Creating and maintaining a successful clan - On leadership

MegalodonSV · October 2012

A Short Introduction

Hello everyone. My name is Megalodon and I’m the leader of Brolar Bears. I’ve been playing this game for more than three years and I’ve been a member of several successful clans and teams. I’ve also led several groups and I’m actively engaged in political activism and leadership. I want to share what I’ve learned over the years of organizing teams in games and political demonstrations and meetings in real life. What I'm about to tell you will not only be beneficial in Cross Fire, but I believe it will equip you with the skills necessary to solve conflicts that may arise in any group of people.

Most of you will probably already know some of the things I will go through in this guide, while other things might be new to you. To get the most out of this guide, go into it with a positive mindset and a will to learn. Something I’ve found is that no matter how good you become, there’s always more to learn.

Alright, let’s get started.

Table Of Content

1 - Creating and maintaining a successful clan
1.1 - Before creating the clan
1.2 - When creating the clan
1.4 - Keeping your clan alive
2 - The responsibilities and perks of leadership
2.1 - What defines a good leader
2.2 - Why a good leader is required

Final word and credits

1 - Creating and maintaining a successful clan

1.1 - Before creating the clan

When creating a group of any kind there's a few things you need to think about. While they might not all be necessary when creating a Cross Fire clan, you'll be glad that you know about them when you encounter a problem that a group needs to solve.

Organization and communication is almost always needed when performing a task in a group. A lack of the two aforementioned things have been the cause of failure for many groups in the past, be it clans, political parties or study groups. Without organization the group will not do its task successfully. People will not know what to do and they'll turn to you to help, so it's extremely important that you're 110% clear about what you should do. When it comes to clans in Cross Fire, be sure to know what you're doing when you're creating the clan. Know what rules to set up and how to enforce them. Appoint one or two of your friends as lieutenants to help you out with any tasks that needs completion when you're not available. Know what to do if one of your members is found cheating.

Communication is just as important as organization. If you know what to do, and what your members should do, you need a way to let them know that they need to do it. Use tools that makes communicating with your members easier, even outside of the game. VoIP is excellent for communication over the internet, especially when you need to communicate while you're in the game yourself. When it comes to real life groups and parties, and to some extent clans, I highly recommend Google+. It's a brilliant social network that really makes communicating in groups easier. You can create one circle for your members and another one for lieutenants. You can easily choose what you want to share and with who. If you only want to share something with your lieutenants in a clan or maybe board members of a party then you just select that circle. The Hangouts is also a great way of communicating and building friendships outside of the game. You can have big rooms with videochats and those without webcams can participate with textchat and still see the videofeeds of those that do have webcams.

1.2 - When creating the clan

When creating the clan it is important to make sure it is structured and has clear rules laid out from the beginning. Have a few friends join the clan with you and promote those with the ability to help and take some payload off of your shoulders.

Create a clear set of rules that are to be followed. I usually create three clan news on the clan page for the necessary information people interested in your clan are going to look for. You can change this to better suit your needs, but it is a template that I use and have pretty basic rules.

RULES wrote:

Don't use any form of hacks.
Don't use glitches.
Don't accuse other players of hacking, use the report function instead.
Be mature and polite.

Clan War Rules wrote:

Don't start a clan war without permission from the leader or one of the lieutenants.
Don't accuse the opposing team of cheating.
Show good sportsmanship.
Don't leave mid-game. An honourable loss is better than a cowardly loss.
Use some form of VoIP when playing a clan war.

Application Form wrote:

Do you have a mic?
Do you have a basic understanding of the English language?
Are you good at giving and following orders?
Do you want some chill bros to roll with?
How old are you?
Where do you live?
What's your main role (aggressive sniper, defensive sniper, aggressive assault, etc.)?
What's your weapon of choice?

If you answered yes to those questions then send a message to the leader or one of the lieutenants asking for a tryout. They will evaluate your experience on the battlefield and decide if you fulfill the standards of the Brolar Bears.

1.3 Keeping your clan alive

A big problem when leading a clan, and groups in general, is that after a while things will just stagnate. People will get bored. People will move on. People will change opinions. The most important advice I can give you when it comes to keeping your group alive is to stay engaged and to stay enthusiastic. Cross Fire doesn't have to be the only game you play, but always continue to communicate with your members and check in every few days. Do activities with your clan. If you like playing other games then invite your clanmates to play. Arrange a friendly and playful contest in the clan. Buy a prepaid card and gift the winner 10,000 ZP. This shows engagement and lets them know that you care. Not only will it give them an incentive to practice together, but it'll also be a fun experience. Do you have a good editor in your clan? Do a clan montage! Be creative! There's tons of activities you can do with your clan members.

The responsibilities and perks of leadership

2.1 - What are the characteristics of a leader?

Leaders do not command excellence, they build excellence. Excellence is being all you can be within the bounds of doing what's right for your organization. To reach excellence you must first be a leader of good character. You must do everything you're supposed to do. Excellence starts with leaders of good and strong character who engage in the entire process of leadership. And the first part of is being a person of honourable character.

"Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one. - Marcus Aurelius

Characters develop over time. Many think that much of a person's character is formed early in life. However, we do not know exactly how much or how early character develops. But it safe to say that character doesn't change quickly. A person's observable behavior is an indication of her character. This behavior can be strong or weak, good or bad. A person with strong character shows drive, energy, determination, self-discipline, confidence and willpower. He knows what he wants and goes after it. He attracts followers.

Traits of a good leader

Honest - Display sincerity and integrity in all your actions. Deceptive behavior will not inspire trust.
Competent - Base your actions on reason and principles. Do not make decisions based on childlike emotional desires or feelings.
Foorward-looking - Set goals and have a vision of the future. Effective leaders envision what they want and how to get it. They habitually pick priorities stemming from their basic values.
Inspiring - Display confidence in all that you do. By showing endurance in mental and physical stamina, you will inspire others to reach for new heights.
Intelligent - Read, study and seek challenging assignments.
Fair-minded - Show fair treatment to all people. Prejudice is the enemy of justice. Display empathy by being sensitive to the feelings, values, interests and well-being of others.
Courageous - Have the perseverance to accomplish a goal, regardless of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Display a confident calmness when under stress.
Straightforward - Use sound judgment to make good decisions at the right time.

3 - Final words and credits

A few hours has passed and this became a lot longer than I planned. While this guide isn't complete and I'm probably gonna add to it later, I consider it ready for posting. I thank all of you that took your time to read this and I hope that you've learned something from reading this. If you have something to add then please post a comment. Let's continue to learn from each other and improve ourselves.

A special thanks to Olof Palme for being one of my first role models and a great leader, every clanmate I've had the pleasure to play with, I've spent countless hours in this game and it wouldn't have been nearly as many if it wasn't for the wonderful people in this community, and finally, a thanks to everyone who've made it this far.