On leading a Dynamis shell
Roughly 1 1/2 years of leading my current Dynamis shell. 1 1/2 years of both extreme euphoria and scathing disappointment. 1 1/2 years of yelling "Sleeps! SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEPS!" 1 1/2 years of dealing with all the political bullshit that come along with leading a shell.
While CWD certainly isn't the pinnacle of small man dynamis, we haven't done to bad for ourselves. Sure, I've had to cancel runs now and again, and we've had our fair share of irreparably wiping in city, ice, and CoP dynamis. In the end though, it's all been fun. From our first Jeuno run where I learned going up the center was much easier than the stairs, to our most recent Sandy run it's been a learning experience. It may be late in the game now, but I'd like to share some thoughts about leading a dynamis shell with people.
1) Know from the start what kind of dynamis shell you're going to run.
I don't mean "small man vs large group," I mean "for casual or for power players." This can often impact how you run a shell. Let's face it, 90% of all power players have some sort of ego which is going to lead to conflicts if you let it. Many have issues giving up lots on things to another person of the same job because they feel they're superior at it. This means that using a "Courtesy Rules" lotting system is going to cause serious issues. Stick to a point system, or something similar, it'll quell a lot of fights and save you a lot of headaches. If you're running a casual player shell, you might consider forgoing the point system for some variation of free lotting. It's not fool proof to go this route to avoid drama, but generally the egos are lower in the casual crowd and they don't mind passing on a nice drop for someone.
2) Be wary of mixing casual and power players.
Lets face it: Casual players don't have the same gear sets and haven't crunched the numbers to know the best gear for any given situation. This can be a huge sticking point for any sort of drops. Almost all power players will argue that giving, lets say, RDM hat to an NQ MP ring RDM is a waste, and that it should have gone to them since they already have 4/tic, a relic, every HQ staff, 17 different Slow macros, and have killed AV. This will cause drama. Drama is the enemy, so avoiding these situations are ideal. On the other hand, casual players almost always have a much shorter fuse with power players, which can result in arguments of elitism and lootwhoring, even if neither exist. If mixing is unavoidable (such as in my situation), make sure the rules are well known, and do your best to make whoever is coming in part of the "family." Something as simple as forcing people to make friends can cut down on a huge amount of drama.
3) Know how funding works.
Some shells let members sponsor. Some shells are part of larger LSs that fund everything. Some are funded by the leader. Others, (like mine) are self funded. Know how you're handling this. If you're members are sponsering, make sure they know they're expected to host Ice and CoP too. If the shell is funded by you (as the leader) ask yourself what you're going to do once you finish your relic. If the shell has an LS bank, figure out some way to do payouts and what you're doing with coins. After you figure it out, stick to it and don't give into pressure to change.
4) Remember: Rules are only rules as long as they apply to everyone.
Did you miss a run when your LS charter says "If you miss a run, you can't lot the next run?" Then don't lot on anything the next run, even if it's that RDM hat you wanted so bad. By applying rules to yourself, you let the entire shell know that the rules are the rules, and they're not going to change because someone whines. This may be the most important rule
5) Make sure you trust your leaders.
If you have leaders, do you know you can leave a run and they'll uphold all the rules? If not, you might want to consider different leaders, or talking to your current ones. Don't forget, they're your face when you're not at a run, don't let them give you a bad name.
6) Keep cool.
Yelling is Ok. Sometimes you need to give a stern talk to a shell to get them off their asses. This does NOT mean you need to be a total ass. There is a fine line between motivation through negative statement and straight negative statements. Watch yourself, you'll know when you've crossed it.
7) You're infallible (most of the time).
You're right. If someone tells you that you're running the shell wrong, or doing pulls wrong, or wrong for having them come BLM over WAR, fuck them. You're the one that runs the shell, you're the one that makes the decisions, you're the one who has to deal with the long term consequences, and you've got the final word. That being said, don't just simply dismiss someones comment with a "No, this is my shell, back the fuck off." Listen to what someone has to say, even if you end up saying no. You may be infallible, but you're still human.
8) Know how to adjust to the unexpected.
Only have 8 people? don't frown, know how to make that work out for you. Got 24 for a Tav run? Be ready to think quick and come up with a solution. This is extremely important.
9) Listen
This goes back to number 7. If people have complaints about how things work in the shell, or that X got Y drop, or that you've done too much Xarc and not enough Jeuno don't just push them away. Listen to what they're saying and either provide an explanation (or counter example) as to why you do things a certain way, or make a note to talk to whoever the issue is with (AND DO IT). Brushing people aside only makes them angry and pushes them out of the shell.
10) Have fun.
Despite all the responsibility and bullshit you have to deal with as a leader, it's still a game. If you're not having fun, do what you can to fix it but know when it might be time to step down. If you're getting so stressed that you're having more fun when the run is over and the stress is gone, then you might wanna step down.
And the most important rule of all:
11) Don't E V E R teach other people how to run a dynamis shell
This is very important in the success of the shell. The only people who need to know the pulls are YOU and your dedicated puller. If you give people the knowledge to do what you do, why do they need you? Sure, you might think the friendly environment and AF/gil would be enough to keep people, but you'd be surprised how many times you'll have people splinter off to make their own shell. This happens to every shell at least once, so don't feel bad when it does. Just know in the future that you answered too many questions about pulls, or the best way to deal with MNKs, or how to properly deal with annoying members.
Well, I hope that helps anyone who is interested in starting a shell. There are plenty of other things to know, but most of that can be found on wiki or by asking your current LS leader who doesn't know rule 11. Best of luck to all of you!
While CWD certainly isn't the pinnacle of small man dynamis, we haven't done to bad for ourselves. Sure, I've had to cancel runs now and again, and we've had our fair share of irreparably wiping in city, ice, and CoP dynamis. In the end though, it's all been fun. From our first Jeuno run where I learned going up the center was much easier than the stairs, to our most recent Sandy run it's been a learning experience. It may be late in the game now, but I'd like to share some thoughts about leading a dynamis shell with people.
1) Know from the start what kind of dynamis shell you're going to run.
I don't mean "small man vs large group," I mean "for casual or for power players." This can often impact how you run a shell. Let's face it, 90% of all power players have some sort of ego which is going to lead to conflicts if you let it. Many have issues giving up lots on things to another person of the same job because they feel they're superior at it. This means that using a "Courtesy Rules" lotting system is going to cause serious issues. Stick to a point system, or something similar, it'll quell a lot of fights and save you a lot of headaches. If you're running a casual player shell, you might consider forgoing the point system for some variation of free lotting. It's not fool proof to go this route to avoid drama, but generally the egos are lower in the casual crowd and they don't mind passing on a nice drop for someone.
2) Be wary of mixing casual and power players.
Lets face it: Casual players don't have the same gear sets and haven't crunched the numbers to know the best gear for any given situation. This can be a huge sticking point for any sort of drops. Almost all power players will argue that giving, lets say, RDM hat to an NQ MP ring RDM is a waste, and that it should have gone to them since they already have 4/tic, a relic, every HQ staff, 17 different Slow macros, and have killed AV. This will cause drama. Drama is the enemy, so avoiding these situations are ideal. On the other hand, casual players almost always have a much shorter fuse with power players, which can result in arguments of elitism and lootwhoring, even if neither exist. If mixing is unavoidable (such as in my situation), make sure the rules are well known, and do your best to make whoever is coming in part of the "family." Something as simple as forcing people to make friends can cut down on a huge amount of drama.
3) Know how funding works.
Some shells let members sponsor. Some shells are part of larger LSs that fund everything. Some are funded by the leader. Others, (like mine) are self funded. Know how you're handling this. If you're members are sponsering, make sure they know they're expected to host Ice and CoP too. If the shell is funded by you (as the leader) ask yourself what you're going to do once you finish your relic. If the shell has an LS bank, figure out some way to do payouts and what you're doing with coins. After you figure it out, stick to it and don't give into pressure to change.
4) Remember: Rules are only rules as long as they apply to everyone.
Did you miss a run when your LS charter says "If you miss a run, you can't lot the next run?" Then don't lot on anything the next run, even if it's that RDM hat you wanted so bad. By applying rules to yourself, you let the entire shell know that the rules are the rules, and they're not going to change because someone whines. This may be the most important rule
5) Make sure you trust your leaders.
If you have leaders, do you know you can leave a run and they'll uphold all the rules? If not, you might want to consider different leaders, or talking to your current ones. Don't forget, they're your face when you're not at a run, don't let them give you a bad name.
6) Keep cool.
Yelling is Ok. Sometimes you need to give a stern talk to a shell to get them off their asses. This does NOT mean you need to be a total ass. There is a fine line between motivation through negative statement and straight negative statements. Watch yourself, you'll know when you've crossed it.
7) You're infallible (most of the time).
You're right. If someone tells you that you're running the shell wrong, or doing pulls wrong, or wrong for having them come BLM over WAR, fuck them. You're the one that runs the shell, you're the one that makes the decisions, you're the one who has to deal with the long term consequences, and you've got the final word. That being said, don't just simply dismiss someones comment with a "No, this is my shell, back the fuck off." Listen to what someone has to say, even if you end up saying no. You may be infallible, but you're still human.
8) Know how to adjust to the unexpected.
Only have 8 people? don't frown, know how to make that work out for you. Got 24 for a Tav run? Be ready to think quick and come up with a solution. This is extremely important.
9) Listen
This goes back to number 7. If people have complaints about how things work in the shell, or that X got Y drop, or that you've done too much Xarc and not enough Jeuno don't just push them away. Listen to what they're saying and either provide an explanation (or counter example) as to why you do things a certain way, or make a note to talk to whoever the issue is with (AND DO IT). Brushing people aside only makes them angry and pushes them out of the shell.
10) Have fun.
Despite all the responsibility and bullshit you have to deal with as a leader, it's still a game. If you're not having fun, do what you can to fix it but know when it might be time to step down. If you're getting so stressed that you're having more fun when the run is over and the stress is gone, then you might wanna step down.
And the most important rule of all:
11) Don't E V E R teach other people how to run a dynamis shell
This is very important in the success of the shell. The only people who need to know the pulls are YOU and your dedicated puller. If you give people the knowledge to do what you do, why do they need you? Sure, you might think the friendly environment and AF/gil would be enough to keep people, but you'd be surprised how many times you'll have people splinter off to make their own shell. This happens to every shell at least once, so don't feel bad when it does. Just know in the future that you answered too many questions about pulls, or the best way to deal with MNKs, or how to properly deal with annoying members.
Well, I hope that helps anyone who is interested in starting a shell. There are plenty of other things to know, but most of that can be found on wiki or by asking your current LS leader who doesn't know rule 11. Best of luck to all of you!