Leadership Styles in Final Fantasy XIV
- Dylan Fair
- Jan 26
- 4 min read
Leadership Styles
I seek to define the Autocratic, Laissez-Faire, and Democratic leadership styles with relevant examples to help their understanding. I plan on defining these leadership styles using an anthology on Kurt Lewin, The Complete Social Scientist, edited by Martin Gold. Following each definition, I will provide hypothetical examples in the context of a video game community. Alongside these examples will be the expected outcomes of these situations, based on real-world evidence.
Introduction
I will separate each of the leadership styles into sections dedicated to them: the first section for Autocratic leadership, then the second section for Laissez-Faire leadership, and the final section for Democratic leadership. Each section will cover Kurt Lewin’s definition of the leadership style, along with my own interpretation of it or the interpretations of advantages/disadvantages from other, external sources. After defining the leadership style, an example from the MMORPG, Final Fantasy XIV will contextualize some of the style’s components. After the description of the example will be its expected outcomes, predicting the future of the group based on real-world history.
Autocratic Leadership
Kurt Lewin describes Autocracy, Democracy, and Laissez-Faire leadership styles as points on a triangle. Autocracy is a style of leadership that seeks to provide discipline and order to oppose chaos (Lewin, pg.286). Charlotte Nickerson explains autocratic leaders as those who make most, or more, decisions for a group. They are leaders that shine in efficiency, quick decision-making, providing rigid structures, and absorbing the pressure of decisions. The lack of group input is often seen as a disadvantage in long-term group morale and lower creative efficiency.
Final Fantasy XIV Raid Callouts
“That’s a line. Healers, make sure we’re healed up, there’s an AOE up next. Get to the right!” Those are some phrases that can be heard by someone doing a high-end raid in FFXIV. High-end raids in FFXIV remove the usual visual signifiers of incoming attacks, forcing players to rely on their spatial knowledge about a fight: knowledge about the various attacks and how they weave together. Parties of 8 players often find it difficult to ensure everyone remembers everything all the time, so a temporary, autocratic leader is appointed for specific raids to ‘bark’ orders and reminders to the team.
This is an example of how autocratic leaders can create success, but this situation is one with a short term, high stakes, and the preface of opting into it. Quick decision-making and lack of creative input is perfect for groups to quickly follow a command that could save their lives, even if they are digital lives. In real life, however, autocratic leaders are often unwelcome and cause severe, negative impacts in the long-term; An example of this is a study conducted by Maboko in a South African hospital, wherein autocratic leadership caused about a third of the nurses to leave their job, leaving behind resentment in those that remained (Nickerson).
Laissez-Faire Leadership
Within Kurt Lewin’s triangle is Laissez-Faire leadership, which is equated to “individualistic freedom,” “chaos,” and a “lack of leadership” (Lewin, pg. 286). About Laissez-Faire groups, Eleanor Myers writes, “group members assume full responsibility for the group,” and notes “this may be beneficial for people who function best with little direction, but [less so] for people who require more direction to complete tasks effectively and efficiently."
Putting the ‘Free’ in Free Company
FFXIV has Free Companies, which are formed groups that consist of a master and however many people want to join. Free Companies have a wide range of purposes, from crafting equipment to trade to other Free Companies that use them in battle to Free Companies that exist for players to roleplay and do fun activities in-game, away from the game’s core game loop. Stepping away from combat examples, “Freest Company” is a Free Company mastered by “Sharma Levelilleur,” a player who’s determined to host a Free Company that allows its members to do whatever they want! In Freest Company, members are allowed to advertise their own hunting groups, create sub-groups within, and host custom events, but no guidance is given.
Initially, this Free Company will probably do well, spawning creative new community events from the diversity of people included in planning and encouraging members to learn new skills and make new friends with all the new experiences provided in this kind of environment (Myers). Over time, though, this group will probably wither out, with the novelty wearing off and drawn-out idleness would decrease morale, increase narrow-minded thinking in the group, and lead people to either grow passive in the group or leave it entirely (Lewin, pg. 103).
Democratic Leadership
“The democratic follower has to learn… responsibility toward the group and a sensitivity to other peoples’ feelings.” (Lewin, pg.289) Lewin describes Democratic leadership as the leadership style that adjusts along two axes: that of the Autocratic leader and that of the Laissez-Faire. The Democratic leader knows how to organize a team without diminishing their creativity or inter-personal freedoms (Lewin, pg. 285-290). One the best strengths of Democratic leadership is that members of the group continue to engage within the group without the leader’s presence!
Naoki Yoshida – A Democratic Fantasy
Instead of giving a hypothetical example within FFXIV gameplay, I’d like to discuss the very real example of how Democratic leadership in a community has led to one of the most creative, engaging gaming communities I’ve ever had the pleasure of being a part of. Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida is the producer for Final Fantasy XIV, and his approach to the community has been with open arms: he eagerly hosts content showcases and wants open dialogue with FFXIV players. He takes in player input as data to support design decisions, but these decisions are made definitively by his design team at Square Enix, not the player community.
This clear hierarchical organization, paired with transparent, collaborative communication, has created a player base with incredible morale and autonomy. One recent example of this is when Yoshi-P focused on Final Fantasy XVI’s development, Kentaro Miura (the creator of the Berserk manga) died. Players all over the game came together to pay respects to the late artist with their own community events without no input needed from Naoki Yoshida.
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