Blancing the spectrum

Every guild has an identity and goals. It's what draws people to your guild over another. But, even within a guild there's a spectrum. No matter how "hardcore" your guild is there is someone who is the most hardcore and someone who is the least hardcore. No matter how talented your guild is, someone out there is the most talented and someone is the least talented.

My job is to bridge the gap. How do I keep my hardest core and least skilled player working together? How do I drive policy and raid nights to cater to the majority while still keeping both my most skilled and least skilled players involved?

Some of this is self regulating, your worst players either realize they can't hang with your guild and get better or find a guild that is more their speed, or if they are a detriment and don't realize it, are removed. Your best players either work to better their peers, or they find a guild more progressed and leave (A credit to our guild, this hasn't happened to us yet). But in someways the nature of a guild's mechanics help to narrow the gap. But even with that self regulation, the gap will always exist, and no matter how narrow the gap becomes, it will feel huge to the people on the far ends of it.

I won't say I have the answer, but I've picked up a few tricks that I think help the process.

1) Know your raiders - I know, there's like 30-40 of them and one of you, but it's really not that hard. When you first recruit your raider set aside 20 to 30 minutes to talk to them. Make sure you do it in their first week. The key thing points you want to make and get are: Where do they fall in your spectrum? What do they want out of being a part of your guild? What are their initial impressions? And make sure they feel like they can approach you. About a month after recruitment, touch base again. Here you just want to get their impressions and remind them you are available. After that touching base can be much more low key. I try and pick one raider a night and at some point just touch base and just say "hi." By going to them, you create an opportunity for them to talk to you about whatever is on their mind without them having to work up the courage to talk to you or worry about bothering you.

2) Be open to feedback - Receiving honest communication from a raider is a gift, even if you don't like what the raider has to say. When a raider comes to you with something on their mind, they are creating an opportunity for you. If you make them feel like they aren't being heard, or worse derive them for their opinions, you ensure they won't give you another. It takes an experienced ear to know if a raider's problem is sign of larger discontentment that may be shared with other raiders, a sign that raider has just had a bad day, or perhaps an indication that that raider may need to get over it or find a new home. Regardless of the nature of the feedback or what you do with it, coming to you is a sign of respect and a request for help.

3) Be honest - If you've identified a raider that's on one end of the spectrum or the other, be honest with them. I tell my raiders that I appreciate what they are feeling, but this is a guild of 30-40 other people who all have different needs and their needs aren't shared with the majority. I'm honest about what may change and what will not. If a raider is on the lower end of the skill spectrum I'll tell them that they are most likely not going to get in for new content nights unless I don't have another option, but that there is still a place for them in our guild and in our raids. Often times I've been able to take my guild into new content because those "bench" players have been there when a "starter" is sick or on vacation. When those times occur I am quick to thank my "bench" player and remind them that this is why they are important to my guild. On the other end of the spectrum, I listen to the needs and desires of my highly skilled or hardcore players and try to accommodate what I can without disenfranchising the other players. I try to give them the recognition they deserve and remind them of why we need some of our weaker players. More than change, I think most of these end of the spectrum raiders need to know their needs are understood and need someone to help manage their expectations.

4) Don't be accusatory - Just because someone may not fit the average need of your guild, doesn't mean what they need or want isn't valid. No matter how foreign their needs/wants may seem to you, it's their $15 and it's their free time. Don't make them feel bad for wanting to spend it differently than you do. If their wants/needs are irreconcilable from the guild's it's in your and their best interest to tell them you don't think they'll find what they are looking for in your guild, but try not to make them feel bad for trying to find it. Remember in someone else's eyes you're either a "scrub" or a "freak with no life."

These solutions may not work for you or your guild, but it's been my experience that they help minimize the drama and they work for my leadership style. I think in the end no matter how much people want to say that the driving factor for people playing this game is the loot, they have missed the mark. I think the driving factor for people playing this game is a sense of accomplishment and a sense of being an important part of a community that shares their values. If you measure that accomplishment in loot, mounts, non-combat pets or the number of people on your server that know your name, we're all just here to have fun with friends.