The issues you're listing actually seem quite common within RP communities across Balmung, so you're not alone in having to address these situations. It can be hard to find good help, especially when the job description entails "do a bunch of extra work during your RL leisure time out of the goodness of your heart."
I'll emphasize the points above, though: be very clear and realistic about what you expect from an officer, be it in demeanor or activity. You can mention the positive points too, usually that they get to be involved at the inception of every new idea, and will have immediate input in terms of new member screenings and upcoming plot points. If they putter out and start not following through, it may be time to pull them aside for some "real talk." Ask them about their drop in activity, and whether or not there is anything you both can do to help get them back on track. This conversation could lead to the officer admitting that they don't want to be in that role anymore, but my first instinct is to listen to their situation and try to work with them to navigate the things that perceive as preventing them from being as involved. This can be an increased RL workload, burnout, or any number of things. Offer to help them get back into the swing of things without any judgment; see if you can't work together to address their needs, while also ensuring the work still gets done.
I've always thought that two main things to emphasize in an officer-leader relationship are, 1.) always be willing to lead by example, and 2.) have policies in place that protect your staff as well.
With point one, I'm very often willing to do anything I delegate to my officers or staff. I jump in to help where I see that I can, and don't shy away from the work, myself. While it's wonderful that my officers are so helpful and involved, I never take it for granted, and I always anticipate that I will be pulling a big portion of the workload. I feel that some guild leaders might delegate too much and be a bit too hands-off when it comes to the mind-numbing admin work or other unfun jobs, and this tends to demotivate those who are working alongside you. If an Officer or Admin thinks that you, as a leader, aren't pulling -your- weight, it really starts to unravel at the seams. But, if you take charge, share what you're doing when you do it, and try to chip away at the collective workload a little bit each day (or every other day), it has more inspiring results.
As far as taking care of your officers, the things I've implemented in my group are log-reliant standards and Officer Vacations. For the former, I encourage everything to be documented - screenshots must be submitted and all logs must be kept. It's a pain to do, but it prevents exasperating callbacks of someone saying "nu-uh, they never told me that!" Or, in worse cases, people claiming that members of your staff saying things that they never said. This transparency also helps officers (and myself) stop and think in our interactions, because we know the log could be summoned up for any given reason. This leads to a better quality of work.
The Officer Vacations are pretty self-explanatory. We have a thread set aside that Officers and Admins can put their name on for whatever length of time they need. Just like with a 'real' job, Officers can take 'time off' if they're sick, overworked in RL, experiencing burnout, or whatever reason. They don't even have to tell me the reason. They can take official breaks away from all of their tasks, so long as they can give me a projection of when they'll be back on board. (So we don't run into an Officer or Admin who's indefinitely on vacation.) This also helps to communicate to our members about officers who aren't presently reachable or "on duty."
To address cliques, I might suggest holding an OoC guild meeting. It can be an open forum where you bring ideas to the table, and encourage people to tell you what they think of them (with no negative judgment for their feedback.) When members give you an idea, and you feel that you can implement it, respond with some enthusiasm! If you can't implement it, explain in detail the hurdles that are preventing you from doing so - although you can also offer to place the person who suggested it in charge of the idea.
As for running storylines, I'd strongly recommend a very obvious place on your guild's site that will offer an IC recap of "the story so far." When people express that they feel lost in the plot, direct them to this resource. Also, I would recommend offering up a list of plot hooks that anyone can sign aboard for. Just offer some open-ended tools that players can utilize to get involved. These can be designated roles within a 'community' construct, or they can be specific plot threads that people can follow up on (if you have the manpower.) These sorts of tools can help new players get involved and not feel quite so edged out, provided they are aware of them and use them.
Sorry if this seemed like a ramble. I hope there are some good idea nuggets in there that could help you out! Best of luck!
I'll emphasize the points above, though: be very clear and realistic about what you expect from an officer, be it in demeanor or activity. You can mention the positive points too, usually that they get to be involved at the inception of every new idea, and will have immediate input in terms of new member screenings and upcoming plot points. If they putter out and start not following through, it may be time to pull them aside for some "real talk." Ask them about their drop in activity, and whether or not there is anything you both can do to help get them back on track. This conversation could lead to the officer admitting that they don't want to be in that role anymore, but my first instinct is to listen to their situation and try to work with them to navigate the things that perceive as preventing them from being as involved. This can be an increased RL workload, burnout, or any number of things. Offer to help them get back into the swing of things without any judgment; see if you can't work together to address their needs, while also ensuring the work still gets done.
I've always thought that two main things to emphasize in an officer-leader relationship are, 1.) always be willing to lead by example, and 2.) have policies in place that protect your staff as well.
With point one, I'm very often willing to do anything I delegate to my officers or staff. I jump in to help where I see that I can, and don't shy away from the work, myself. While it's wonderful that my officers are so helpful and involved, I never take it for granted, and I always anticipate that I will be pulling a big portion of the workload. I feel that some guild leaders might delegate too much and be a bit too hands-off when it comes to the mind-numbing admin work or other unfun jobs, and this tends to demotivate those who are working alongside you. If an Officer or Admin thinks that you, as a leader, aren't pulling -your- weight, it really starts to unravel at the seams. But, if you take charge, share what you're doing when you do it, and try to chip away at the collective workload a little bit each day (or every other day), it has more inspiring results.
As far as taking care of your officers, the things I've implemented in my group are log-reliant standards and Officer Vacations. For the former, I encourage everything to be documented - screenshots must be submitted and all logs must be kept. It's a pain to do, but it prevents exasperating callbacks of someone saying "nu-uh, they never told me that!" Or, in worse cases, people claiming that members of your staff saying things that they never said. This transparency also helps officers (and myself) stop and think in our interactions, because we know the log could be summoned up for any given reason. This leads to a better quality of work.
The Officer Vacations are pretty self-explanatory. We have a thread set aside that Officers and Admins can put their name on for whatever length of time they need. Just like with a 'real' job, Officers can take 'time off' if they're sick, overworked in RL, experiencing burnout, or whatever reason. They don't even have to tell me the reason. They can take official breaks away from all of their tasks, so long as they can give me a projection of when they'll be back on board. (So we don't run into an Officer or Admin who's indefinitely on vacation.) This also helps to communicate to our members about officers who aren't presently reachable or "on duty."
To address cliques, I might suggest holding an OoC guild meeting. It can be an open forum where you bring ideas to the table, and encourage people to tell you what they think of them (with no negative judgment for their feedback.) When members give you an idea, and you feel that you can implement it, respond with some enthusiasm! If you can't implement it, explain in detail the hurdles that are preventing you from doing so - although you can also offer to place the person who suggested it in charge of the idea.
As for running storylines, I'd strongly recommend a very obvious place on your guild's site that will offer an IC recap of "the story so far." When people express that they feel lost in the plot, direct them to this resource. Also, I would recommend offering up a list of plot hooks that anyone can sign aboard for. Just offer some open-ended tools that players can utilize to get involved. These can be designated roles within a 'community' construct, or they can be specific plot threads that people can follow up on (if you have the manpower.) These sorts of tools can help new players get involved and not feel quite so edged out, provided they are aware of them and use them.
Sorry if this seemed like a ramble. I hope there are some good idea nuggets in there that could help you out! Best of luck!
