In this blog post, I’ll explore the qualities a leader needs, based on my firsthand experience with the roles of leaders and followers in online games.
The Meaning of Leadership Discovered in Games
A leader’s character is increasingly emphasized. Countless leaders have emerged who have successfully led their companies and various organizations to achieve innovation, and case studies on how they produced such results are constantly being shared. However, even when reading Steve Jobs’ biography or listening to lectures by leaders in Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor division, their ideas didn’t fully resonate with me. This was because I believed that while the historical context and opportunities of their time played a role in their success, there was something that couldn’t be fully explained through indirect experience alone. This line of thought eventually led me to ask, “Where, exactly, can I find an opportunity to experience the role of a leader firsthand?” Since I had almost no experience serving as a group leader or an executive in an organization, I felt I had never stood in a leader’s position or observed a leader’s work up close. But then one fact came to mind: I had already had that experience dozens of times in online games.
I’ve played many different kinds of games, but if I had to name the one I spent the most time on during my college years, it would undoubtedly be “World of Warcraft” (hereinafter “WOW”). Developed by Blizzard Entertainment, WOW is a flagship title in the MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) genre. An MMORPG is a game in which countless players come together online to complete quests, defeat powerful bosses, and level up their characters. Although it features the unique environment of anonymity and the online space, the in-game world of “Azeroth” is also a society where countless people coexist, and it has its own set of social rules. In this world, I have been both a leader and a follower. Based on my extensive experience, I’d like to share my thoughts on what kind of person a leader should be.
Before that, I’d like to provide a little background. World of Warcraft features a system called “raids.” This is content where groups of 10 to 30 players form a “raid party” to take down powerful bosses together. If the boss is successfully defeated, various rewards are granted, and the raid group distributes these limited rewards among its members according to predetermined rules. Typically, there is one raid leader for each raid group. Just as a moderator leads a company video conference, the raid leader uses voice chat to directly issue commands to raid members, explain strategies, and command the entire raid. The raid leader holds most of the authority regarding raid operations, and raid members generally follow the leader’s instructions unless the situation is particularly unreasonable. In other words, the raid leader, who works with the members to defeat the boss, is essentially the leader guiding the team.
Over the four years I’ve played WoW, I’ve participated in countless raids, experienced a variety of raid leaders, and even took on the role of raid leader myself several times, grabbing the mic. Some raids went smoothly, while others did not. In particular, raids that ran smoothly and had a positive atmosphere often saw the formation of a sort of fan base for the raid leader. On the other hand, when a raid failed spectacularly or the raid leader committed serious misconduct, the raid leader might be replaced mid-raid or blacklisted by the relevant community. So what is the difference between these two scenarios? What distinguishes a successful leader from a failed one?
A Leader Must Accurately Understand Their Role
The first thing I noticed is that a leader must accurately understand the role they are expected to fulfill. A raid leader must precisely identify the abilities and behavior patterns of the boss they’re facing and devise a strategy to counter them. They must know when the entire raid needs to attack together, how to position team members, and which targets to prioritize to achieve maximum efficiency. To develop these strategies, the raid leader thoroughly researches the boss by reviewing guide materials in advance or seeking advice from more experienced players. Understanding the boss’s ability patterns is the absolute foundation. If someone who hasn’t even grasped this properly takes on the role of raid leader, the raid members will initially be puzzled. However, if failures continue to occur and the causes aren’t properly analyzed, in most cases, someone with a better understanding of the strategy will replace the current raid leader.
In real-world organizations as well, one reason leaders abandon projects midway is that they don’t fully understand the team’s tasks. It’s not uncommon for a leader to start a project without thoroughly discussing its importance, value, rationale, and expected outcomes with team members before delegating the work, only to eventually give up on it. I, too, have experience leading a project to prepare for a contest while in a club. At the time, our team pushed the project too hard to meet the deadline, even though we hadn’t conducted sufficient preliminary research or review regarding the design. However, as we continued our preparations, we discovered that similar products already existed and that the contest’s purpose didn’t align with the direction of our proposal; ultimately, we had no choice but to abandon the project midway. As this example shows, before starting any task, it is paramount for a leader to accurately understand the nature and purpose of that task.
A leader must accurately assess the capabilities of team members
Next, a leader must thoroughly understand the capabilities of their team members. In games, the roles of each raid member are clearly defined, and there are limits to the skills an individual can use. Roles are broadly divided into defense, healing, and offense. For example, suppose an analysis of a boss’s ability patterns reveals that at a specific point in the fight, the entire raid’s health will drop drastically in an instant. In this situation, the healers must use their special abilities to quickly restore the health of the entire raid. To devise such a strategy, the raid leader must know exactly what each team member can do and how efficiently they can perform those tasks. If the raid leader assigns unreasonable tasks without properly assessing the members’ abilities, the raid will continue to fail in defeating the boss. In other words, the raid leader must continuously assess how efficiently each member can perform their role, while adjusting strategies and adapting to the situation.
This principle applies equally to real-world organizations. If a leader concentrates an excessive workload on a specific member or sets goals that exceed the team’s overall capabilities, the organization is generally more likely to fail to achieve its objectives. Furthermore, as team members’ fatigue and conflicts grow, this can lead to internal divisions within the organization. Even today, we often see cases where a research lab takes on a large-scale project without securing sufficient equipment or personnel, and then fails to execute it properly, resulting in significantly lower-quality outcomes. This, too, can be considered a classic example of a leader failing to accurately assess the team’s capabilities.
The ability to respond quickly to unexpected situations is also crucial
Another important leadership quality is quick thinking. No matter how thoroughly a raid leader studies the situation or accurately assesses the team members’ abilities, things rarely go exactly according to plan. The raid leader’s actions may deviate from expectations, or raid members may make mistakes. That said, the raid leader cannot simply suggest starting over from scratch every time a problem arises. If the situation is manageable, they must immediately find an alternative solution and respond flexibly. If the raid leader fails to respond swiftly to such variables and instead panics or fails to issue any instructions, the raid members will become severely disoriented, and it won’t take long for the raid to fall apart.
This quick thinking is even more evident in real-life crisis situations. For example, when an unexpected accident occurs in a company or a major project suddenly hits a snag, a leader must accurately assess the situation and respond swiftly, rather than downplaying or avoiding the problem. A leader who makes sound judgments and rapid decisions in a crisis can minimize damage to the organization and earn greater trust from both team members and society. Thus, the quick thinking required to wisely overcome unexpected crises is one of the essential qualities a leader must possess.
Democratic Decision-Making and Communication Build Trust
Finally, I realized that leaders must make decisions in a democratic manner. A raid leader must constantly issue commands and direct raid members throughout a raid. Everyone lives according to their own methods and criteria based on their personal experiences. The same applies when running a raid. Raid members each bring strategies and know-how gained from their experiences in different raids. However, for an efficient run, the entire raid must operate under a single strategy. Therefore, the raid leader must choose a reasonable strategy that all members can understand and follow, and lead the group accordingly.
To do this, the leader must listen carefully to everyone’s opinions and select and implement the strategy best suited to the current situation. Additionally, they must be able to persuade even those who oppose their decisions. Throughout this process, the raid leader must constantly communicate with the raid members, continuously checking what difficulties the entire raid is facing and whether each member has been assigned an appropriate role. If this communication breaks down and the raid members’ opinions are consistently ignored, the raid leader will eventually lose the trust of the members. Such an organization can never be called a successful team.
A raid leader in an online game who leads a 25-member raid is also a leader guiding a team. Only by possessing a deep understanding of the mission and team members, quick thinking in crisis situations, and excellent communication skills can one successfully lead a raid. While playing games, I’ve encountered countless outstanding raid leaders and, conversely, witnessed many failed ones whom people avoid, which has led me to constantly reflect on what kind of leader I should become.
The path I will walk in the future will be far more difficult than defeating a boss in an online game. Failure in a game may amount to nothing more than a brief loss of time, but failure in real life can determine the future of a company or lead to a loss of trust in research or academic fields. Furthermore, it can have consequences that significantly impact not only my own life but also the lives of many others. Even if I someday find myself in a leadership position, I intend to always remember these lessons learned from gaming and strive relentlessly to become a prudent and responsible leader who possesses the qualities mentioned earlier.
