Building clan loyalty and structure: Family First

Written by Bruce Smalls| August 23, 2009

When on xbox live or when I'm just just out and about gamers often ask my advice on building a clan and retaining membership. Just by listening I determine their only purpose in forming a clan is just to push their personal agendas. I guess gaming clans are susceptible to greed, envy and self righteousness like every other business or organization. In my opinion clans disband for three main reasons. (1). Lack of organizational structure

(2). Lack clear purpose or mission

(3). LACK OF THE "FAMILY FIRST MENTALITY"



In life you always finish how you start and building a business or clan is no different. When building a clan the first thing you must establish is the reason why. Why do I want to lead/form clan? What are our goals? How will the clan benefit its members? These questions help to lay the foundation. Answering these simple yet important questions will help to provide you with clarity and a true landmark to come back to whenever you feel yourself or the clan getting off task.Answering these questions will also help you to place the correct individuals in positions of authority based on how they fit within the overall mission of the clan.

Organizational structure is so very vital! The people that are selected to be in positions of authority must be reflective of you and the clan mission. When selecting leadership many clans go for the best shooters or the individual with the most achievement points in a particular game. That's all fine and dandy but an individual's accomplishments as a gamer doesn't necessarily mean that they will be a great leader. Leaders must always keep an object view , enforce clan structure, get member feedback, and personify clan mission!



The most important thing in building clan structure and loyalty is letting your members know that it is always FAMILY FIRST! So many clan leaders say that they do everything for the clan, but how true is that. Making a commitment to FAMILY is a sacrifice. Many cases it means that personally you may take a lost to ensure the prosperity of the group. As a leader it your job to serve the members of your community. Don't be afraid if certain members are stronger than you in certain areas. You must learn how to pinpoint your member's strengths and place them in the best position possible for the good of the group. Gamers are just like everyone else in the sense that they want to belong. They want to be a part of a family. In the mind of gamers, if your clan name can become synonomous with family you have won! From time to time the clan will have problems but what family doesn't. By keeping it FAMILY FIRST your member will be connect by more than a game but rather a life long bond of brotherhood and friendship!