Most people argue that games are just for fun
and to kill time. How would you consider gaming experience in person’s
curriculum vitae asking for a leadership position vacancy? An asset?
Nick Yee surveyed MMORPG
players for the first time at the end of the previous millennium. Since then,
he has surveyed over 35.000 MMORPG players of the most popular USA MMORPG games.
Near 280 respondents wrote about their guild leadership experience. Yee’s
findings about leadership can be described in the same terms as in the real
world.
First, most novice guild leaders fall into the trap of trying to be everyone’s friend and making sure that everyone in the guild is happy. The most common lesson learned was that it’s simply impossible to please everyone. Second, in any situation where people have different needs and motivations, conflicts will arise. These conflicts tend to be particularly stressful because of the existing friendships and ties within the guild. Inevitably, the guild leader will be asked to become the mediator. Third, many respondents noted that laying down a firm hand was important and that sometimes you have to be tough and say no. Because many guilds start off as small, casual, and friendly guilds, guild leaders often feel conflicted when it comes to disciplining guild members. The next finding was the difficulty in picking the right people for the guild, as well as the difficulty in kicking people out of the guild. In the game and in the real life, the duality of being a leader is well perceived. It is not easy to be a friend and a leader at the same time. The guild leaders highlighted the importance of having ground rules, making people aware of them and being consistent with those rules, which is equal to real-life leadership.
