Intro
Leadership. At one point or another, and almost guaranteed more than once, you will need to pick a Leadership Team that will empower your alliance to achieve its goals. Each alliance has the ability to house up to 100 total members, including yourself. This means you have 99 potential candidates to pull from.
In this article, we will discuss everything about making a Leadership Team that is worthy of the best World War Rising Generals.
Why a Leadership Team?
In World War Rising, Leadership for the majority of teams consists of the r5 and r4 rankings in the member’s list as listed on the game. While rank is important to some, it is not important to others. The atmosphere of your alliance will need to be assessed and you need to determine how important having that r4 rank next to someone’s name truly is.
Every r5 needs support. Why each r5 needs support may vary, but typically no one man or woman can do it alone. You simply can not live on the game as much as many of us would like to. You need to have people that you trust and support your game ideals to carry out your plans. This is a good time to review what it is you would like for your team, your Alliance Family, once again.
When an r5 is not able to be on, the r4s of the Alliance will run things in the r5s stead. You may decide to have an obvious Leader or r5. Should you have an alliance where all r4s are equal and r5 is rotated. You should look at how active overall your r4s will be to help determine how many r4s you may need to cover the needs of the alliance. Typically the more like-minded your Leadership Team is, the less likely you are to have long, drawn-out discussions that often seem unnecessary by the time they are over.
Positive Leadership Qualities and Other Considerations
When considering your new or adding on to the Leadership team, there are several needs of the Alliance to take into account.
- Do Your Candidates Exhibit Leadership Qualities? This question goes both ways. In other words, depending on the way your alliance is run, you may want a more professional atmosphere for your Leadership Team. Contrary wise, you may want a more carefree environment where Leadership is mostly a door holder.
In the majority of alliances, professionalism is expected. Is the candidate able to separate their own feelings and wants from a situation in order to make a decision that is best for the alliance overall? Ask yourself if you are ok with how this person presents themselves, and what you want to reflect about your Alliance.
- What Time Zones Do You Need to Cover? This is an important question for the simple fact that Leadership is there to help the Alliance. People need to be let into the Alliance after applying and situations that may arise need to be taken care of. Do you have someone to represent busy times in your alliance at a minimum? It’s preferable to have at least one member of Leadership on at all times.
- Consider Having an r4 for Each Type of Player in the Alliance. While you try to cover the times all members may be on, try to cover many types of playing styles as well. This will allow all alliance members to feel they are represented and are important.
- Will Your Candidates Be Able to Fulfil Expectations? First, you need to decide what those expectations are. Do you want your r4s direct and to the point, or to take a more gentle approach? Should they participate in all events or just certain ones? Do you have a minimum time for someone to wait at the door? Is Drama something you care about? Is it ok for your r4s to air dirty laundry in regular chats with the rest of the alliance? There are many things that you may expect from your r4s, so be clear about how an r4 should be.
- Is It Necessary to Promote for Political Reasons? On occasion, you may need to promote r4s for political reasons. This may be because you experienced a merge. The new group will feel more comfortable if they feel they will be represented fairly by someone they know, and who knows them. It may be to keep a group of players that feel strongly about a particular situation from leaving, again because they feel they are represented by someone that knows them well and present their point of view fairly.
- Will Your Candidates Be Able to Handle Complaints and Other Such Issues in a Manner You are Satisfied With? What one person or another does in a particular situation may be vastly different. You may want your r4s to mediate fairly and privately. You may tell your r4s to ignore a situation. It can cause a large rift if you have r4s doing the opposite of what is expected by the team. For example, your policy is “NO RULES”, but you have to deal with a tile hitting complaint. It has been decided by your r4s that the alliance is to ignore tile hits. Now you have an r4 that takes it upon themselves to “make it right” by sharing rss or some other method. Now an expectation has been set the rest of the team is not ready for.
Time to Choose
Now that you have decided what you expect from your Leadership Team, it’s time to choose the best candidate or candidates. If you are an older alliance and have existing r4s, you may just add the new r4s. Typically, if there are already established r4s, a discussion about potential candidates and a vote is held by the Leadership Team.
Because of my own personal past experiences, I recommend clearing the path to bring in any new r4s before they are even aware that you may be discussing bringing them to the Leadership team. That way, if the discussions or vote about a prospect turns out unfavorably towards that person, no one has their feelings hurt, and they are none the wiser. If the vote (or other means of discussion or adding new Leadership) passes, then it is often an excellent idea to have the r5 speak directly to the candidate to see if Leadership is something the player is even willing to take on.
Leadership Roles and Communication
Alliance Leadership helps to guide the atmosphere of the Alliance. This is done in a variety of ways including, but not limited to the following:
- Communication of Expectations and or Activities to the Alliance- A large part of needing Leadership is so that all members are aware of anything occurring that is important for participation or performance.
- Heading Off Arguments that May Occur Between Members or Your Members and Others in the Region- Knowing the team is important. Good leadership can sense any change in the atmosphere of the alliance quickly and will look to see if a fix needs to be applied. When you know your members, you know when things can be let go, the subject changed, or someone has spoken to in private.
- Leadership Should Let Members into the Alliance as Needed- While it may seem like an easy task, it is absolutely necessary in order to keep your other members happy. In addition, depending on the security level of your alliance, there may be many more steps involved versus just pushing the applicant button.
- Kicking Members When Necessary Might Be the Least Enjoyable Leadership Job- Unfortunately, there are times when being an r4 may not be as enjoyable as other days. Depending on the expectations set forth, on occasion a person may need to be kicked from the alliance. It’s a good idea to fully discuss issues whenever possible with the full Management crew before resorting to this last ditch attempt at ending a perceived negative situation. If immediate action is necessary, try to judge whether or not any other solution is possible. If not, an r4 must have the confidence to do what is necessary.
- Trying to be as Diplomatic as Possible is Often a Regular Goal of Leadership- Leadership often means setting aside your personal feelings in order to correct an undesirable situation. Being unbiased and fair is crucial so that your members can trust that you are not taking sides or acting in your own self-interest.
- Your r4 Team Sets the Example of What is Expected by the Alliance through Actions and Not Just Words- The old phrase, “Lead by Example” is essential to getting your members to follow what you are hoping to achieve within your alliance. Show your team that you are willing to perform the same tasks, actions, and participation you expect from them.
- R4s are Often More Respected When They Chat Regularly with Other Members- If you take the time to get to know your members, not only do you understand their behavior more intently, they recognize you as a Leadership presence. This can help any issues that may arise in the future be discussed more calmly since the members are already comfortable with chatting.
Leadership communication is extremely important. When discussing issues, being on the same page is crucial to avoid confusion. It only takes a moment to leave a quick line of communication or suggestion so the other members of Leadership will be aware of a particular situation.
The most common ways that many members of Leadership communicate is no different than how anyone does. Private rooms in-game and utilizing different social apps allow Leadership to discuss freely and explore ideas effectively without having to concern the rest of the alliance.
Player Experiences: Leadership Life
I asked the players of WWR to tell me about their leadership experiences:
“I look to see if someone is a troll or a drama magnet or has any history with a current member. If anyone has a problem with a potential applicant, then they don’t come in. The dynamic of the alliance is important and having happy people is the most important part for me.” – Ludd (Sefi) Region #539, Algorab
“The best R4s are people that don’t want to be R4s… (Schank special, but it’s true).
Top 2 Qualities I want in an R4: 1) I want someone that gives everything and asks for nothing, and 2) someone that’s easy to get along with and doesn’t feed into drama.” – IDKWTFIMDOIN (Kilz) Region #547, Basalt Badlands
“To be a leader of a great alliance, it’s all about the team behind you. You have to earn their respect and listen to what they have to say. If you are there for when they need you, they’ll be there for you…. I’ll back my team all the way.” – BazzaBell (FTP.) Region #519, Granite Front
“I am Rebel’s 3rd R5, I inherited this great alliance from very strong players and great leaders who taught me a lot about the leadership role.
R5 isn’t the easiest part of WWR. It’s challenging, has a lot of responsibility, a lot of disappointments, and a lot of time for diplomacy.
I am a warrior, not a politician, so doing both roles is very complex.
However, the best thing you can do as a Leader is to convey your style to the alliance, slowly building an image that reflects your values.
I am proud of the help I receive from all my players!
Today the secret of a great alliance is trust because without trust there is no real family.
I have made available to the alliance everything I have learned in two years of playing, helping to improve the bases of many players, both large spending bases and low budget bases.
This for me is the greatest satisfaction as R5.
Without trust, I could not have built all this.
RebelForEver” – CRISS (REBL) Region #521, Saiph
“One of the cornerstones of a successful alliance is having a clear sense of direction as a group as to what type of gameplay the alliance is pursuing.
As long as the identity of the alliance is set, the players will have a clear understanding they are part of something bigger. Leadership is responsible for providing the environment where players feel comfortable to learn, ask questions and experiment with whatever they need, and to become better, faster, and competent in their gameplay.
BK adopted a servant leadership model for offensive gameplay, where the R4 team is only there to help and promote fighting.
R4 team is the backbone of any successful alliance and they have the biggest contribution in the success of the team. R4 members are chosen based on their dependency and loyalty to the team, not based on their power or how much money they spend, (or the worst reason haha) to stroke their ego.
Personalities of those r4 members are very important too, and ideally the team needs all 4 types:
Structure and stability, a person who helps with overall competence in the game and helps with guidelines for everyone to follow.
Technical. Someone who’s great with numbers and can help with maximizing efficiency in training merc token calculations how to maximize rss and speed efficiency.
Action. Those are the go go go type personalities. Who are great with motivating and setting the tone of the alliance They like the fighting and making things happen.
Relationship. They carry their heart on their sleeve. Those are the heart and soul of the alliance. They help keep the team spirit high and things comfortable and welcoming in the team.
If the alliance is blessed with those types of R4s the team will do very well and the leader’s job is to lead by example.” – X Thor X (.BK.) Region #531, Steel Area
What’s Next?
The Leadership team can determine the whole environment and tone of any given alliance. What are some other factors that have an impact on the way you play?
Team Work Makes the Dream Work
The Alliance: A Mini Society Within Itself
Keep a Sense of Humor
A Day in the Life of a WWR General
Other Topics to Brush up On
Understanding Blogs is CRUCIAL
Safety First
No matter what is occurring, be sure safety is always first!
Gaming Safety for Female Gamers
Conclusion
Although choosing leadership can be a difficult task at times, it is an important one to decide the atmosphere of what you would like your alliance to be like. I hope this article has helped you to decide the qualities that many deem crucial when deciding the proper members for you.
Please remember that the above are suggestions based on personal experiences and hypothetical situations, and are not necessarily an indication of achieving the exact results you desire when choosing your Leadership Team.
Join the Conversation!
To speak with myself, the rest of the Command Team, and other Leaders in World War Rising, join us on Discord, Line, and Facebook to have more in-depth conversations about Leadership experiences. We’ll be there!
