- Oct 21, 2006
- 24
- 136
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HOW TO RUN A NEW CLAN
So you have just started a clan, which means you are a Section Leader and have permission from a Division Leader or above. First, you will need to appoint a General and a Captain to assist you in running the clan. The General and Captain must be trustworthy and good recruiters. There is absolutely no poaching; this means no recruiting from other XGC, KOG, or SYN squads. To recruit, hit up any kind of matchmaking and look for quality players that represent what XGC, KOG, or SYN is looking for. A quality player is someone who plays professionally and will uphold the HONOR CODE. If a player is interested, you should direct them to one of our websites so they may familiarize themselves with the HONOR CODE and our ranking structure. If they do not have a computer, you must read them the HONOR CODE. If they agree with the HONOR CODE and wish to join, send them an invite. Remember, Halo or Call of Duty's ranking structure does not dictate a member's rank inside the clan. You are also responsible for making sure your General is updating their clan list on a regular basis. When problems arise, please follow the chain of command. This ranking structure has been around since the beginning and works very well. Division Leaders and Section Leaders are very busy and should not be bothered with minor problems, only serious issues. They are always there if you need them but do not abuse this privilege. Privates, Sergeants, and Lieutenants will report to their captains. Captains will report to their General. Generals will report to their Section Leader. Section Leaders will report to Division Leaders. Division Leaders will report to Community Leaders/Council. All officers are here to help make Xiled Gaming the best gaming network, and offer any assistance to our members that we can. So please help us focus our efforts by following the chain of command.
How to Build A Successful Clan and How to Make Squads Effective
Gamers in every clan talk about building the team, working as a team, and their team, but few understand how to create the experience of teamwork or how to develop an effective team. Belonging to a team, in the broadest sense, is a result of feeling part of something larger than yourself. It has a lot to do with your understanding of the mission or objectives of your clan.
In a team-oriented environment, you contribute to the overall success of the clan. You work with fellow gamers of the clan to produce these results. Even though you have a specific job function and you belong to a specific squad, you are unified with other clan members to accomplish the overall objectives. The bigger picture drives your actions; your function exists to serve the bigger picture.
You need to differentiate this overall sense of teamwork from the task of developing an effective intact team that is formed to accomplish a specific goal. People confuse the two-team building objectives. This is why so many team-building seminars, meetings, retreats, and activities are deemed failures by their participants. Leaders failed to define the team they wanted to build. Developing an overall sense of teamwork is different from building an effective, focused work team when you consider team-building approaches.
Team-building Council Leaders, Division Leaders, and Section Leaders universally explore ways to improve clan results and overall success. Many view team-based, horizontal, clan structures as the best design for involving all clan members in creating clan success.
No matter what you call your team-based improvement effort: continuous improvement, total quality, or self-directed work teams, you are striving to improve results for members. Few clans, however, are totally pleased with the results their team improvement efforts produce. If your team improvement efforts are not living up to your expectations, this self-diagnosing checklist may tell you why. Successful team building, that creates effective, focused squads, requires attention to each of the following.
So you have just started a clan, which means you are a Section Leader and have permission from a Division Leader or above. First, you will need to appoint a General and a Captain to assist you in running the clan. The General and Captain must be trustworthy and good recruiters. There is absolutely no poaching; this means no recruiting from other XGC, KOG, or SYN squads. To recruit, hit up any kind of matchmaking and look for quality players that represent what XGC, KOG, or SYN is looking for. A quality player is someone who plays professionally and will uphold the HONOR CODE. If a player is interested, you should direct them to one of our websites so they may familiarize themselves with the HONOR CODE and our ranking structure. If they do not have a computer, you must read them the HONOR CODE. If they agree with the HONOR CODE and wish to join, send them an invite. Remember, Halo or Call of Duty's ranking structure does not dictate a member's rank inside the clan. You are also responsible for making sure your General is updating their clan list on a regular basis. When problems arise, please follow the chain of command. This ranking structure has been around since the beginning and works very well. Division Leaders and Section Leaders are very busy and should not be bothered with minor problems, only serious issues. They are always there if you need them but do not abuse this privilege. Privates, Sergeants, and Lieutenants will report to their captains. Captains will report to their General. Generals will report to their Section Leader. Section Leaders will report to Division Leaders. Division Leaders will report to Community Leaders/Council. All officers are here to help make Xiled Gaming the best gaming network, and offer any assistance to our members that we can. So please help us focus our efforts by following the chain of command.
How to Build A Successful Clan and How to Make Squads Effective
Gamers in every clan talk about building the team, working as a team, and their team, but few understand how to create the experience of teamwork or how to develop an effective team. Belonging to a team, in the broadest sense, is a result of feeling part of something larger than yourself. It has a lot to do with your understanding of the mission or objectives of your clan.
In a team-oriented environment, you contribute to the overall success of the clan. You work with fellow gamers of the clan to produce these results. Even though you have a specific job function and you belong to a specific squad, you are unified with other clan members to accomplish the overall objectives. The bigger picture drives your actions; your function exists to serve the bigger picture.
You need to differentiate this overall sense of teamwork from the task of developing an effective intact team that is formed to accomplish a specific goal. People confuse the two-team building objectives. This is why so many team-building seminars, meetings, retreats, and activities are deemed failures by their participants. Leaders failed to define the team they wanted to build. Developing an overall sense of teamwork is different from building an effective, focused work team when you consider team-building approaches.
Team-building Council Leaders, Division Leaders, and Section Leaders universally explore ways to improve clan results and overall success. Many view team-based, horizontal, clan structures as the best design for involving all clan members in creating clan success.
No matter what you call your team-based improvement effort: continuous improvement, total quality, or self-directed work teams, you are striving to improve results for members. Few clans, however, are totally pleased with the results their team improvement efforts produce. If your team improvement efforts are not living up to your expectations, this self-diagnosing checklist may tell you why. Successful team building, that creates effective, focused squads, requires attention to each of the following.
- Clear Expectations: Has council leadership clearly communicated its expectations for the team’s performance and expected outcomes? Do team members understand why the team was created? Is the clan demonstrating constancy of purpose in supporting the team with resources of gamers and time? Do the efforts of the team receive sufficient emphasis as a priority in terms of the time, discussion, attention, and interest directed its way by Division and Section Leaders?
- Context: Do team members understand why they are participating in the team. Do they understand how the strategy of using teams will help the clan attain its communicated goals? Can team members define their team’s importance to the accomplishment of clan goals? Does the team understand where its work fits in the total context of the clan’s goals, principles, vision, and values?
- Commitment: Do team members want to participate on the team. Do team members feel the team mission is important? Are members committed to accomplishing the team mission and expected outcomes. Do team members perceive their service as valuable to the clan and to their own squads? Do team members anticipate recognition for their contributions? Do team members expect their skills to grow and develop on the team? Are team members excited and challenged by the team opportunity.
- Competence: Does the team feel that it has the appropriate people participating. (As an example, in a process improvement, is each step of the process represented on the team?) Does the team feel that its members have the knowledge, skill, and capability to address the issues for which the team was formed? If not, does the team have access to the help it needs? Does the team feel it has the resources, strategies, and support needed to accomplish its mission?
- Charter: Has the team taken its assigned area of responsibility and designed its own mission, vision, and strategies to accomplish the mission. Has the team defined and communicated its goals; its anticipated outcomes and contributions; its timelines; and how it will measure both the outcomes of its work and the process the team followed to accomplish their task. Does the General or Section Leaders support what the team has designed?
- Control: Does the team have enough freedom and empowerment to feel the ownership necessary to accomplish its charter. At the same time, do team members clearly understand their boundaries? How far may members go in pursuit of solutions? Are limitations defined at the beginning of the project before the team experiences barriers and rework? Are the team’s reporting relationship and accountability understood by all members of the clan? Has the Council defined the team’s authority? To make recommendations. To implement its plan. Is there a defined review process so both the squads and the clan as a whole are consistently aligned in direction and purpose? Do team members hold each other accountable for timelines, commitments, and results?
- Collaboration: Does the team understand the team and group process. Do gamers understand the stages of group development? Our team members working together effectively interpersonally? Do all team members understand the roles and responsibilities of squad members? Generals? Section Leaders? Can the team approach problem solving, process improvement, goal setting, and measurement jointly? Do team members cooperate to accomplish the team mission? Has the team established group norms or rules of conduct in areas such as conflict resolution, consensus decision-making, and meeting management? Is the team using an appropriate strategy to accomplish its action plan?
- Communication: Are team members clear about the priority of their tasks. Is there an established method for the teams to receive honest performance feedback? Does the clan provide important clan information regularly? Do the teams understand the complete context for their existence? Do team members communicate clearly and honestly with each other? Do team members bring diverse opinions to the table? Are necessary conflicts raised and addressed?
- Creative Innovation: Is the clan really interested in change. Does it value creative thinking, unique solutions, and new ideas? Does it reward people who take reasonable risks to make improvements? Alternatively, does it reward the people who fit in and maintain the status quo?
- Consequences: Do team members feel responsible and accountable for team achievements. Are rewards and recognition supplied when teams are successful? Is reasonable risk respected and encouraged in the organization. Do team members fear reprisal? Do team members spend their time finger-pointing rather than resolving problems? Is the clan designing reward systems that recognize both team and individual performance? Can contributors see their impact on increased clan success?
- Coordination: Are teams coordinated by a central leadership team that assists the squads to obtain what they need for success. Have priorities been planned across all the squads? Are cross-functional and multi-squad teams common and working together effectively? Is the clan developing a gamer-focused process-focused orientation and moving away from traditional clan thinking.
- Cultural Change: Does the clan recognize that the team-based, collaborative, empowering, enabling clan of the future is different than the traditional, hierarchical clan it may currently be. Is the clan planning to or in the process of changing how it rewards, recognizes, appraises, advances, develops, plans with, motivates, and directs the gamers? Does the clan plan to use failures for learning and support reasonable risk. Does the clan recognize that the more it can change its climate to support teams, the more it will receive in payback from the work of the teams?
