Wanna get a top management job? Be a successful guild leader!

[Trippy]

From Wired:

You Play World of Warcraft? You're Hired!

(Sorry no quoting, their CSS fucks up text selection and I'm too lazy to edit the HTML).

[UD_Delt]

It makes sense. Our guild leader owns and runs his own company (landscaping & snowplow). He has about 15 employees during winter and 30 or so during summer.

He does a good job running a pretty damn successful raiding guild. Management skills are management skills regardless of the context.

[Llava]

This has been tossed back and forth for a while now, not surprised to see reality starting to catch up.  Being a guild leader is, in many ways, being a manager.  Trying to make everyone happy and ensure that the job gets done is what it's all about.

[HaemishM]

I would actually claim being a guild leader may be MORE stressful than actual managment mainly because of the stakes. People whose money or jobs tend to only make spectacularly bad decisions based on trying to rip the company off or because they think they are smarter than they are, but generally will avoid doing something so impossibly mean to someone else directly for fear of getting their shit kicked in. In Guilds? Pfffttt, the inner asshole comes out in full force, mainly because of the complete lack of conseuences for being the most selfish, backstabbing whore on the planet.

[VickeVire]

I did work as a Manager at one time... I learned one thing, never work with ppl that don't like their job at lest in some degree.
I'd only do it again for one reason. That's if it's my own company. At least that would make all the whining be my problem

[Hartsman]

Worked for me, too.

[Murgos]

My college roomates EQ guild, which was one of the most successful EQ guilds there was after FoH, was lead by a navy nuclear submarine captain (except of 6 months out of every 18 when he appointed a committee to manage it).  There are some talented people who play MMOG's and there are certainly some talented people who lead guilds.  But leading a guild in an MMOG is not a neccessary and sufficient condition to being a talented and successful person.

[Dren]

I would actually claim being a guild leader may be MORE stressful than actual managment mainly because of the stakes. People whose money or jobs tend to only make spectacularly bad decisions based on trying to rip the company off or because they think they are smarter than they are, but generally will avoid doing something so impossibly mean to someone else directly for fear of getting their shit kicked in. In Guilds? Pfffttt, the inner asshole comes out in full force, mainly because of the complete lack of conseuences for being the most selfish, backstabbing whore on the planet.

I agree.  The reasons it is harder?

- Lack of face to face conversation.  Anonymity amongst your subordinates?  Yeah that works!
- Totally voluntary staff.  Enough said.
- You get no pay.  The time you invest in it comes directly out of your own playtime.
- A complete mix of people from an extremely wide range of social, cultural, etc. backgrounds and surroundings.

The year I spent being a guild leader in UO was probably the most stressful time I've every spent on anything, let alone a pasttime.  It had its rewards, but I eventually burnt out to the point of quitting the game for awhile.

[Lantyssa]

The year I spent being a guild leader in UO was probably the most stressful time I've every spent on anything, let alone a pasttime.  It had its rewards, but I eventually burnt out to the point of quitting the game for awhile.

It was the same for me.

[Margalis]

Honestly all this says is that leadership is a quality that is easily transferable to a wide variety of situations - you are either a good leader or you aren't.

Considering this guy's resume, it would be hard to make the case that WoW made him a good leader considering WoW hasn't been around all that long.

It boils down to this:

"Being a guild leader requires strong leadership skills."

That's it. Really not that exciting.

[Azazel]

I  hyperbole.

The day may not be far off when companies receive résumés that include a line reading "level 60 tauren shaman in World of Warcraft."

Because, you know, getting to 60 in WoW takes intelligence and skill.... 

[Roac]

I used being MUD admin as part of my application to get my first post-college job.  Similar concept; the selling point in anything like that is in demonstrating how a hobby translates to an asset for an employer.  As long as you can translate that for them, you're set.

But don't do like one applicant did for me. "Um, I like games, and would like to be a game programmer".  Sigh.

[sarius]

I used being MUD admin as part of my application to get my first post-college job.  Similar concept; the selling point in anything like that is in demonstrating how a hobby translates to an asset for an employer.  As long as you can translate that for them, you're set.

But don't do like one applicant did for me. "Um, I like games, and would like to be a game programmer".  Sigh.

Maybe it's nostalgia, but I appreciate successful MUD admins much more than guild leaders.  I've been both many times and the level of stress on an active MUD far exceeds anything I've experienced in an MMOG.

[Roac]

I thinkt he biggest difference between them is time; as a guild leader I had to be far more active in dealing with people, and in dealing with the tactical as opposed to the strategic.  In contrast, as an admin there was more focus on policy, project planning, etc.  I suppose there's more at stake for an admin, but I've always enjoyed it so wasn't stressed by it.  Being a GM, on the other hand, burned me out quick.  I don't have a desire to run a guild again anytime soon.

[jpark]

Key difference to note:

Good managers are paid - guild leaders are not.

The popular sterotype is that guild leaders steal from their guilds and are reimbursed that way.  That may happen sometimes, but I suspect in the majority of the cases that does not happen.  This is why guild leadership is a thankless job.  And guilds without good leaders quickly leads to crappy game....or genre.