Leadership - Part 1

Good leadership is one of the key parts of Grepolis. No alliance can do well without one. It is natural to the human race to designate a leader/leaders or take control to give something a specific direction. Here in grepolis it is even more important. There is inter-alliance matters, such as organizing offense & defense, calming disputes, or just giving the alliance general direction. Outside of the alliance there is plenty of things to do as well. Diplomacy with other neighboring alliances, recruiting, and most importantly making friends.

Leading an alliance isn't something for amateurs, some people can manage fairly well in their first world, but generally the rule of thumb for most is to play an entire world through before trying to lead an alliance. Communication IN & BETWEEN alliances are what make and break a game. If you don't know how to work together and communicate, perhaps you shouldn't be leading then as more than likely, it won't end good for you or your alliance.

Since my retirement from the game, I've taken a communications class in college. Boy, do I wish I had known a lot of what I learned in that class when I was playing. Mainly,

• don't assume or stereotype
• Communicate! Communicate! Communicate!
• listen 2 times as much as you speak
• treat everyone as important
• NEVER "yell" or "chastise" a member on your forums - always due that via PM or Skype
• don't just have one leader, have an odd numbered group of them that are on equal terms (3 or 5)
• treat ALL with honor and respect even if you can't stand them
• and most of all, keep in mind that the world is watching. One thing said wrong can change the world. Allies can be lost and enemies can be made very quickly if your not careful

To lead an alliance, you need to organize it. I would suggest right off to start with your forums. Click (here) to read my guide on forum structure and the different methods we've used and have found to work well.

As a leader, you are put on a pedestal. You are held to a much higher standard than the general members. Because this game is played by people from across the world, language can provide a large barrier. Even the differences in language between the U.S. and the U.K. can work together to form a very confusing conversation. If your not sure what something means or it doesn't make sense, don't just assume and keep going with the conversation. Stop and ask. If people see you are willing to take the time and learn so that they can work better with you, the more they will want to work with you, the leader.

External Forums - I highly suggest just staying away from these as a leader. They are a huge pitfall and can quickly turn from jesting to full out insults that can goad you as a leader to do something or say something that you wouldn't normally do or say to "save face" or to look good just so that you have something to come back at them with on the external forums.

Planting Spies - While it is one of the most looked down aspects of the game, it is still a reality. It happens, and there is no getting away from it. Personally, I would suggest employing them. War is war, and you are trying to give your alliance the edge. Many people consider this "dishonorable", but, the fact is, others will do it whether you use them or not. Spies are an alliances biggest threat, and I've seen one than more alliance brought to its knees by the fact that we had 3 or 4 spies in their alliance.

The best way to combat willing spies is to be kind to everyone in your alliance, ask always for their opinion and suggestions, and follow the general feeling. When you start bucking that and going your own way, people will start becoming discontent and some will quickly start hiring themselves out to other alliances as spies.

True, there are those spies that intentionally try to join your alliance for the sole purpose of spying, and the only way to fight this is to be super careful with your recruiting by checking everyone over on grepostats to see what alliances they have been in.

Another thing to watch for is burning out. If you have a heavy load on your shoulders, and you are doing more than half of the work in the leadership, something needs to change. This can sometimes come from people going into VM for a while or other things, but it is the 2nd greatest killer of an alliance. A great leader that was doing a super good job burned them-self out and ended up quitting. Without realizing it, you just gave your enemy a major victory. They couldn't have wished for more. That is even better than rimming you. So be careful, and if one person gets loaded down, try to redistribute the load so that no one or two people are bearing the load or making all the decisions.

For more on Leadership, (Click here) for the 2nd part