Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.It's been a couple of weeks since I answered a letter, so let's jump right into it!
Hi there,
I've been in my guild for about half a year now, basically since i started playing WoW. In that time I've gone up from newbie member to officer and done quite a lot of work for the guild (if i may say so myself lol) like starting and setting up the guild site, creating a guild bank, starting a recruitment spree and such things.
Recently I've run into the next problem though: With the guild growing, my GL has become more and more negative in general and is basically only complaining.
I've tried to talk to her about it (being an officer i think its my responsibility to give feedback to others, GL included) in private, which didn't really [have] any effect. After another negative and, other than that, empty response from her on the forum I replied to her in public (well semi-public, it being in the officers' corner of the forum) [and asked] everyone to keep an upbeat attitude and to not complain but instead to come up with solutions (or at least try to do so). I'm really hoping this will work, but I fear that it might not (lol, upbeat attitude?).
The other officers (well some of them, the ones that speak up, only in /w's or private mails to me) agree with me most of the time. But don't really say anything about the situation to her. [. . .]
I was hoping for some advice in this matter, maybe other things i could do or whatever. :)
Thanks in advance,
[Anonymous]
It sounds to me like your GL is feeling a bit overwhelmed by the position. You mention that your guild is growing, and that is a common experience for GLs during periods of growth. You can start to feel like things are spiraling out of your ability to control them, or like the guild is losing the family atmosphere that you worked so hard to foster. You start to wonder if you've made the right decisions and that leads you to question the decisions you're making now. Some people rise to the challenge; others panic, or let it get them down. It sounds like your GL is in the latter category.
If you want to get to the bottom of it, however, the first place I'd look is real life. Does she have any issues going on outside the game? It's tough to face problems in life and then log on for some fun, only to be greeted by more problems there. You may or may not have the kind of relationship with her that you'd feel comfortable asking about this, and I'm not saying you should pry. But you should understand that if she's having a difficult time IRL, then that is certainly contributing to her negative attitude.
Barring that, maybe she's just not cut out to be a GL. It takes a very patient and resilient person -- with perhaps a dash of lunacy -- to endure the rigors of the position. Do you get a sense that she isn't really doing much to help the guild? Is she noncommittal on important issues? You say all she does is complain -- Is she taking steps to fix the issues she's unhappy about? If she's not, then what's the point of her being in charge?
On the other hand, it sounds like you're very motivated to move the guild in the right direction. I'm sure other officers are, too. Perhaps you need to approach her as a group and offer to let one of you take over as the GL. This is a pretty drastic step. I suggest you feel her out on the issue before asking something like that. She might react as if you're trying to "steal" her guild from her -- and if that's the case, she may shut you out and never trust you again. But on the other hand, she might welcome less responsibility (particularly if, as I hypothesize, she has RL problems going on too).
If you're not comfortable doing that, the only other solution I can suggest is to be aggressive in solving the problems she complains about. Listen to what she's saying and take steps to fix one of the issues. Maybe if you and the other officers can show her that these problems aren't as impossible to solve as they sometimes seem, she'll change her attitude. I wish you luck!
/salute
Send Scott your guild-related questions, conundrums, ideas, and suggestions at scott.andrews@weblogsinc.com. You may find your question the subject of next week's Officers' Quarters!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-10-2007 @ 9:14AM
Paw said...
"Recently I've run into the next problem though: With the guild growing, my GL has become more and more negative in general and is basically only complaining."
I have belonged to two guilds in the 14 months I've been playing and both have been miserable experiences. Always the guild leader and is "issues".
Go guildless...I don't regret it at all. I like being freelance player...or independant contractor, if you will.
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9-10-2007 @ 9:32AM
PyroAmos said...
guild leader/guild master guilds are horrid, for this and many other reasons. Go high council run, only way to live.
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9-10-2007 @ 9:48AM
CVJ said...
My first guild ever a few years ago the GL was the last person in the guild to ding 60, never tried to organize anything, and mainly just logged in to see if us officers were maintaining things.
When drama happened he was always so clueless because he was never around but like to comment on how big the guild he founded had become.
He went emo and quit the game when all the officers left for another guild.
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9-10-2007 @ 10:02AM
sephirah said...
So today we have articles about:
1. a teen that cannot find time to play
2. breakups
3. depressed GL
No comment.
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9-10-2007 @ 10:23AM
BenMS said...
Yeah, #2 has it right on the money. Our GL is a sort of "First Amongst Equals" thing - while he has the hiring and firing power for the council, he doesn't rule autocratically. If we were to lose him tomorrow, while it would totally suck, we'd still be able to function easily as a guild, and he would make arrangements for a successor to stand up. We all know who that would be as well - no one would run against the guy because he is too well liked.
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9-10-2007 @ 10:39AM
Domaci said...
Good guilds should be led by a basic "Parliament" of officers anyhow. Tell her to give the GM title to an alt, and take the same title of "Officer" that you have. You should all be equal, and basically run things democratically. In this way she still "holds" the GMship of the guild, but for operational purposes she's an equal. And in bring an equal she gets to play a smaller role. If she is one of 4 Officers then she get's 1/4 the stress (hypothetically anyhow).
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9-10-2007 @ 10:46AM
Alenthor said...
I was in a guild where there was an officer who figured he should take over. It got messy and basically destroyed the guild. Therefore use that solution only if no other options are open to you.
Using a council is a good way to go, but if your GL isn't up to the challenge try to speak with her on a way to better help the guild, because in the long run having a GL who isn't dedicated (and happy about it) will eventually destroy a guild.
And at the very worst (or maybe best) you could always find another guild who could best use your dedication and hard work ethic. I know it sucks to give up on all the hard work you've obviously put in it, but trust me on this (from experience) sometimes it is the best and most rewarding move.
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9-10-2007 @ 10:53AM
jamphat said...
could be worse... our guild has been disbanded 3 times in 4 months, due to an angry drunk GL...
now im GL of though...hehe
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9-10-2007 @ 10:54AM
jamphat said...
Your comments: could be worse... our guild has been disbanded 3 times in 2 months, due to an angry drunk GL...
now im GL of though...hehe
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9-10-2007 @ 10:55AM
jamphat said...
those were supposed to say that i am the GL of "Disbanded"
:o
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9-10-2007 @ 11:17AM
Addie said...
Hard to give advice with so few details. What kind of guild is it? What sorts of drama is she facing? Are her complaints the "everything sucks" variety or is there some substance to them? Try to listen to what she's really saying.
(Off the wall guesses...) Has your recruiting spree changed the flavor of the guild? Is it possible that all your help has made her feel like the guild is less hers?
If she's not a control freak, nudge her toward delegating more, make sure she knows she doesn't have to do "it" alone whatever "it" is that she's doing. It's easy to feel too responsible and let the responsibility suck all the fun out of the GAME. It IS still a game, even when you're the GM. If she is a control freak, delegating would still be good for her but she's got to trust you in order to hear that.
On leadership styles: I KNOW I'm a control freak but I'm blessed with senior officers now that I trust implicitly. I would give the guild to either of them without a moment's hesitation if I ever needed to go. They're involved in every decision made and we communicate a lot. My stress level has gone way down... I hope theirs hasn't gone up. *grins*
(@4 "sephirah"? No comment.)
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9-10-2007 @ 11:17AM
bennet said...
Just to play devil's advocate - did this "quite a lot of work" involve things she wanted (especially with regard to things like the recruitment spree) or does she feel like the guild she knew and presumably loved is being changed out from under her by some no doubt well-meaning but ambitious officer whose vision doesn't coincide with hers? Do you leave her with the impression that you'd run the guild better than she does? Perhaps your own motives, in addition to her "negativity," could stand some scrutiny...
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9-10-2007 @ 11:20AM
Sylythn said...
Sounds to me like your GM just needs to take a break from it all. Tell them you and the other high-ranking officers will take care of all the drama and management of the guild, and free him/her up to go on a "vacation" - even if it's just away from WoW. They'll come back refreshed, to see that you're still there, and still doing well, and can feel like they can take the reigns again. We all need breaks sometimes - even GMs.
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9-10-2007 @ 12:02PM
Passit said...
It comes a time in any guild when the GL's goal might seem too far off.. or the kep members he thought were motivating the progress for thr guild leave or take absence... This usually leads to a downtrodden additude of a GL. At this point I say It might be time for GL to take a deep breath and step back from the stearing wheel. I'm not saying relinquish leadership, but take a break... Give the guild 2-3 weeks to settle... tell a trusted officer he is in charge in the mean time. And let the chips fall where they may. The guild will either evolve or fall apart further. But thats ok. Remeber! this game is supposed to be challenging. And being a leader is one of the biggest challenges it offers.
With this, I say its ok to get frustrated as a leader... hell it's ok to step down and leave the guild in the hands of someone you trust. Go back to having fun.
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9-10-2007 @ 1:17PM
Epiny said...
We have a GL, course we keep passing it around the guild. Geing guilded with all RL friends you have known for 10+ years helps. :)
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9-10-2007 @ 4:00PM
Farahlite said...
I've been a member of my semi-casual guild for ten months and worked my way up to class leader. Early-summer as we got more 70s able to do heroics our GL's negativity and trash talking during guild runs began to drive away guildies in droves. Our GL's "depression" is mostly expressed in anger and cursing when things don't go "just right". And he'll nag them for days afterward about it.
The officers did our best to tone it down but we have been bleeding people ever since. And as soon as we recruit some new 70s, well lets just say they don't last long.
It could also be Kara of course, but our guild is dying because of an emo GL. I think #2 is also right about the best type of guild, but our GL founded our guild as he is so fond of reminding everybody, so any transition to council is not gonna happen.
As a semi-casual with a busy RL schedule I'm a bit torn about leaving quite a few friends behind as well as the pain of searching for a new guild (as has been mentioned before on Wow Insider). Another complication is if any other guildies were to follow me, the GL would feel even more betrayed.
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9-10-2007 @ 7:34PM
Paul said...
I think there's something to be said about people who are not fit for leading a guild. Successful guilds need to have a solid base... and that base always begins with the guild leader regardless of how big or small role they have in the actual running of the guild. Even if they are only a figurehead, guild leaders represent the state of the guild.
This leads to one of the fundamental basics of leadership, which is to know your own strengths and weaknesses. A lot of people are too prideful to admit their faults, but being a leader means everything is exposed. If you aren't big enough to acknowledge your inadequacies, number one, you're not going to think of solutions to compensate for them, and more importantly, people under you will not respect you.
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