Being a leader
Being a leader is a choice (usually). Some people turn out to be great leaders. Others end up finding out that they really weren’t cut out for it. The larger the group, the harder it is to be a leader. But no matter what type of person you are, its never easy.
Pros of being a leader (Of a roleplay group specifically)
- You get to build your metaphorical house and decorate it as you please
- You get to see your creations be brought to life
- You get to meet tons of great people and writers
- You get to help those great people meet more great people
- You get to read a ton of great stories
- You get to see characters you already loved grow even more
- You get to support and love all these new residence in your metaphorical house
- You get the support of all of them as well
- You all grow as writers and as people
- If you have an OCD organizing quirk (like me) you get to indulge it
Cons of being a leader (of a roleplay group specifically)
- There will always be someone who doesn’t like how you do something and will complain about it
- There will always be someone who will turn into a hateful shouting mess if they don’t get what they want
- There will always be someone who will twist your words and make you out to look like a tyrant because they did not get their way
- Basically, you will always end up having to deal with someone immature and/or hateful
Qualities I think it takes to be a good leader
- Patience
- Unbiasedness
- The ability to calmly and clearly project what you’re trying to say
- You cannot be afraid of conflict
- You have to have the ability to say no and stick by your decision
- You can’t lose your temper no matter HOW you are treated
- You make time for all the members, to talk to them, check on them, rp with them, any and all the above if possible
- Be able to mediate any issues between members where neither party leaves feeling cheated or offended
- Know which battles to fight and when to click the block button
And it’s not easy. There are a ton of people that fall into hearsay, drama, victimizing themselves, inserting themselves into other people’s fights because they think they’re “protecting” whichever side they’re on, spreading slander and lies against anyone they feel has wronged them on any level, not bothering to get or hear both sides of an issue, taking something non-person as a personal attack, the list goes on. Basically there are a TON of immature, hateful, spiteful people in the world. And as a leader, you’ll deal with more of them than the average person.
So for all of you that are leaders and manage to keep your head above the water and not fall into bad unleaderly like behavior, good job! I know I owe a lot of my ability to run my own group to my two co-leaders, Sam and Lindsey. I couldn’t ask for better leaders, truly. They voice their opinions, they’re not afraid of conflict, they’re level-headed, they’re kind, they can hold their own and most importantly, we support each other no matter what. We’ve built one study beautiful home and we’ve been lucky enough to fill it with a lot of amazing people.
And if you’re a member of a group you love, be sure to tell your leaders once and a while that they’re doing a great job. We’re still just people trying to have fun too.
