[GW2] Becoming a Leader: A Learning Curve

Change is hard for everyone. Back when my few guildmates and I decided enough was enough and we moved to Tarnished Coast, it was a bit of an adjustment for some of us. The players on this side of the mountain were friendly and active, and covered a variety maps, made an effort in WvW and then some, and it was something we hadn't seen in months. However,  this was a needed change, as I expressed in my post a few months ago. The adjustment was big for me, however. 

Dance for Dolyaks 2013! 

During this initial period, I was given rights to the guild; full leadership rights both ingame and in the mumble provided to us. I was excited,  but wary. Back on Darkhaven, I didnt do much leading, although Valkyria was my idea and created under my name, so how exactly how was I supposed to lead a guild that was more goal-orientated and had the same mentality leader prior to me? I expressed my uncertainty multiple times but the core members didn't seem to think the same way. Conscious of these feelings I had, I embarked on a new lesson of leading in game.

Our numbers had dwindled, and after recruiting two of my old gaming friends and a couple of other players, we started working towards goals as a small group. Getting people to eighty, grinding dungeons and fractals, and working towards buying guild missions, which we learned was costly and time consuming. We pugged frequently, often short numbers or people with high enough levels, and I didn't do much leading. Sure, I made executive decisions when we didn't know what to do, but I wouldn't call that the entire definition of leading at all. And Miraza, I know you'll be reading this and that you'll disagree :), but nonetheless. We continued on like this for a couple of weeks before two things happened: I encountered a problem player among us, and we unlocked guild bounties. I'll start with the ladder.  

As we built bounties, I studied them. I wrote out a master list of names and what maps for easy reference, I tried to understand mechanics, and I tried to know every path. When we were finally ready for bounties, I was initially lax. I didn't stop side chatter in mumble and we were always short on time,  so we ultimately failed a few, even with two experienced returning players and our arsenal of core players. Our communication was weak, and our coordination suffered. Tired of constant failures, and frustrated,  I constantly said how I was sure we were capable of this. We had tackled Arah before, I knew we could make this work. And then, what did Anet do? Bounty training missions. One target in fifteen minutes, 3000infl reward.

We queued up a handful.

After evaluating our previous strategies amd listening to my officers, I put my boot down. No more chatter. Either you're calling locations for bounties or you're not talking at all. You were to listen for battle strategies while in fights, and you were taking this as seriously as Tybalt takes his apple cider. We made a day with eleven of us and tackled a few training missions, all successes, before I asked if everyone wanted to tackle a real bounty. No one said no. So we popped a bounty tier 1.

Our first target was Poobadoo, arguably the easiest bounty.  A heavy hitting quaggan with a small path in Kessex hills. We found and burnt him down with nine minutes on our clock, and we raced off to Timberline falls for 2MULT, a new bounty golem with a scary mechanic. Thankfully,  I spawned on top of him. I pinged my location and everyone arrived, excited.  We could do this! We started the fight and struggled at first, but upon getting the mechanic with the sparks down... we burnt him down! We succeeded, and with two minutes to spare. I congratulated everyone, stressing how integral the communication we just showcased played a massive part in this win. We took success screenshots, and went on our way. Since then, bounties always yield successes rather than fails (unless we're just going for rewards to catch others up) and we understand what it means to communicate efficiently and effectively.

I was on my laptop at the time, but Mimee sent some screenshots my way! Our first victory!

Now, back to the former. While we learned what effective communication meant and how to use it, we struggled with a player with a... I-know-more-than-you mentality in our roster. Initially we felt this player was great. They were friendly and listened... until they got comfortable with us. Our core is close, but not too close as to alienate others. We include others and are always friendly, but we also like to pick on each other verbally, though always in a joking way; I see us as a family, and I hope the others do, too. 

While running with this player, he would make jabs like the rest of us, which is great! It's welcomed, it shows us you're comfortable with us, and as long as it's playful, there's no foul. Sometimes, the guys pick on me, but that's fine because I'm sassy back, so no harm... However, I started to feel that some of these jokes from this particular player were a little mean. Often I can take a hit; I'm pretty resilient or will roll my eyes or something. Usually. Though, when these jokes from this player were said, I often felt a little cornered. I raised my concerns with Miraza and an officer, but stressed that maybe I was being a little too sensitive. 

It wasn't until the Super Adventure Box came around that my officer noticed this behaviour too, and asked me about it. I explained that I wasn't sure why there was a different tone of voice being used with me. Long story short, my officer spoke to the player and then they spoke to me, and apologized. We left that at that, and the relationship seemed better again after we had talked it out. I felt initially if I had spoke to them first, it would be confrontational. Moving on, however, we started bringing this player and their new character into dungeons with us, after they had made it to 80. Being able to relate, as they were playing a condition-spec engineer, I tried to offer advice where I could. 

This is when we started to have a bulk of our issues. Countless times we explained that their spec should have them standing at mid/long range, as their max was 1500r with their spec, but they always preferred melee-range, which resulted in a lot of downs and deaths, and often frustration on our part. There was a lack of miscommunication, and it resulted in longer runs, more repair bills, and higher frustrations.

My officers and I were starting to lose our patience, so one day, I took it into my hands to research another build that might be more viable for their particular playstyle. Maybe Power/Toughness/Vitality, Tool kit and Rifle or Pistol/Shield with some elixirs and the bomb kit that would let them get into that melee range they enjoyed staying in. I brought this up in mumble to them, explaining I had looked it up and thought it would work really well. When I explained it all, excited to hear if they wanted to try it out, they responded that they liked their spec, and they liked being in melee range. I explained that although they had loads of toughness, they were still prone to taking heavy hits and going down pretty fast. Response? They liked dying!

Now frustrated, I explained that it really bogs down a party. They said we didn't have to bring them with us if we didn't want to. Anyway, this went on for a few more minutes before they got frustrated, and we decided to just let it go. However, after this conversation, this player became even more difficult, refusing to take part in bounties or events with us, and eventually left because they felt that they were left out and that I had targeted them. 

Were there things I could have done differently and better? Absolutely, I'm willing to admit that. I could have made that conversation a lot more private than it was (two idle people in the channel who added nothing to the conversation until the end, when voices were starting to rise) Did I have to research other builds? No, but I did want them to understand what constructive criticism was. 

These two things, bounties and this player, have taught me a lot in a short span of time... Since then, we've gained several active members, we've opened our own mumble for just guild members, we've unlocked Treks, and I've become more willing to raise my voice and... actually lead. I make sure there are items on players that are helpful, skills we might be need, organize parties for large events, and make sure everyone is up to speed. I'm more willing to have an open door to others, and be firm when I have to be. I don't know if this is earning me respect or if our newer players see me as an appropriate leader, but if there's anything I've learned, is that there's always more to learn and there's always ways to improve. 

I wouldn't have been able to do it without help, though. My SiC/officers/core members are all supportive and I know they all step up to the plate when and where necessary. I just hope that as we continue to play this game, and maybe branch out into other games together, I am still capable of being a strong leader, and that I can become even stronger and more knowledgeable. For now, though, I'll continue to move up in this learning curve.