What makes a good manager?

[touch_me]

Hello fellow graalians. I am seeking out an answer that will hopefully help all of us. I have been apart of many servers, making graphics, ganis, and levels. I have seen numerous servers fail, where other may succeed and vice versa. I have developed on both classic worlds, and playerworlds. But now i am seeking out an answer as to what makes a good manager. I know each person shall have there own opinion on this, and thats why i am posting this question here.

In my opinion, a manager should be someone whom not only helps with the progress of a server but is a cornerstone. Someone who already has the understanding that maturity and cooperation are the key principles behind making concepts and plans a reality.

But it is hard to find a single person with the discipline and character required to fill such an important position.

There are wikis about how to create graphics, or how to learn graal script. but where can i find information about managing?

I would like to hear some of your opinions about any manager that you think has been successful and why they were able to be such a success.

I would also like to hear about the opposite. Who was/is a bad manager why are bad in your own opinion.

And if anyone who currently manages an already "successful" server happens to read this please add your thoughts as well.

And please be honest, don't be affraid of hurting anyones feelings, anything posted here should be information that can help all future managers and this thread should be no means turn into a place where people blast jargon against one another in an attempt to make someone look bad so they can feel good about themselves.

[cbk1994]

I think a good manager is someone who is dedicated to the server, even though others may be inclined to leave because all seems lost. Development skills are always a plus, but a lot of the time all that a manager needs (I shouldn't really say this since it sounds like it's easy to manage, and it's not) is people skills (dealing with player issues), ability to motivate staff to get work done, and an actual care for the server.

One problem some managers have is they try to control everything, and players don't like this. Very few managers can say that virtually everyone on their server supports them.

I didn't mean to mention anyone specifically, but Tig is such a good example. GK a few months ago seemed completely dead, with no chance of returning. But look now, and you'll see that there have been 60+ players on at times. I know through personally working with Tig that he's very good with people, and gets along with just about everyone. He is also very dedicated to Graal Kingdoms, and worked extremely hard to get it back to where it is now, even though many, many people (including myself) gave up on it.

[Galdor]

Every server that I have have worked on have failed, god I love fail, isn't failure great? so well maybe none of those that I have worked with I guess xD But yea im in love with Tig aswell his so perfect in every way.

[salesman]

Listens to the players and actually takes the initiative to accomplish what he/she says they're going to accomplish.

[Loriel]

Being a decent scripter.

[Crono]

som1 who managez good lols

[touch_me]

I don't think i have ever even really talked to Tig, and i have never played GK past the first few minutes of game play. But bravo to Tig, he faces no easy task; and i would have to agree that manager should be listening to players. But he should always take that input with a grain of salt. Because some things sound good, but not everything is possible.

I guess now i should give honorable mention to the people whom i have observed and believe have some the of the traits that might make a good manager.

My list is rather short, being made up of only 3 people. Not including anyone who already manages.

First person i would have to say is probably Aeko, I know some people may not agree with the names i am saying but this is my opinion. Aeko is mature, and can handle things. He is easily a strong asset to any development team and can not only manage himself but i believe he could easily manage a server.

The second would have to be Zelph. Mainly because i have seen that he is able of handling his real life and accomplishing things that other people don't have the discipline to aspire to. So he understands the types of decisions important to being a strong manager.

Following along the same lines is the third person, who would have to be Rogpog. He is seldom rash, and a man a few words from what i have observed. As well as Zelph he has accomplished his goals that he has sought after and has succeeded.

Not to say that Aeko has accomplished nothing. I just don't know as much about his story :P

[CharlieM]

Originally Posted by salesman

Listens to the players and actually takes the initiative to accomplish what he/she says they're going to accomplish.

This

[Elizabeth]

just like chris said; dedication.

[Clockwork]

Originally Posted by Galdor

Every server that I have have worked on have failed, god I love fail, isn't failure great? so well maybe none of those that I have worked with I guess xD But yea im in love with Tig aswell his so perfect in every way.

Aeko, you're other manager, on your other job you never work at, is calling you out after trying to have gotten you to work for the 300th time... x.x;

Originally Posted by touch_me

Not to say that Aeko has accomplished nothing. I just don't know as much about his story :P

It's long...and sad. D:!

[Galdor]

Originally Posted by Clockwork

Aeko, you're other manager, on your other job you never work at, is calling you out after trying to have gotten you to work for the 300th time... x.x;

Yes on something thats super huge and totally irrelevant to the thing I originally joined to do but w/e and ur server haven't failed.

[Matt]

Active: Online at least a few times a week. Logging on those few times and saying "What's the update?" "Ok ill see ya guys/girls later, GOOD WORK!", does not and should not be acceptable in my opinion. If you're barely on and your position is 'Manager', then you obviously don't have the time to 'manage' your server and it's staff.

Organized: You should have a solid development plan so that once you hire, you know what needs to get done right then and there, instead of coming up with things in your head that you think would be 'cool'. As a manager i think it's also important to make sure every staff member knows a decent amount of information about the server, such as the storyline, major quests ect. I hate seeing developers that come to work for a server, but have no idea what it's about. (This is obviously not that important seeing as you'll be lucky too find a decent NAT now and days >.>)

Mature:
I'm not saying that i think you should be mature and professional 24/7, because that will stress you if you think about it, for me at least. A manager should know when his/her professionalism needs to be shown. Like if a Manager tries to stop a large argument via masses (assuming there's no GP's on) and just says "omfg can you guys stfu, your all a bunch of annoying noobs". He/she should be smacked. I'd find that embarrassing, even though it does get tempting to just 'lash out' like that at times.

Strict/Nice: Can't be too strict, but you can't be too nice either. I think, if your too nice your staff will see your server as a place to just chat on RC do small things to make it look like there doing there job. (E.g, A GFX admin has a large project and is already delayed, but hops on every 4 days to upload heads then logoff).

If your too strict, you will just annoy your staff that are working for your project, and eventually lose them. But you still can't let them be completely lazy or they'll think that's fine of course. Management should make sure work is getting done, so that the players have something to look forward to, and nothing to complain about. No matter how good your content is, it'll eventually get old/boring.

Knowledge: You should know everything about the server your managing, from current staff, to all the systems, gfx, ect ect.This will help in many situations that might happen if you have no knowledge.

Relationship with Players: It's also a plus i think if a manager could find the time here and there to partake in an event or such other things. Keep the players informed of what is being done, and what they can expect in the future, but be accurate. Don't tell them your going to release a big system in 2 days and it won't be done for another month. That makes them lose respect points for you, and will eventually cause them to try and throw you under the bus.

I think being able to develop is not necessary. but a big plus, since a server is pretty much based around scripts, knowledge of Gscript2 would be essential, unless you have very devoted NATs working for you of course. These are my own personal opinions, and will obviously change for each person that replies.

[SwimChao]

I think a good Manager is made up of someone with the leadership and social skills to organize the entire staff team and communicate with the playerbase efficiently.

The Manager could be a poor artist, poor at levels and a poor scripter-- or not know how to do any of the above, and still be an apt, successful leader. They need to be innovative in their social skills and communicate with the player base and staff team on the proper levels and with the proper etiquette when the situation calls for it.

If the Manager has full control over their staff team to do the work efficiently, as they're supposed to do in the first place, they can be more successful than they could even imagine trying to pull off big projects on their own

[Liberated]

I haven't worked on alot of servers, only one actually, but i must say the manager is great,
what i think makes him a good manager
1: He is dedicated to the project, it has been going on for a long time now, but has never given up.
2: He really wants the best for the server, no shabby work or anything.
3: He has people skills, he can get people(atleast me), to get to work and finish the job.

I think without him the project would've been abandoned some time ago.

[Pelikano]

A good Manager was Smu.

Cut off the part where he sold stuff for USD btw.

[Codein]

Originally Posted by Pelikano

A good Manager was Smu.

Cut off the part where he sold stuff for USD btw.

Elaborate please

[Crow]

Originally Posted by Pelikano

A good Manager was Smu.

Cut off the part where he sold stuff for USD btw.

No, he wasn't.

Originally Posted by Codein

Elaborate please

Core Electronics.

[fowlplay4]

You can't really make a guide to being a good manager, no matter what you are always presented unique situations and it is difficult. A good manager can only be as good as their worst staff member which sucks because when someone decides to "attack" your server it's the actions of your staff that affect your final image.

It helps to be familiar with the developmental aspects but I don't really think that should be considered when you are reviewing their Managerial skills.

If anything there should be a guide to being good staff which is generally what is really needed. It takes forever to find good staff who will work for the good of the server and not for personal gain. I've seen my fair share of the staff who've only done things for themselves on Zodiac.

Another feature of good staff is the ability to handle stress from players accordingly, depending on the size of your server's community this usually isn't a problem however on Zodiac I get to deal with all kinds of jerks, trolls, etc.

[Clockwork]

Originally Posted by fowlplay4

You can't really make a guide to being a good manager, no matter what you are always presented unique situations and it is difficult. A good manager can only be as good as their worst staff member which sucks because when someone decides to "attack" your server it's the actions of your staff that affect your final image.

It helps to be familiar with the developmental aspects but I don't really think that should be considered when you are reviewing their Managerial skills.

If anything there should be a guide to being good staff which is generally what is really needed. It takes forever to find good staff who will work for the good of the server and not for personal gain. I've seen my fair share of the staff who've only done things for themselves on Zodiac.

Another feature of good staff is the ability to handle stress from players accordingly, depending on the size of your server's community this usually isn't a problem however on Zodiac I get to deal with all kinds of jerks, trolls, etc.

I don't hate you, only you're server and some sorts of the ways you manage it o.o... Though, I offered to help out awhile ago and you gave me a blatant no.

Handling stress from players rules itself in with how you interact with players I believe. You learn to deal with it and just skip past the ones that you can see are just flames. Though, if the flames are something fixable and there seem to be quite a few of them about the same subject, maybe somethign needs changing, even if it's a huge change...

[fowlplay4]

I don't you remember you asking to help, but I do remember people only wanting to do what they wanted or those who wanted to take the server into a completely different direction. I also remember people leaving to other projects/following friends but this isn't about that.

Yes avoiding stress is dependent on the players you interact with mainly the reason why I avoid most if not all "BUFF THIS, NERF THIS, DO THIS" or "U SUCK" PMs.

As a Manager it's very important to hand out secure rights and folders, which is typically where all the trouble starts because the staff who are only working for themselves/maliciously will takeover your server in no time. It usually takes a week or two to see if the person is working for rights or for the server they tend to make it obvious i.e: "Rights, Items, etc. or I quit.".

[Elk]

Deophite is a good manager

[Darklux]

Sorry, but a good manager needs to be unpopular

[Loriel]

Originally Posted by Darklux

Sorry, but a good manager needs to be unpopular

You know who else was popular?

yeah.

[LoneAngelIbesu]

Everything that Clash was not. Essentially, I agree with Matt.

P.S. Clash was the dictator of Valikorlia for years until he was usurped (read: banned by a staff member and subsequently removed from power by the PWAs).

[King homer daStupid]

One who can reallocate available resources effectively.

[Geno]

Someone that rules with an iron fist. Bans people that he/she dislikes. Gives power to their friends. Gives cool items to cool ppl. Sells items/stuff for real money over paypal

[Crow]

Originally Posted by Geno

Someone that rules with an iron fist. Bans people that he/she dislikes. Gives power to their friends. Gives cool items to cool ppl. Sells items/stuff for real money over paypal

That's the counterpart of a good manager.

[Pelikano]

Originally Posted by Elk

Deophite is a good manager

laughing out loud

[Kamaeru]

Endurance

I mean George Washington endurance. George Washington was a terrible fighter and a terrible leader and nearly all of his men died. What made him succeed was that he had endurance, meaning he didn't defeat the British, he only had to endure the British attack. lol

That's if you're a bad leader, which is the problem with most managers left around.

The concept of "management" has simply been perverted somewhere in its translation.

[Geno]

Originally Posted by Crow

That's the counterpart of a good manager.

idts

[DuBsTeRmAn]

Be mean to your staff, give bad comment on everything.. Then hire an manager for your server and be mad at him for blowing it up This isnt serious...

[Deas_Voice]

Originally Posted by DuBsTeRmAn

Be mean to your staff, give bad comment on everything.. Then hire an manager for your server and be mad at him for blowing it up

so that is wy u wont do anything to help me when i ask you..?

[DuBsTeRmAn]

Originally Posted by Deas_Voice

so that is wy u wont do anything to help me when i ask you..?

No thats because im lazy

[Deas_Voice]

Originally Posted by DuBsTeRmAn

No thats because im lazy

oh ok..

[Thanatoses]

Originally Posted by Matt

Active: Online at least a few times a week. Logging on those few times and saying "What's the update?" "Ok ill see ya guys/girls later, GOOD WORK!", does not and should not be acceptable in my opinion. If you're barely on and your position is 'Manager', then you obviously don't have the time to 'manage' your server and it's staff.

Organized: You should have a solid development plan so that once you hire, you know what needs to get done right then and there, instead of coming up with things in your head that you think would be 'cool'. As a manager i think it's also important to make sure every staff member knows a decent amount of information about the server, such as the storyline, major quests ect. I hate seeing developers that come to work for a server, but have no idea what it's about. (This is obviously not that important seeing as you'll be lucky too find a decent NAT now and days >.>)

Mature:
I'm not saying that i think you should be mature and professional 24/7, because that will stress you if you think about it, for me at least. A manager should know when his/her professionalism needs to be shown. Like if a Manager tries to stop a large argument via masses (assuming there's no GP's on) and just says "omfg can you guys stfu, your all a bunch of annoying noobs". He/she should be smacked. I'd find that embarrassing, even though it does get tempting to just 'lash out' like that at times.

Strict/Nice: Can't be too strict, but you can't be too nice either. I think, if your too nice your staff will see your server as a place to just chat on RC do small things to make it look like there doing there job. (E.g, A GFX admin has a large project and is already delayed, but hops on every 4 days to upload heads then logoff).

If your too strict, you will just annoy your staff that are working for your project, and eventually lose them. But you still can't let them be completely lazy or they'll think that's fine of course. Management should make sure work is getting done, so that the players have something to look forward to, and nothing to complain about. No matter how good your content is, it'll eventually get old/boring.

Knowledge: You should know everything about the server your managing, from current staff, to all the systems, gfx, ect ect.This will help in many situations that might happen if you have no knowledge.

Relationship with Players: It's also a plus i think if a manager could find the time here and there to partake in an event or such other things. Keep the players informed of what is being done, and what they can expect in the future, but be accurate. Don't tell them your going to release a big system in 2 days and it won't be done for another month. That makes them lose respect points for you, and will eventually cause them to try and throw you under the bus.

I think being able to develop is not necessary. but a big plus, since a server is pretty much based around scripts, knowledge of Gscript2 would be essential, unless you have very devoted NATs working for you of course. These are my own personal opinions, and will obviously change for each person that replies.

Flawless Victory, everything is right on point.
Ironically, every Manager "Era" has had within the past 3-4 years, had no more than a few of those qualities or possessed the contrary of them.
Streety actually is a great manager, in my opinion. Oh, by the way Streety its (Venom_Fish).
Deophite (1): Mature
TSAdmin (1): Strict/Nice
DazJenova (3): Knowledge, Active, Relationship with players.
Icarus (2): Relationship with Players, Active
Ocelot (3): Knowledge, Active, Relationship with Players

The list goes on, only people that actually fit all of those were:
Chrisz, Angel, SnakeAndy
(Along with the original management/administration)

But, You know how it goes: soowoop and dada dooo.

[napo_p2p]

Michael Scott

[CaptainSkittles]

Originally Posted by napo_p2p

Michael Scott

This.

[Pelikano]

Originally Posted by Thanatoses

Flawless Victory, everything is right on point.
Ironically, every Manager "Era" has had within the past 3-4 years, had no more than a few of those qualities or possessed the contrary of them.
Streety actually is a great manager, in my opinion. Oh, by the way Streety its (Venom_Fish).
Deophite (1): Mature
TSAdmin (1): Strict/Nice
DazJenova (3): Knowledge, Active, Relationship with players.
Icarus (2): Relationship with Players, Active
Ocelot (3): Knowledge, Active, Relationship with Players

The list goes on, only people that actually fit all of those were:
Chrisz, Angel, SnakeAndy
(Along with the original management/administration)

But, You know how it goes: soowoop and dada dooo.

Hardcore ass kissing :]

[Vima]

A good manager needs to:
Believe 110% in the server.
Always encourage the Staff.
Find solutions to the problems.
But most important, Never give up!

[Thanatoses]

Originally Posted by Pelikano

Hardcore ass kissing :]

You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?

Soo Woop and Dada Doo!