To all you successful FC leaders... How did you do it?

[Vidu]

Because I have a leadership fetish.

...thats excatly why your FC isnt working: Because you're doing it for your own gain and needs, not for your members.
You dont want to build a strong, helpful and friendly community - you want to feed your own ego by pointing to a large number of people you are "leading".

Let me tell you a secret: A leader isnt required in this game at all. The post you want to fill is one that isnt needed whatsoever.
Leadership, at least in my FC, means basically only one thing: Having an overview of everything and doing some stuff, that servers your community but that no one else is intrested in. Our team of "leaders" isnt different from the other members in any regard except them putting the needs of the FC and their members before their own.

For example: We have a house and a garden and everyone is invited to plant whatever they like - we have seeds and soil in the chest for everyone to use and we're offering gardening advice to anyone who wants it. However, most people dont show a real intrest in that content - they do however show an intrest in stuff like minions, that require certain plants you only get from crossbreeding. So I sit down, gather the seeds, gather the soil (with the hlep of a few other leading members), I figure out the most effective way to crossbreed this stuff, we take care of the plants... and put the fruits into the FC-chest for everyone to use.
We've built airships and submarines exactly the same way and for the same purpose - making sure that everyone eventually gets what they desire from the voyages. When we get a new member, the first thing we do is check if they have a Zuu-mount and if they dont, we send out our airships to get them one.
Each time one of my retainers brings back a minion that I already have, I can tell with 90% certantiy which one of our members doesnt has it yet and before I sell it, I send it to them. I'm still sending out my botanist and miner retainer to get their special-pets, because I know some people are missing them - and nothing gives me greater joy than sending those little guys to someone I've barely spoken to and see them running around with their new pet a day later.

I dont know how you think about what makes "a leader", but if its anything other than thinking of yourself as a servant to your community, it wont work. You're not their boss or military captain or priest (...you mentioned being religious in your OP - if that is something you want as some corner-stone for your FC, make sure you advertise as such before hand so that non-religious people can stay away right away) - you're only one of them, but you're the one who delays his expert roulette because this sprout needs to do Brayflox for their story and queues as a DPS take for ages, so you jump on your tank or healer and speed up that queue.

You really need to offer your people more than a "Welcome".
FC-buffs? Let them handle those themself - they shouldnt have to come to you to beg you to turn on a specific buff. If it gets out of hand, set up a rotation - monday: battle-exp; tuesday: crafting-exp and so on.
Level up crafters and offer gear to you members - crafted free of charge, maybe asking for mats.
Throw extra minions, mounts and music scrolls in the chest, free for the taking.
Offer crafting materials, prisms and dyes in the chest for everyone to use.
Provide advice and fast queues as tank or healer - make sure your members know that they can always ask you for help, but at the same time stay away and let them do their thing. Personally, when I see any of our members in a queue for longer than 15 minutes, I'll ask what they're queuing for and if they need a hand with that - I main a tank, so queues are most likely instant. Often other members will jump in and offer help aswell.
You have to keep an eye on everything and the chores that no one wants to do - they're yours, while the gain is shared by everyone. That also means, that you basically have to be online every day.

No one in this game needs some egomaniac whos leading an FC for their own personal vanity - they need someone can provide help and some sort of community in a lot of different ways.

I'm not sure you really understood what makes a good FC-leader, because thats what you need to have good and working FC - ask yourself if you're really up for that task and all the things that come with it. You're not going to get to tell people what they're supposed to do or order them around - you're putting yourself in the position to be asked to be ordered around, so to speak.
You need to be actual help- and useful to your community, for them to stick with you - putting on an FC-buff doesnt cut it.

To me it seems you totally lack the spirit that makes a great FC-leader - or at least an FC-leader that I would like to have. You're self-centered and focussed on your own gain. You wanna be a leader for the sake of being a leader alone - not because you actually care about your members. So why should they care about you or your FC?

[Super_Bee_Brian]

(what Vidu said. Post count too long.)

There's one thing that you're wrong about. Most of what you said is good and helpful, and I thank you for that. But you're wrong about one thing.

Any community, whether online or offline, social or business, needs an egomaniacal leader. History will tell you this as well, not just me. The greatest military leader of all time, surpassing Caesar and Alexander, is Napoleon Bonaparte. He's my childhood hero. He wasn't a perfect man but his ego knows no bounds. Yet despite his ego, he was well-loved by his own soldiers. They remained loyal to the bitter end, even after his one-year abdication to Elba. His secret? Well, that's a lot of things. It's complicated. But the point is, his ego drove him to greatness. I have a fondness for the man because I'm the same way. And my experience tells me that greatness in leadership is not gained through purely morally upright motivations, but through sheer willpower and arrogance. The secret is to learn how to hide this arrogance when it counts, and flaunt it when the time to show-off is ripe.

You're talking to someone who have earned over 30 million gil throughout his 7 months of playing, half of which were gained by socializing alone. That's 15 million gil gained through sheer social skills. And wanna know something else? Before buying my FC house, I had 200k gil. I went to the house plot and hustled a nearby player who eventually gave me enough to get the plot for myself.

I created this thread to get practical advice, NOT to be sermoned to become a kinder, "purer", morally-upright person. My intentions for my FC is for my own benefit. But who cares? I'm forced to do things for others' benefit as well, so no harm done.

[Hazmick]

Any community, whether online or offline, social or business, needs an egomaniacal leader. History will tell you this as well, not just me. The greatest military leader of all time, surpassing Caesar and Alexander, is Napoleon Bonaparte. He's my childhood hero. He wasn't a perfect man but his ego knows no bounds. Yet despite his ego, he was well-loved by his own soldiers. They remained loyal to the bitter end, even after his one-year abdication to Elba. His secret? Well, that's a lot of things. It's complicated. But the point is, his ego drove him to greatness. I have a fondness for the man because I'm the same way. And my experience tells me that greatness in leadership is not gained through purely morally upright motivations, but through sheer willpower and arrogance. The secret is to learn how to hide this arrogance when it counts, and flaunt it when the time to show-off is ripe.

You're talking to someone who have earned over 30 million gil throughout his 7 months of playing, half of which were gained by socializing alone. That's 15 million gil gained through sheer social skills. And wanna know something else? Before buying my FC house, I had 200k gil. I went to the house plot and hustled a nearby player who eventually gave me enough to get the plot for myself.

I created this thread to get practical advice, NOT to be sermoned to become a kinder, "purer", morally-upright person. My intentions for my FC is for my own benefit. But who cares? I'm forced to do things for others' benefit as well, so no harm done.

Sorry to say this OP, but you sound like a sociopath and it's very clear to everyone here that your problems with maintaining an FC are precisely that - YOUR problems. Successful FC leaders are usually kind, relaxed, and do their best to foster a similar atmosphere in which everyone feels comfortable. Nobody cares how much money you have, and there is more to the game than gil.

I'd suggest taking everyone's criticisms on board. Good luck with your future endeavours. ^_^

[Vidu]

There's one thing that you're wrong about. Most of what you said is good and helpful, and I thank you for that. But you're wrong about one thing.

Any community, whether online or offline, social or business, needs an egomaniacal leader.

I created this thread to get practical advice, NOT to be sermoned to become a kinder, "purer", morally-upright person. My intentions for my FC is for my own benefit. But who cares? I'm forced to do things for others' benefit as well, so no harm done.

You are... comparing yourself an a community of people to a military organisation? Are you really that out of it or just trolling again...? I honestly cant tell - I can only tell you that in this context you are completly wrong.

The military might need egomanic leaders to keep everyone in check and disicpline, but thats not what is required here. You're not running a buisness or an organisation of any kind, most of the time you're even working towards a common goal within an FC, which is completly fine, because FCs in this game arent set up like that.

Maybe our approachs are just extremly different, because you are talking to someone who easly earns that amount of money by crafting each week, or even day - if I put my mind to it - and then use that money to make sure that even the people in my FC who have less time to play, get to enjoy the game - either by just giving them the millions they need to buy a small house or by getting them a minion they really love or by just saving them the money outright by spending 20 minutes of my time to craft them some gear so they can continue their adventure. (And I honestly wouldnt be surprised if some of the people who gave you money just weight how little gil is worth and how much their peace from you is worth)

You can try to live your Napolean-leader-fantasy, but it doesnt seem to work to well for you, so I'm telling you: If you want to change the behaviour of your members, aka: have them not leave, you need to change your behaviour and approach towards the whole thing.
People will care if they're there for your benefit - or for theirs. And if they dont like you very, very much - and they dont seem to do - they will leave. They're not your employees, they're not your soldiers and they dont owe you s*it. And the sooner your realise that, the sooner you can start building a healthy and strong community.

Your ideas for your FC and for your position in it arent well recived, obviously. An "egomaniac leader" might have been required in france, but not in Eorzea and specially not for an FC. I like to think of my FC as a family - a family doesnt need an egomaniac leader, a family needs someone whos willing to put their own needs behind and nurture its members - and not their loyalty.

So, practical advice: Drop that attitude, stop believing you're the greatest human being, work on your social skills instead of bragging about them, humble yourself - and then start trying to build a community, instead of a company.

[Super_Bee_Brian]

(What Vidu said.)

I swear to you I'm not trolling. I'm serious.

But let me quote something (completely memorized, as a way of showing my wisdom) to you from Niccolo Machiavelli...

I certainly think that it is better to be impetuous than cautious, for fortune is a woman, and it is necessary, if you wish to master her, to conquer her by force. And it can be seen that she lets herself be overcome by the bold, rather than by those who proceed coldly. And therefore, like a woman, she is always a friend to the young, because they are less cautious, fiercer, and master her with greater audacity.

To be a leader, you must be bold. And usually, the boldest and most brazen people are the ones at the top. Leadership is leadership wherever you are.

My goal in the Mateus server is to first earn 180 million gil so that I can fund a 30-man army who'd conquer Ul'dah through roleplaying. (Mateus is a roleplaying server) That's 6 million gil per year per person.

My INITIAL goals are humble, but overall, long term, I'm out to gain big stuff. I'll become the Napoleon of this game.

And similar goals require similar methods.

[KaivaC]

I swear to you I'm not trolling. I'm serious.

But let me quote something (completely memorized, as a way of showing my wisdom) to you from Niccolo Machiavelli...

I certainly think that it is better to be impetuous than cautious, for fortune is a woman, and it is necessary, if you wish to master her, to conquer her by force. And it can be seen that she lets herself be overcome by the bold, rather than by those who proceed coldly. And therefore, like a woman, she is always a friend to the young, because they are less cautious, fiercer, and master her with greater audacity.

To be a leader, you must be bold. And usually, the boldest and most brazen people are the ones at the top. Leadership is leadership wherever you are.

My goal in the Mateus server is to first earn 180 million gil so that I can fund a 30-man army who'd conquer Ul'dah through roleplaying. (Mateus is a roleplaying server) That's 6 million gil per year per person.

My INITIAL goals are humble, but overall, long term, I'm out to gain big stuff. I'll become the Napoleon of this game.

And similar goals require similar methods.

Annnnddd, this confirms the trolling. And my interest in this thread has now evaporated faster than Bee's FC losing members.

...oh, too soon?

I'll see myself out now.

[Super_Bee_Brian]

Annnnddd, this confirms the trolling. And my interest in this thread has now evaporated faster than Bee's FC losing members.

...oh, too soon?

I'll see myself out now.

Please stop. I'm not trolling. I didn't wanna delete my previous post but I had to because of such an accusation.

[Super_Bee_Brian]

Annnnddd, this confirms the trolling. And my interest in this thread has now evaporated faster than Bee's FC losing members.

...oh, too soon?

I'll see myself out now.

Nevermind. I reposted it.

Seriously, please, don't accuse me of trolling. People get banned for that stuff. I'm completely serious.

[KaivaC]

Nevermind. I reposted it.

Seriously, please, don't accuse me of trolling. People get banned for that stuff. I'm completely serious.

Aha....threatening with a ban? Very well. I'm done with this thread anyhow. Seriously, I'm completely done with this thread. Adieu, good ser.

I'm not threatening anything. I was saying that I might get banned because people would think I'm a troll.

People already think you're a tr....you know what, nevermind. Not wasting another daily post on this thread.

[loaded-god-complex]

You're comparing yourself to Napoleon. Dude~ you play a video game where you're riding around the world on a cartoon chicken trying to stop an evil moon wizard.