So you want to create a guild, do you? That’s not exactly an easy task to accomplish- particularly if you’re looking for your guild to gain any sort of recognition or power on your server- it’s not as simple as knowing how the in-game guild creation system goes or inviting a few friends along for the ride.
In a lot of ways, it’s almost like managing a business. Honestly? I’d actually argue that experience as the leader of a successful guild in a game like World of Warcraft could actually teach you a fair bit of useful real-world knowledge. You’ll see why in a moment.
Your Fellow Staff
Think about it for a moment. You’re not going to be able to be online 24/7 to run things. You’re not going to be able to control and manage every single aspect of how your guild’s run. You’re going to need staff members, and you’re going to need to be sure that they can be trusted. This is the first thing you’ll need as a successful guild leader- you’ll need to be a good judge of character- which, when it comes to the Internet, is easier said than done. To that end, you’re probably going to need to set up an application form of some kind (and do ‘background checks’ on guild staff). Alternatively, you could always promote them based on skill or merit, but that’s a touch riskier.
Either way, you can’t really go it alone- and figuring out who’s able to do what is vital if you’re to succeed. Further, you need to be capable of motivating your fellow staff to do work, as well- if you’re not, everything’s going to fall apart.
Organization
What sort of items does the guild have in their guild bank? What scheduled events do you have, and when are they set for. Where’s your headquarters? Are you going to be scheduling meetups and other in-person events? What are your rules, and how do you enforce them? Moreover, who’s responsible for enforcing them? Organization is one of the most important traits for a guild leader to possess, and the lack of it is one of the biggest reasons guilds fail. Well, that, and an unwillingness to put the necessary work in…but that second one goes without saying
Public Perception
You’re going to need to consider how people perceive your guild and its members. In other words…you need to market your guild as though it were a legitimate organization. Recruitment drives, a professional-looking, polished website (if you don’t know HTML and web design, best find someone who does in short order), and a good public image are all vital to your success. To that end, if you’ve got a member who’s causing problems, and giving people a negative idea of what your guild is like…they need to be disciplined or removed.
Long story short…leading a guild isn’t just a game. You’re going to need to be a manager, more than a gamer…and not everyone can do that.
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All very true. It’s much the same way for any online gaming organization (and many non-gaming organizations too). Even just hosting a popular forum (whether or not it’s associated with a particular organization) comes with all of these caveats.
Managing members is no walk in the park, and in my experience this can seem even harder to do than managing actual paid workers, because, in the end everyone is there during their personal free time, for the purpose of having fun. And no one wants to do work during their fun-time.