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Being the leader of a clan is awesome.


Thats about it
Mwuhahahahaha!!! The POWAAARRRR... *ahem*

But really, its not as simple as being the boss and telling people what to do. All the pitfalls of leadership factor into it to at least some degree. People won't listen to you unless you give them reason and earn that priveledge.

I don't want people to start a clan thinking they just have to make a post asking for people who are interested in joining a clan and think that everything will work itself out. You can just hang out in a chat room together and call yourself a clan but don't be surprised if people start drifting away. Clans need organisation and that takes some work.

Some tips and ideas

Running and maintaining a clan will take away from some playing time so beware that as well. I spend more time organising and site maintanence and the like than I do playing many days.
With that in mind here is some things I have learned.

• Its much easier to start a clan if you've put some work into it. Its the same with forming any group - you as a leader should show why joining you would be worthwhile for them.
  If you make a site and give them a place to chat, make forum posts etc - people will afford you more respect than just some guy saying "hey I want to make/lead a clan - msg me if you want to join."
  Even if its something as simple as writing a nice introduction to the clan - what its about, what you want to do together etc.
• If the clan stalls for too long then people may lose interest or move to other clans. You need to make sure you are giving your, usually, disparate members reason to stick around. In house leagues, organised practice, other events and fun stuff encourages team building
• Involve everyone as much as possible. Being a clan leader is less about being a boss as it is about just encouraging members and giving the clan direction.
  This will include things like deciding as a group for new recruits, logos and other stuff like that.
• You gotta be a people person - if your priority is playing then you might not do so well leading a clan.

This is by no means a comprehensive guide on building a clan. The points are simple and general and additional pointers on things like growth (new recruits) and diplomacy aren't really the scope here but I will give some of my thoughts.
New members is always good but you can't just let everyone join - like the point above; involve your members in deciding, especially the senior members.
Sometimes there will be disputes between clan members or between other players against your members. Don't be a bitch and just take it but don't outright dismiss others complaints about any of your clan's players or be aggressive.
Anytime a member of your clan is a dick it reflects badly on your clan as a whole and you. Then again its a game and sometimes people blow off steam. What makes a good clan leader is knowing when to tell people who accuse your members of something to stfu and when to act on the accusations

These are just my thoughts - don't know how useful they may be to the new startups i'm seeing a lot because as they say; there is more than one way to skin a cat

Best of luck to those trying to forge new clans.