what's your squad leading style?

[Rudd]

I thought it might be interesting to talk about the squad leaders as there has't been much talk of the role in a while.

how do you like to lead your squad?

authoritarian - tightly controling what your squad members are doing


delegation - assign responsibilities but trust your squadmembers to do their jobs without supervision


sheep - put a marker down and all generally go in the same direction


a happy medium?

or other?

Myself I fluctuate between authoritarian and delegation, usually depending on the skill of my squad members, I know some fantastic PR players who only achieve their full potential when I put a tight leash on them, and I know some PR players who are able to keep with the squad without any nagging. So I fluctuate But in my squad, if you don't obey, you can't stay. Lead me, follow me or get out of my way

[Mongolian_dude]

I generally dont lead much, mostly because I feel I want to micro manage my men like its an RTS and have already put allot of hours in getting my guys to "Set up looking down that road, there... No, the one a 165 with the orange car! Dammit, Conrad, tie your ***ing laces!".
So that makes me Authoritarian No.1

I quite prefer the back-seat SLing these days, or a sort of NCO position. Try and square away the slackers while the SL calls the plays. I try not to tread on toes !


...mongol...

[goguapsy]

When I squad lead, I like keeping a tight leash on my squad members - I feel we can achieve a better result with that. But I do my best not to be an arse. I normally say, "okay guys, lets go there through here. Let's go." This works quite effectively when...

-You are not annoying (I hope I'm not at least)
-You are in a good mood
-If a squad member screws up accidently, you forgive him. If he keeps repeating that mistakes and he's not new (other words, he is deliberately disobeying my orders, which I try to keep simple), he must be Court Martialed (the authoritarian way -- other words, kicked).
-You do not discriminate anyone because they don't have a mic. I'd take a micless teamplayer any day over a mic-ed average player...
-And, most importantly, you work as team by communicating with your team! Use that stryker support! Work in teams!

Also, I found that the best way to get any type of squad members in a squad to work as a team, besides naming your squad in a serious manner (ex. not 1337fantry or names like that, rather Infantry TW is fine, which I use most of the time, or in US Army maps, SF or Rangers), is simple: LINE-UP! This works specially well in the beginning of rounds, and will make them feel that you want each of the guys in your squad to do their best - because every single one of them matters.

These all turned out to be great squad members (line-up happened at the beginning of the round):

Name of the squad: Infantry TW!
Map: Al Basrah



Name of the squad: Infantry TW!
Map: Operation Archer



Name of the squad: Rangers
Map: Ramiel

[ebevan91]

I have never led a squad before but alot of my squad leaders are defensive. They'd rather bunker down and dig in than go on the offensive.

[anglomanii]

i role play, i say what kits i need in a squad, tell them what their role is, and i direct the basic course of action, how individuals perform their roles is up to them. if they dont perform they dont play in my squad.

[=]H[=CubCadet1972]

I almost exclusively lead squads. I guess I'd consider myself an authoritarian. I give my squad the kit list: One Medic, One SAW, at least one Hooker (I rely heavily on my Specialist) and the remainder of the kits are map dependent. Snipers or Marksmen are rarely allowed in my squads.

My technique:

1. My squad is my weapon, Kills are not my priority.
2. Don't rely on your squaddies to tell you what you should do next. Make a decision, and make it quick.
3. Don't discount a squaddies idea just because you are the Squad Leader.
4. Suppressive fire is your friend.
5. Don't be afraid to retreat.
6. Check your map often, and adjust what your squad is going to do on the way the round is unfolding.
7. FOB's may not score you kills, but are vital to the team.
8. Don't build FOB's for the points, build them to be useful.
9. Sometimes ignoring a target is the best course of action, sometimes the worst. Learn to know the difference.
10. You will make mistakes. Learn from them.

[Hawkeye92]

I don't squadlead often. Alot of the times I do, its because the role was thrust upon me (ie: original SL leaves). But when I do, I find I generally mix between Authoritarian and Delegative.

I'm more assertive when it comes to maneuvering. For example, when I want my squad to move to a certain area, I try to dictate exactly where I want them to go and by which path I want them to follow. I'm very deliberate in the movements I make when going from point A to B. The paths I take are taken for a reason. Its most often in the interest of stealth or better approach positioning when reaching our destination.

I'm more delegative and laid back when it comes to posting up in a given position. Be it for defence, capping, or when under fire, I'm much less specific when encountering enemies. I trust my squadmates more to engage contacts. I may say express how I want to position squadmates but I don't assign specific rooftops, or bushes etc as many squadleaders do. I let my squadmates choose where they feel most comfortable or where they see is the most advantageous firing position.

I also talk alot. Sometimes this can be a good thing because it encourages others to communicate more. I'm quite talkative when it comes to calling out contacts, giving situational reports, repeating orders, and even just friendly conversation. I acknowledge that sometimes I do take it too far but I do my best to make everything I put over comms relevant and helpful.

I voted other.

[Pronck]

Democratic style! When we are for example at the carrier in muttrah I'll make multiple plans of attack, and let all people in the squad vote, so they know if it could be though. In battle the adrenaline will take it over, and then I will only ask them to shoot, survive, kill the objective and communicate.

When I've a commander I'll follow his orders, for example at Barracuda (TG Server 23:00 GMT+1), I followed my orders of the commander, when it didn't went right as it used to be, I will fall back to my democratic style.

[ytman]

A mix between Delegation and Authoritarian.

If you have earned my trust and respect I delegate tasks to you. If, however, I do not trust you I will adress you directly and tell you specifically what I need and how to do it. This will frustrate me (at least very slightly) as it is a waste of my time, unless you are a new/willing to listen player, in which case I am happy to help.

If I don't respect you (I respect all players initially, as I play with them and learn thier playstyles I may earn a greater respect, lose all respect, or simply be somewhere in between) then you will be hastily kicked from my squad after I explain why. I cannot squad lead with players who lack proper teamwork ethics. This is a capital offense in my squad and is inexcusible.

I will be very specific about movements, engagement rules, and other such things that have a high risk/reward ratio. When playing more defensively/passively I delegate tasks and roles and ask for people to help build.

The only thing I'm really very Authoritarian about is when it comes to Specialized KITS. If I find a person requesting a HAT, LAT, ENGINEER, SNIPER, or MARKSMAN with out explicitly asking me (or having a damn good reason; eg. we are being attacked by a tank) I will tell them more often than not to never do it again. If they do it again and I will tell them to immediately exchange it with a Crewman Kit. If they ignore me, I ask them to leave. If they do not leave I boot them.

By joining any squad you are giving yourself over to the Squad Leader as he sees fit. His job is to keep you alive just as much as himself since that will lead to successful missions.

EDIT: This is not to say I don't ask the opinions and input of my members. I certainly do.

[dtacs]

Authoritarian.

I have never led a squad before but alot of my squad leaders are defensive. They'd rather bunker down and dig in than go on the offensive.

Which often fails since the SL will let the members run off. Its all about obliterating and steamrolling the enemy into submission tbh, regardless of deaths. Success so far.

[TomDackery]

I do authoritarian and delegation mainly, and when we completely fail, I just go all out sheep leader, and hope they do better without my commands. That doesn't happen often though. I trust players who communicate more than the people who don't answer until the 5th time you say their player name, so the more players who are alert and speaking fluent English, the more I delegate. The more tippitytappers I have (rather type than talk), the more authoritarian. Also, if I have a grand scheme to the actions and I want it to go super duper, I'll go all out authoritarian.

[L4gi]

Somewhere between sheep and dictator. People need to know how to think for themselves, but if need be I can also make them regret doing something stupid.

[-.-Maverick-.-]

Between Authoritarian and Delegation, depends on the squad members really. When I play with my clanmates I know that they don't need a lot of micro management cus we can almost read each others minds, but when playing with pubbers some more control is necessary.

[PuffNStuff]

"I don't always Squad lead, but when I do, I prefer AUTHORITY!"

(insert picture of the Dos Aquis most interesting man in the world, is this a new meme?)

[Psyrus]

Pretty much just this... all the time

but I still maintain it is justified. It would be funny if this situation hadn't happened to me on a number of occasions:

[goguapsy]

I like your drawings. Do you sketch for your plans so your squad members can understand them, too?

joking

[gazzthompson]

Authoritarian , i dont like to baby sit my squad members and have to keep an eye on them. I have better things to do, so i tell them to stay on me at all times and it also helps the medic.

When in multi-story buildings, i restrict the squad to 2 floors. When moving i want them within the 'green arrow' range (50m?) on my HUD.
Yesterday was a perfect example, i was playing on gaza in a perfectly good squad. But the squad leader was not assertive enough this resulted in players wandering off in firefights spreading the squad and ultimately leading to the death of the squad

There was one member who was pretty much at all times atleast 60-70m from the squad who i would of kicked personally.

[Gore]

Rarely squadlead, though the few times I have done it I've really enjoyed it.
Like this time on Kashan where we captured a tank. We had it for the whole round.



I usually cannot function without having a squadleader/fellow squadmembers.
It's not my style of play doing things on my own.

[Darkcloak2]

Rarely squadlead b/c the majority of the time, it is so frustrating.

When I do, I go somewhere between sheep and delegation. I prefer that my SMs know how to do most things and they just need me to tell them where and what to do on a general basis. I hate micromanaging SMs and telling "the medic to go 20 m right and the AR 16.5 m to my left."

[cyberzomby]

Hmm Im not sure. I dont think Im a bossy squad-leader. I give orders in a suggestive manner. Lets walk over here, lets try this. Attack orders are issued with a bit more authoritarian voice I guess. Im letting the squad-members think for themselves a lot. I dont mind being in a squad where I get put in a special formation wit ha special angle to look at. But I dont want to force that on people myself. So Im squad-leading in a more lose style.

In the PRT I found it a bit hard at first to change my tone of voice towards people who didnt obey the plan. But after a few times It was easier. I think I'd kick people out of my squad if I see them on the other side of the map or not responding to anything I say. Because lets face it, part of the fun squad-leading is seeing how your plan works out ^-^

Its fun to see everyone's style's here. I dont mind any style as a squad-member. Only if I get yelled at is when I leave a squad.