trusted officer to GM and I logged off for 3 months so I could better deal with some real-life obligations. During those 3 months I kept in contact with the new GM to see how things were going. For the first couple of weeks that I was gone, the guild was pretty helpless. They weren't raiding and everyone was hoping I would come back and do everything again. When they realized I wasn't coming back, they decided to make things happen on their own. Some officers stepped up to help out more and even some non-officers took up leadership of a raid. It ended up turning out for the best because now they do even more raiding than when I was in charge and they have multiple people leading.
I recently had the desire to come back and play again and here is where the question comes in to play. This guild was "my baby" and I set up the guild how I thought was best. While I was away, some of my rules were removed or changed and other rules were added. I don't agree with all the changes but some of them are better. I have been back playing for about 5 days now and I am finding it difficult to find my place in the guild right now. Many of the members still respect me like their GM, some of the members don't even know me, at least one of the officers resents me for leaving. Right now, I help fill in raids whenever they need another member but I haven't taken up leading any raids yet. The current GM promoted me to the officer rank when I came back so I can be in on officer discussions.
What is the best way for me to reintegrate to the guild? I think the GM would make me the new GM if I asked but should I ask? Do I just have to keep my mouth shut and let the officers run the guild how they have been or can I try and change some of the rules I don't agree with? I am very happy that my guild is still prospering and that the officers have taken up leadership without me but I am saddened that "my guild" that I created and that I had special plans for is no longer mine. What is my place in this guild?
Thanks,
Anonymous
I would recommend treading carefully here. It's not unusual for some of your officers and other members to feel resentful when a guild leader decides to stop playing entirely for a while. You were certainly entitled to do so, but people sometimes feel betrayed or abandoned as a result.
Fortunately, it seems that your guild has actually improved since you left, with more people willing to take on responsibility. That will decrease the workload on individual players and reduce the chances that someone will be overwhelmed by leadership duties, much like you were. Considering the sheer size of the guild, I doubt any single person could handle managing everything for very long. Thus, your decision has had a tangible benefit for the community. Hopefully that benefit will lessen any hard feelings other members may be harboring.
Even so, you did leave, and you can't expect to come back whenever you feel up to it and pick up exactly where you left off. Part of taking a long break from a leadership position is accepting the fact that your replacement may not decide to run things exactly the way you would have. If you return to the guild and start clamoring to put everything back the way it was, you're only going to stir up more resentment.
Don't be a Jay Leno. Your guild and your place in it has changed, and you need to accept that for now. You created the guild and you were the biggest contributor to its initial success, but others have taken up the torch. You need to respect the effort that they put in to keep the community moving forward in your absence. If not for them, you'd be starting from scratch instead of returning to the guild you founded -- in any capacity.
You can't think of the guild as "your baby" anymore. Moreover, I actually think that this attitude is counterproductive for a guild leader. A guild leader may often call the shots, but a guild belongs to all its members. You lead only with their consent to be led by you.
Having said that, you could offer to resume your old position as guild leader. If you want to avoid drama, you should not request it. It's a fine line I'm drawing here, but it's an important distinction. By offering, you're sending the message that you are willing to take up the mantle again if the guild leader you appointed would rather step down -- but you are not expecting him or her to do so. Not many players want the ultimate responsibility of guild leadership, so you might be surprised at how quickly he or she hands over the reins. Just try not to let your disappointment show if he or she declines your offer.
If you request the position, on the other hand, you're sending a different message entirely. You're saying that you want the position back regardless of other considerations, and you're going to be dissatisfied by remaining just an officer. If the current guild leader wants to keep the position, he or she is going to feel threatened by your request. This situation can lead to political maneuvering and a possible power struggle that could tear the guild apart. You don't want that.
As far as the policy and rules changes go, what's done is done. The officers who were in charge felt that the changes were necessary or desirable and the guild seems to be doing fairly well as a result. Now is not the time to question these decisions. If a situation comes up where you feel that the new rules are causing a problem, then you should point out the issue privately with the other officers so you can all discuss it. That would be the appropriate time to request a change. Otherwise, don't rock the boat when the sailing is smooth.
You say you had "special plans" for this guild. There's no reason you can't still achieve those goals while serving as an officer. Yes, you'll have to defer to the other officers more than you otherwise might. However, as long as you're all on a similar page, I'm sure they'll be happy that another person is working hard to improve the guild.
/salute
Send Scott your guild-related questions, conundrums, ideas and suggestions at scott@wow.com. You may find your question the subject of next week's Officers' Quarters!Filed under: Officers' Quarters (Guild Leadership)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jarviswabi May 10th 2010 11:17AM
My guild had a very similar situation this year where one of the founding leaders quit in a huff and the other founder decided to step aside for the sake of his sanity, and I was the officer selected to take over as GM. During my tenure, we changed serveral raiding rules, mainly to relax things and make people happier and more comfortable. Our discipline and progression has suffered a bit, but for the most part, things have run smoothly. I think when you made that decision to take a break, you were implicitly accepting the fact that things WOULD change in your absence, and Scott is absolutely dead-on about the way to return. You can OFFER to become GM again, but even if it's accepted, you should take into account how the guild has evolved before making any changes that YOU think should be made.
My approach to leading a guild has been to try to see it as a collective organism, not as a top-down hierarchy. A raiding guild only exists when it has a critical mass of members (10 or 25 or whatever) that are happy with the direction it's going in and willing to put in the effort. It belongs to no one person, or even a group of people, no matter how much effort they've put into it. The choice to run a guild is just that, a choice. It doesn't entitle you to a greater say than the members, it just puts you in a position of having some influence on the decisions that are made. I'm sure some folks run their guilds as dictatorships, but that's not for me.
I think you're on the right track with your reintegration, it's just a matter of seeing how much compromise you're willing to make.
zubbiefish May 10th 2010 11:17AM
You know what? You can't go back.
If the GM steps down and leaves it has to be assumed that at the time the intent is to never return.
Anyone who's interested in having a guild that's thier "baby" can't exactly give the kid up for adoption and then expect to just get it back when they wanna.
As to rules that may have changed... well, once you drop the kid on the doorstep of the orphanage you lose the ability to influence them too.
You can't go back.
Adapt or start over.
lilrabbit129 May 10th 2010 11:19AM
After you leave, especially for an extended period of time, you can't expect to just be able to be in charge again. Once you passed that GM title to someone else, they are now in charge. It sounds like you were made an officer, which is great. Just try to integrate yourself as best you can.
Enjoy the recognition and respect as the former-GM, but don't expect any special treatment from it ( including being able to ask to be GM again).
Golis May 10th 2010 11:51AM
agreed...
you had your place in the big chair and for good reasons moved on. Take this opportunity to now be the "elder Statesman"
Down rank this next part if you want, but look at the life arc of Jimmy Carter (former US President). After his one term in office, he took some time off for himself, but then took the lessons he learned from a very troubled time in the US and transformed himself for a positive push.
You have the advantage of perspective without the burden of responsibility. Use this time to help advise current leadership and broker cooperation among the rank and file. Are there new players you don't know yet? don't assume them to be noobs, instead get to know their values and help them integrate.
you may be more help to the guild now that you are not in the chair then you ever were when you sat there.
Extrox May 10th 2010 11:18AM
"You don't know what a got until it's gone."
and
"Be careful for what you wish for"
Two phrases that seemed quite appropriate for the topic. The former GM wants the officers to step up, but when they do, he finds they no longer need him.
Zanathos May 11th 2010 2:50AM
I think he was more wishing they'd step up BEFORE he burned out.
Josin May 10th 2010 11:21AM
Good article!
vmonte200 May 10th 2010 11:22AM
I've said it before in posts i don't understand how we could be in a lul between expansions...this one is not even close to over, ICC is still pretty fresh, LK hardmode is not over with yet for a lot of guilds, AND we have a whole new raid left in this expansion, the Ruby Sanctum.
Also the beta is not even close yet, you can't have a lul until at least 2-3 months before release date and we don't even know when that is...we can guess but that could be wrong. We are at least 6 months from any type of release, and that would mean ruby sanctum would have to be a faceroll of an instance because we don't even have a PTR for it yet.
Stop making up this lull, there is none. If you are bored with the game thats fine but its not a pre expansion lull, maybe the game is just dieing but I can say that on my server there is no evidence of any type of lull.
Lissanna May 10th 2010 11:45AM
Actually, you can tell by how bored most players actually are. ICC didn't hold people's attention long enough for some reason. People are quitting the game left and right. Once Alpha/Beta testing starts for the next expansion, that pretty much defines the lull between expansions (even if Blizz dumps entire content patches between testing & release of an expansion).
vmonte200 May 10th 2010 11:52AM
I disagree. Plenty of people came back for the "achievement" patch in BC. I think the transition to Cata will be much more busy for us. First we have to take back gnomer/echo. I think this will be the next content patch in the form of world event. Once the battle is won and world event is over we will have ruby sanctum(this gives the time for the gnomes/trolls to rebuild for cata) Then after ruby sanctum we have the actual "Cataclysm Event" which should be interesting. We where playing BC/LK for about a month or so before they even came out but couldn't really access any new areas. Kara and the Ebon hold were in but you couldn't do anything. With Cata changing a lot of the old world it will be interesting to see how the developers keep us out of there or if once you buy the Expansion it is gonna be one giant patch/game to install, but that would mean if i get the game before you I would be in areas that don't exist on your game? If everyone really thinks of a mid November release date (which i admit is the most likely thing to happen, if not January) we still have 3 things to look forward to/do in those 6 months. Echo/Gnomer event, Ruby Sanctum, Cataclysm pre patch.
Eyhk May 10th 2010 11:54AM
Maybe not on your server, but on many servers, ICC 25 is being pugged as GDKP runs since nobody needs loot anymore. Anybody remember OS3D mount runs? ZA mount runs? BT loot runs? BWL runs?
Rule of thumb: Whenever there are offerings for runs and loot in exchange for gold, it is officially a lull.
threesixteen May 10th 2010 11:55AM
actually, all respect, but i agree that there is definitely a lull. ICC just isn't that interesting anymore; i've faced the LK but not downed him yet, and even still i'm not really that jazzed about it. And hardmodes etc, meh. It's still the same content just with a few tweaks.
aside from maybe some ulduar runs (and those aren't easy to maintain for more than a couple shots before the raid lockouts stretch to like 2 months) and, there just isn't anything but grinding out levels or professions. After 3+ years of this, it is a little on the dull side.
ruby sanctum is fine, but that'll last what, four weeks tops?
the real issue to my mind is that once the xpansion comes, all this gear we've spent so much time perfecting and acquiring will once again just get tossed. So what's the point in chasing the last few ilvls and itemization points? it's not like there's any pride to be had since the ICC buff and the easy-to-acquire Frost gear has basically created a homogenization that precludes anyone but the top .01% from exclusivity. i'm not complaining about opening end-game mind you; that's fine. it's just that this is a consequence of that philosophy.
anyway, after 100+ runs through ICC, i'm more than ready to call it a night.
Rob May 10th 2010 11:57AM
Maybe it depends on the player. For many players, this a very boring spot right now. They've done ICC, killed the bad guy, and feel like they are done w/ the game.
For others like myself, I am pacing myself. I know I have easily 5 months until next xpac. I got a few toons i am leveling, i have my main that i am trying to get into raids with. We've got a long way to go, either way. But yeah there is much more than WoW out there.
theRaptor May 10th 2010 12:26PM
Yeah for normal raiders there is little point raiding once you have seen all the bosses in the final raid. But you could always try for other things like hard modes (actually developing some raiding skills will help your guild in cata).
With the new shifting tier system (where there is really only LAST_TIER and CURRENT_TIER) there is little point raiding hard anyway. If you want CURRENT_TIER you can just wait a few months until it becomes LAST_TIER and get it from heroics. That is how it has worked for the last two tiers and how it will work in Cata. So you either need to figure out a new reason to keep hitting raids or you will be stuck with guilds that raid until everyone sees the content on normal and then have a "lull".
RAGE May 13th 2010 11:52AM
I agree, things have gotten pretty boring in the game. I am in a large guild and we were talking about this the other night, and how other people have switched over to playing Star Trek on line until the next WOW expansion comes out. I was talking to my GM and we are both dreading of having to level up profession skills on four level 80's another 75 points. I do have to say WOW needs a serious make over from graphics to the profession system to the way quests are given out and turned in. The quest system in Star Trek is pretty slick, click on the comm button and "Oh look a new quest" the player clicks accept and its in your quest log, none of this traveling back and forth to the quest giver 15 times for turn ins or to get the next quest in the chain. Blizzard should take a couple of ideas from Star Trek.
dkhar May 10th 2010 12:31PM
You can disagree all you want, but the fact is for most everybody else (especially those of us who have been playing since beta) there is a huge lull in between expac's. By the time ICC was released, almost everyone I know in game already left because of being bored with WotLK, and waiting for Cata to hit. Fact is, the majority want something new to play, a new raid is nothing more than the same old same old that we have done thousand's of times, and adding a new one to tide people over only works so many times then it doesn't work anymore. And that has been happening since vanilla.
clevins May 10th 2010 1:18PM
Even for guilds that haven't downed LK this Xpac is hitting a lull. If you haven't killed Arthas yet and aren't close, you have to wonder if you ever will (we haven't due to losing a bunch of core raiders and being a 2x a week raid). If you aren't going to face LK there's little reason to farm ICC for gear since the gear all resets in Cata anyway.
In Ulduar, even if you never killed Yogg you'd want the gear from the earlier bosses for the next tier of raiding. Same in Naxx and in ToC - you wanted all of the gear you could get to prep you for the next tier of raiding. But ICC is it - there is no next tier in Wrath (RS being a sidegrade as I understand it). So the only reason to farm gear is to continue through LK. If you're not close to him, then you have to contend with people getting tired of wiping at this point, the advent of nice weather, summer coming up with the inevitable disruption to schedules as people go on vacation and the fact that the gear isn't important aside from helping you in ICC.
zappo May 10th 2010 3:38PM
There is a lull during summer, and there is a lull before the expansion. It's hitting pretty early this year, but it's hitting full force. A month or so ago there were about the usual 2-3 typical recruitment posts on my realm a week. Now the realm forums are packed with guilds recruiting.
Gren May 10th 2010 11:24AM
There is also the option of joint GLship. he could step up to be "second in command" but let the new GL reamin number one. I have seen some guilds with joit leadership and it has worked well.
Melanie May 10th 2010 11:54PM
It's their fault for not helping and overloading the GM. Now they resent him and won't let him regain status? Very immature if you ask me. But his guild seems to no longer need him.