What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

So, its been about a month since my last post.  Some new challenges have come forth and I thought this would be the perfect place to discuss how to deal with some issues.

The Big Talk

So, some of you might have been there at one point.  Some of you may have had to give the talk, but eventually, everyone will hear about it.  Since in my guild we are a pretty tight group of people, there isn't really a lot that gets by my guys and gals.  But, the biggest problem with having the talk with anyone in my guild, is that we are all good friends and for the most part, have played together for multiple years.  But, the life of a GM goes on.

So, 'the talk' I have had recently was with a really good friend that I have actually been playing with for several years and have met in person.  Now, the issues that we had are not going to be brought up here with him directly, but more on how to approach them.

1. Now, when you deal with anyone in your guild who the leadership of the guild feels is either not going in the direction of the guild or is possibly detrimental to its success, you need to decide on an outcome of the talk.  Do you want the person to stay?  Do you want/need them to go?  Do you want them to just stand back from the guild for a while and not play a big role?  These are all crucial questions that you need to have with your leadership because this directly effects how the talk will go, the attitude that you take into the talk, and what you do if the person surprises you by doing something which you did not intend.
2. When you have 'the talk' with someone, you don't really want to be just all negative.  You do want to point out some good things that they have done, even if you have to stretch for them.  The reason for this is, if you do plan on trying to keep said person in the guild, you really want them to understanding of what is about to be said.  Now, in my experience, most of the time people are WAY more receptive when you are positive first than just going straight for the throat.  Keeping the person receptive will ultimately keep a good reputation with the guild and with the community on and off server.
3. Now, the different types of issues you will have to deal with is comes from behavior issues to performance.  One is usually easier to fix than the other, but when you are struck with the mixture of the two, things usually get a little more difficult at best.  For example, a person constantly not performing and their behavior sucks, its a pretty easy fix.  But, when you do have that nice guy/gal who is trying their very best on every fight, you really will have to kind of be the bad guy and let them know, "Hey, I'm sitting you this week because your just not performing well enough."  Now, an understanding person will say that's fine, but will be hurt by it none the less.  In this situation, follow it up with a way to help.  If you have class leaders, ask them to sit down with person or take the time out of your time on the game to sit down and crunch the numbers, stay at the training dummies, etc. 
4. Finally, the last thing you want to do is close it up with a very nice this isn't the last straw man.  Generally speaking, telling them that they can fix the problem and that they can get back to where they were if they prove themselves will get a lot of people motivated.  But then again, so people will actually find that they enjoy themselves more when they have less responsibility.  Who knows?

Guys, the biggest thing I can stress to all of you that has to give 'the talk' is that you must first and foremost remember that you are an officer of your guild and that you must do what is in the best interest of the guild, no matter who you must have the talk with.  I've told my guys, and they all understand this, that an officer is there not to receive perks, but to serve the guild to their best possible capacity.  When you take this role, you actually take on a second job, which sucks, but that is what you get when you get all those lovely perks. 

As always, feel free to send me a question either on twitter, email, or even in the comments.  Thanks guys, and enjoy.