The Modern Warrant Officer

With Idioms’ recent promotion to Warrant Officer, it brings an opportunity to re-visit this rank and go over a few points that might prove helpful to the guild members.

A Warrant Officer is basically an assistant Guild Leader and although I will always generally steer the guild in the direction I feel necessary, the Warrant Officers will oversee a lot of what is going on around the guild and discuss certain matters with each other and myself. The Warrant Officer is a servant of the guild’s members and although they possess prestige in the position, the overall output they provide to the guild proves that they are dedicated conduits for the day-to-day operations of the community.

Spyrot and Idioms are both hard workers who enjoy being part of the guild. They know their game well and are sensitive to the general feeling of our Dambusters who play in the same areas of the game. There are other officers who I could have placed in the rank of Warrant Officer but from the outset I knew Idioms was a possible Warrant Officer and after a lengthy period of reflection and brief discussions with Spyrot, I have decided to use his community skills and give him the chance to affect more around the guild.

His relatively brief Flight Sergeant role has been nothing short of outstanding, during which he has demonstrated his ability to observe things around the guild, make good judgment calls and mediate in situations which could otherwise have resulted in drama. Like Spyrot, Idioms has his moments where tensions can get to him but with the power of Warrant Officer, I expect both these guys to be aware they have a large influence on the guild and do not need to push that influence any more than is needed.

Sometimes, it’s best to procrastinate rather than make a knee-jerk decision and with these guys, experience will let them see clearly when to act and when to chill. You only need to look at Bigticket to see an example of someone who can make snap decisions but also to understand that there are times to let it go and make fun of yourself, laugh with everyone.

Rule number 1 in any organisation: you can’t please everyone. So hold true to your principles and try to be as fair with everyone as possible at all times. If someone is being an idiot, there’s nothing wrong with telling them that but as a Warrant Officer, or a Flight Sergeant, you must choose your decisions wisely. Make decisions quickly on instinct if required but learn when you’ve made an error and try to rectify it with minimum drama.

These are all basics of people management and we take that aspect of the game seriously in the guild. One thing I read recently from a multi-millionaire’s autobiography was that as a manager, if someone in your company wrongs you (i.e. does something negligent) then by all means they should be held responsible, but don’t punish the rest of the workforce by enacting rules and regulations which hold everyone to account for the failings of 1 individual.

At the airport when everyone lines up to take off their shoes, did you know that the actual reason for that is that some idiot decided to reach down and try to light his shoes on fire? Now almost everyone going through airport security must take off their shoes and it’s all because of 1 idiot.

Understandably the repercussions of that ever happening again are terrible for a company who suffers a loss of that scale so they must minimise any risk. But in our guild, it’s not life or death so of course we have some rules to abide by otherwise it would just be anarchy. But in general, our guild members do enjoy a freedom and relaxed atmosphere and it shows clearly with people signing up on the calendar for scheduled events and simply failing to attend on a regular basis. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like that and I don’t approve of it but it’s symptomatic of the casual culture here so we must just manage it better.

This kind of thing is perfect for our 2 Warrant Officers to get to grips with. These are smart guys with good experience of our community and good ideas to help us move forward. The guild needs it’s GM and I will not be abdicating any of my own influence but I am a keen delegator so I like to encourage people to use our guild’s vision and let them make their own decisions. If I see a pattern which is counterproductive then I will look to correct it.

I’m hoping not to micro-manage but to allow the guild’s officers just enough autonomy that I can enjoy finding ways to improve the guild as a whole and that’s what I really enjoy doing most.

Look to Idioms and Spyrot as much as you can and never forget that my door is always open if you feel the need to talk to me direct.

/Salute