Officers' Quarters: Desperate appointments
by Scott Andrews 
Apr 2nd 2012 at 3:00PM
It's certainly no rare situation when a guild leader has to scale back his or her time due to offline obligations. The right thing to do is appoint someone who's willing and able to cover your own slack. But what if that person isn't even an officer? This week, a guild member wonders whether it's time to panic.
Hi Scott!
Recently I joined a re-roll guild that has been around since the first of January. The premise of the guild is simple: new members can only join with a level one character and must level up within the guild without the help of outside resources. For a while, this worked out well. Everyone became fast friends and the guild grew to be called "the fam." But now we are approaching another month of "re-rolls," and drama has reared its ugly head.
Our GL just announced an impending life change and since then he's been markedly absent from our roster. One member posted on our forums noting that activity had declined, and another responded with suggestions on how to improve the current state of affairs. A few of the officers replied agreeing and disagreeing with various points, but the general consensus was that the members were not happy with things as they were. Before I go any farther, it helps to understand the... unique, way in which our officers are appointed.
One of the great struggles guild leaders face is finding enough players willing to help with all the various tasks and duties that a guild needs. All but the smallest guilds require more than one person in a leadership position.Anyone who wants to "help out" (as the GL calls it) can post an application to the forums. Members are given a week (often less) to respond to it before the GL approves it. Not before he makes a decision about it--but before he approves it. All of our officer applications have been approved, so at present we have around four to six of them for a guild of less than fifty active people, that's been around for less than six months!
Anyway, at some point during the drama, another officer application was posted. When the GL finally showed up to have his say, he announced that the person who threw in the application was being promoted to co-GL. We had plenty of people post offering suggestions on how to improve activity. Some even volunteered to lead raids and other events, but the GL didn't acknowledge any of these efforts. His response sounded almost as if he was reprimanding our membership when he said no one else had offered to "help out."
The sticky part of the situation is this: besides obvious tension over the fact that this addendum to the leadership happened overnight with no warnings, the person he elected is a newer member whose only character is currently at level 55. As the situation that resulted in her appointment was largely precipitated by people who are bored at level cap and looking for more things to do, I'm not sure how she'll be able to sort everything out in our GL's absence.
The GL's argument was that it's one thing to offer ideas and another to take responsibility. Is he right, or is the sudden and unexplained promotion of a newer member a cause for alarm?
Prior promotions
Understanding this, I don't judge your guild leader for promoting anyone who is willing to an officer position. Sometimes we have to accept those who are the most enthusiastic rather than convincing those who are best qualified. (How do you think Garrosh got to be warchief, anyway?)
The question then becomes what those officers are doing once they are promoted. It seems as though your guild leader has been frustrated by a lack of help. These promotions should be given only if the player in question agrees to accept specific responsibilities. It doesn't seem like that has been the case. Your guild leader is correct when he says that offering suggestions does not equate to a better guild if no one takes action.
Now it seems that people have spoken up about doing more for the guild, but your guild leader hasn't acknowledged it. He must have a reason for that, but I can only speculate. Maybe he has heard similar, private promises in the past that have gone unfulfilled. Or maybe he has simply burned out from the lack of help, and the offers are now too little, too late.
The face of the future
Whatever the reason, your guild leader must be feeling pretty desperate in order to promote someone to co-leader who isn't even an officer yet. It's possible that the guild leader spoke to all the existing officers and no one wanted to step up. He's probably worried that the guild will simply fall apart without a dedicated player to cover for him.
However, just because this co-leader is new to the guild doesn't mean she won't do an outstanding job. The guild is only three months old, after all -- you're all new. Perhaps everyone should simply give her a chance before jumping to conclusions about what she can or can't accomplish.
I agree that better communication between the guild leader and the guild would be beneficial. Some discussion prior to the promotion would have gone a long way toward making people more comfortable with the choice. Unless someone else volunteers for the position, however, I don't think you have any other options.
A good time to assess
Is the sudden promotion cause for alarm? Well, it's certainly cause for everyone to take a long, hard look at the guild and its leadership. Have the vast majority of the tasks and duties fallen on the guild leader alone? Perhaps it's time to change that, and assign roles to officers in order to distribute responsibilities.
Also, what is the guild's attitude toward max-level activities? Will these be supported by the officers, or will leveling remain the sole focus? If your new co-leader is only 55, but the guild wants to participate in max-level activities, then one of the existing level-85 officers should step up and coordinate those.
I like the concept of your guild. Leveling together is a great bonding experience. You've reached a crossroads now, though, both in terms of leadership and identity. I would urge your officers to make concrete decisions about the management and the direction of the guild. Also, I would urge your members to support those officers however they can to ensure a bright future for the community.
/salute
Officers' Quarters keeps your guild leadership on track to cope with sticky situations such as members turned poachers or the return of an ex-guild leader and looking forward to what guilds need in Mists of Pandaria. Send your own guild-related questions and suggestions to scott@wowinsider.com.
Filed under: Officers' Quarters (Guild Leadership)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jyotai Apr 2nd 2012 4:35PM
I ran a guild from 2007 to 2010.
There are plenty of people around who will say they were helping and offering to help who never did or do. And plenty more who will say so to the guild members and then never approach the GM. Finally, many officers will offer, and then when tasked; do nothing.
At the same time you always end up with a few quiet folks who say nothing, and do lots.
All of which leads to people making assumptions about what is going on 'in officer chat' or the 'officer forum' which are often not accurate.
This is not to say that GMs also don't make incredibly bad choices and pick the wrong people for the wrong reasons, the right people for the wrong reasons, or the wrong people for the right reasons... :)
- I did plenty of that too...
And of course... the information is often "filtered" by people's biases and opinions before it ever reaches the GM...
And the above is just in good times, when the drama is low. When the drama ramps up; people start trying to do all of the above -on purpose- and making the right choices as a GM gets very complicated...
I've got a lot of respect for a GM that manages to hold a guild together that isn't holding itself together. Ans the only guilds that will hold themselves together are ones with a mission and purpose in good times: like a raiding guild making solid progress, or a RP guild with a great story going on.
- Anyone else... they have to work to keep their guild together (one reason raiding guilds tend to explode suddenly when they blow up - is it takes almost no work at all to hold one together in good times - people gloss over a lot of hate when they're kings of the hill, so when/if bad times hit the GM is a lot less experienced and a lot less forewarned about handling drama-crisis).
Sunblade Apr 2nd 2012 5:24PM
Wise words, my friend.
Lipstick Apr 2nd 2012 6:44PM
How do you break up with your own guild... when you're the GM?
Of late we have a clique of people whom joined together who... is just causing all sorts of problems, from making new recruits feel unwelcome, undermining my authority or constantly saying disparaging remarks about our progression {which isn't bad} our dps {which is admittedly low for a few players but we are talking to them and they -are- working on it} and otherwise constantly pulling stunts which makes it clear that they think they could do a better job {they couldn't}.
I have been trying my best to hold the group together. But all of this work and stress and trying to make everyone else happy has pretty much ruined my enjoyment of the game. It's to the point I don't want to log in, I don't want to play, and I just want to kick these people from our guild but if I do, then the group wont be able to raid -- as our sever is somewhat smallish, and recruiting off server hasn't been very successful.
I feel like if I kick these people who are causing these issues -- others will follow, but they have created a situation where I just don't want to play any more.
I have worked hard for this guild, and done so much. But I am drowding.
Galatea Apr 2nd 2012 9:01PM
As a fellow guild leader, I would say you're down to 2 choices -- kick the troublemakers or pass the guild on to someone else. Not logging on might make you feel better in the short term by avoiding the problems, but it probably only makes things worse, because you're just leaving that time open for troublemakers to sow the seeds of discontent and undermine your authority even more.
If you're this unhappy, it's most likely other people are too. Don't leave them hanging. Personally, I would kick the troublemakers, because it's your guild right? It might suck for a while until you can find new people, but you'll probably just lose a lot if you don't choose to kick these few.
Schwiiing Apr 2nd 2012 9:02PM
It just isn't worth it. Kick all the dicks, keep the people you can have a laugh with and use raid finder. WOW is supposed to be fun, and it is when you play it the way you want to. Our guild is now down to 7 people (about 50 characters) and we have a ball. Never, ever have any drama.
Raid finder is definitely not the same as a raiding guild, but a GM feeling like you don't want to log is not a healthy place to be. I know everyone is different, but I like being in a guild where I know I can cast Misdirect onto my GM's healer and everyone will laugh about it.
nicholas_911_99 Apr 2nd 2012 10:09PM
I have always wanted to start a guild. Its been my dream ever since I started playing. How do you gms do it?
Luke Apr 3rd 2012 1:25AM
It's extremely difficult if you do not have support from officers. It's also extremely difficult if you have obligations outside of game.
My main advice would be, know the kind of guild you want to have. With clear cut rules of conduct (a charter), and goals, be that a leveling guild, a PvP guild, or a raiding guild. Not that guilds can't be all of these things, but if you clearly define your guild from the beginning recruits will have a better time knowing if the guild fits them before they sign up. Few things can destroy a guild faster than lofty or unclear goals and unreliable leadership.
In short, be prepared to invest a lot of time and effort. It's not easy, but it can be very rewarding.
Xantenise Apr 3rd 2012 4:25AM
I managed to do it years ago without knowing a single person and starting all by myself. Granted, I was young and stupid, but it worked just fine until I ended up passing it over.
- Think about things you want to put in your own guild. That is, what is it about other guilds that make you unhappy? What do other guilds lack you want in yours? Why do you want to make your own as opposed to being a part of someone else's? The reason I made my own guild was because I was never happy in other guilds.
- Recruit. Recruit, recruit, recruit. Depending on what kind of guild you're developing, post guild ads in the appropriate areas. If you're making a levelling guild, post an ad macro whenever you're in a different zone. If you're making a PVP guild, post an ad every time you're in a BG. If you're making a raiding guild, post an ad whenever you're in a capital city. (Heck, you should be posting an ad whenever you're in a capital city either.)
- Recognise the difference between people who want to be officers and people who are good officers. Good officer material are people who help out even though they're not officers, but without stepping on your toes.
- Remember why you're doing it. If you're doing this on a whim, it won't work out -- it takes solid, consistent commitment to get it right.
- Remember: drama between members is the scariest shit a GM can deal with. Often, conflicts are "his word against hers." And it can be really, really difficult to make the right decision. No matter what decision you make in these cases, not everyone will be happy. When drama flares up, chances are it's too late to make everything right and all you can do is damage control.
- Don't worry. If you feel like you're making it up as you go along, that's pretty much normal.
nicholas_911_99 Apr 3rd 2012 7:41AM
Thanks for all of your advice. Before I start a guild, I think I should probably become an officer in another guild just to be sure of the commitment it takes. How do you get the guild to trust you to become an officer?
Lekal Apr 3rd 2012 2:07PM
"How do you get the guild to trust you to become an officer?"
1) Live up to your normal-member obligations well. Show up for things on time or early, with all the preparation you need.
2) Present yourself as a rational and responsible person, preferably more so even than would usually be expected. For instance, in progression raiding, it's normal to be and act frustrated when things don't go well. If you can restrain that, it speaks well of you as potential officer material.
3) Start volunteering to help. Ideally do so in very concrete terms. Does your guild use particular supplies (feasts, cauldrons, etc) for raids or pvp? Offer to make them, or ask the person who usually makes them if they need anything to make them. Is your guild recruiting? Offer to write a little advert for the forums or WoW Insider and submit it to the recruiting guy. This is particularly effective if there's a gap in the leadership roles- if there is no one who makes feasts or does recruitment. If all the necessary tasks are covered, you'll probably have to wait for that to change.
4) FOLLOW THROUGH on 3. That is key. I'm an officer- if someone offered to help, I gave them a task, and they failed to do it, I'd likely never give them a task again. Demonstrated lack of reliability is hugely detrimental.