[Guide] The Importance of Charisma in Squad Leadership and How to Create a Charismatic Persona

The importance of charisma in Planetside 2 is often underrated or altogether forgotten. Much too often you will come across a public squad with a boring hardass leading it. Before we get to the deep of it I would like to claim that all of these opinions were formulated around my time in Space ‘Murica, other factions’ mileage may vary. This is destructive for a faction as a whole because it does not get obedience from the pub players in their squad, and thus wastes their potential. For a public squad to successfully pull its weight it requires a charismatic leader, a sort of theatrical personality leading it. All other things tremble and give way before this; that is to say that charisma, in a public squad, is much more important than any strategic or tactical knowledge. However, if the squad is a private squad with individuals who already respect your authority and ability then you do not require nearly as much charisma, what you truly require then is the ability to set goals quickly and efficiently.
In larger outfits the leadership will never hold enough authority with just their title alone and will therefore have to rely heavily on charisma, even within circles they should theoretically have command over. Smaller more intimate outfits will almost always rely on the given authority of the individual over charisma. The example of a large outfit used here will be PHX; they require above all charismatic squad leaders to keep their zergfit together to achieve an overarching goal, but the platoon leaders do not require this charisma because of the increased intimacy between all of the officers in PHX, instead they are the ones with strategic and tactical sense. For a smaller outfit the only example I will specifically talk about is AC because of the respect they have within the community, they are all personally acquainted and work together without a charismatic leader.


Here two examples of the differing command styles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk4jRHtCgzc
- Notice how this PHX leader tries hype up the orders he is giving in order to get people to follow orders, also note that his mic sort of sounds like a walky talky; this can also be used as a tool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfwWwU3ZGfc
- Here AC works together perfectly in sync without too much charismatic performance













Now that the importance of charisma in Planetside 2 has been clearly explained, all that’s left is the issue of HOW to be a charismatic leader. To help with this, we’ll look at some charismatic historical figures and what they did to get people to follow their orders. Specifically, we will look at Patton and Montgomery. Patton created an image for himself of a gruesome character that wanted to pound his enemies into a bloody pulp. Montgomery, on the other hand, became a symbol of what his men stood for by using a wardrobe that made him very recognizable.
Two very similar players in Planetside 2 are PooNanners and MadHatta. Neither PooNanners nor MadHatta actually need a squad to become successful squad leaders. Their moralization of pubs makes them into an unofficial squad capable of completing a lot simply riding off a wave of theatrical performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTJRKp2purk
- Example of PooNanners spreading the message of freedom

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=madhatta+planetside+2
- Notice the amount of different users posting about MadHatta and his Galaxy

While a few people are naturally charismatic and create these personas seemingly without trying, the vast majority of us cannot, which is why this has been written. The first part of creating a persona is deciding what exactly you want to do with it: is it to motivate nearby pubs into action, lead a public squad to success, become a successful outfit leader, or possibly lead platoons of public squads in a zerg? Each of these requires a different kind of mannerism to lead but the one that this will be focused on is leading public squads. In a public squad you should try to create a positive impression right off the bat with a greeting or an address, even something as simple as:

‘Alright ladies and gentlemen we will be [insert orders]!’

Of course the more original and charismatic it sounds the more attention it will grab, but keep it relatively short. Orders should be simple and sound flashy:

‘Watch your backs, a heavy assault and medic coming up short stairs.’ - Private Squad

‘Enemies approaching from squad waypoint, could use a good dosage of freedom!’ -Public Squad






Of course for the public squad it doesn't need to be ‘a dosage of freedom’; it can be whatever your persona would say in that moment. A few good squad leaders I’ve met have used their usernames to help create these personas. The best example of this comes from a guy named WiggleyNoodles who used a lot of wiggley and noodle jokes in his squad leading. This led to a large amount of people listening to and enjoying his orders in the best humor while still completing objectives.
Another persona used to great success is one that promotes camaraderie; after all, people play Planetside 2 to join a full-sized war, so if you can create a Saving Private Ryan air in your squad then do it. An easy way to achieve even a little of this is by doing simple things like saying “Go! Go! Go!” when moving troops. This also has the added benefit of making them feel rushed to get to the objective and much less likely to dilly dally.
The next one is less about leadership and more about getting people to push; you can, with a MAX suit, inspire blueberries to charge-even more so if the MAX is some atrocious color and spouting lines about victory (see PooNanners above). This also works with tanks and air (especially when they have horns equipped).
Make sure to shower public squads in praise whenever they complete an objective, or even while attempting to achieve an objective. “Come on alpha squad we can do it!” and the such are excellent at making squads perform good.
Lastly, on the use of colorful language: it is a powerful tool but must be used sparingly, otherwise it loses effect. Make no mistake though, colorful language is an important part of any leader’s arsenal.

Note from our editor: Anyone on the Terran Republic side reading this, please for the love of god follow this advice, you Higby are so boring.`

I will say that the first PHX video shows a few problems in leadership.

1) Platoon Lead as Squad Lead
Very few people can pull off being a PL and a SL at the same time. Just too many things to focus on. You can't keep careful control of your squad and plan at the platoon level simultaneously. This is pretty normal though for platoons where SLs are completely unnecessary (except for squad beacons).

2) No Further Orders
Beyond the initial entry into the Biolab, the PL/SL doesn't actually say anything else. This is particularly bad because beyond the initial plan things might change. For example, the PL never orders squads to hold points, pull more MAXes, or rally before heading in. It's completely silent until the clip ends.

3) No SL Talk
The PL is pretty much the only one talking. And yes, maybe other stuff was going on in other squad channels... but the SLs never respond to platoon orders. This suggests the usual PHX tactic of pointing an entire platoon at a hex and having them go at it.

4) No Squad Talk
The squad itself is absolutely, deathly silent. Generally not a good sign either. No one calling for Medics (kinda important in a MAX crash). No one prepping grenades. Not much of any communication, indicative of the zerging mentality.

Was the leader more charismatic than 75% of leaders in PS2? Sure. But I think there were other flaws apparent which would have detracted from making it into the top 10% of PS2 leaders.

Prior to PHX, Emerald NC had a few good officers. The original VCO leader was one of those, a person who was charismatic and who could lead a platoon or a squad. cfschris I think. Can't find a video of him, but as far as pubbie squads go his were among the best.

I doubt I have near the experience of many PC players in this matter, but as someone who both lead one of the top large PS4 outfits and put in some time galvanizing pubs, I feel I can add a bit to this conversation.

I don't take much issue with your main points (at least not that the previous poster didn't already address), but I do want to note that a hardass persona can be extremely effective if created and used properly. That said, if you do it incorrectly it's one of the fun-suckiest things in the game.

The most important aspect comes down to confidence. If you're going for the hardass persona, then you have to speak with the resolve to back it up. If you waiver in that regard then the whole thing goes to ****. When you're giving orders, you aren't saying what you WANT to happen, you're saying what WILL happen. You aren't going to attack a base, you're going to take a base. Every line that comes out of you needs to be laced with certainty.

That said, you need to understand context. Don't "clear coms" because somebody sneezed. Allow and even engage in cross-talk as long as it doesn't interfere with orders. Speak powerfully. If you can talk over people instead of making a "clear coms" call, do it. Just mind that you don't say anything to damage you're dignity. People are listening to you because of the respect earned through your confidence, but that doesn't mean you can't lose that respect by being an obnoxious *******.

If you're coming up on a fight that needs everybody's full focus, tell them BEFORE you arrive. Most people won't mind Battle Coms as long as they don't last too long and are saved for situations that actually deserve them.

When in combat, economy of words needs to be your go to, not dramatic flair. Convey as much information with as few words as posdible. If you're managing your persona properly, then your tone should be enough to galvanize your troops. Furthermore, the shorter dialogue patterns further emphasize the dominant position you're taking.

Think of yourself as the devil in glasses. You've always got a plan, and even if that plan falls apart you replace immediately with a new one. The main aspect about this is the willpower. You have to act like your going to bend the world around your will. This is largely an act, mind you. All the willpower in the world couldn't win some fights, so you still need to think and plan like anyone else. The important thing is the illusion it creates. It gives your squad and even the randoms purpose and direction, with a healthy dose of "can't fail" moral.

There is of course more to it, but that honestly comes down to experience. The only other thing I can say is to warn against somethings I see other people do when trying this.

If somebody ***** up, you don't chew on them for it, you move forward. Taking time and energy to chew out somebody (in anything other than a joking manner) will instantly kill moral in most squads.

Listen to your counsel. Even hardasses can heed advice. If some gives a valid tactical suggestion or counterargument, consider it (quickly please, you're on the clock), and if it is worth doing, redirect to get it done. If not, stick to your original plan. Just don't discount advice or arguments out of hand.

In response to the previous two things "hardass" was an edit by a friend who thought me using "deadfish" wasnt something anyone would understand some deeper thought into the matter makes me think I should have stayed with the latter. As for the Platoon lead thing, I understand completely the man talking in the video was a platoon lead and my argument was specifically that public squad leaders needed charisma not PL the issue here was that I could not find any gameplay that fit what I needed for this criteria so I grabbed the closest one. If I could get linked to someone leading a squad in the manner I described I would be extremely happy. Lastly, I believe that the cutting of orders near the end puts emphasis on my point that 'public squads cannot take complex orders' Yes, giving them the initial orders was relatively complex but that was before entrance and gave a basic outline of what needed to be done, after that the power they had on the field was meant to hold the base to the pubs discretion. Thank you for your critique I would like to make this guide as useful as possible.

The short of it: Critiques are almost 100% correct and are a great addition to my initial thoughts.

I never run in a public squad, and my own squad is never more than myself and the gunner of my vanguard, public squads in NC have 0 communication and its been that way since ive been playing. 02/14

Forget everything you see in the movies. Hollywood likes to embellish, and in many cases, they don't collaborate with actual soldiers and marines and even when they do, its higher ups that forget where they came from.

Just about the only thing your everyman does that's seen in the movies is the nato phonetics. Outside that.. its slang, flare.. and whatever else comes out of a 18-22 year old's mouth at the time to convey a message. When giving orders use your own style, be yourself, and most importantly.. speak Clearly. Mean what you Say, and Say what you Mean.

Of course.. that's only part of it. The part to make sure you are heard and understood. Now you've got to become acknowledged. That's where the charisma comes in. And before charisma can work, you have to build trust and respect.

You do this by remaining confident. Not in yourself. But in your team. Know what the capabilities are. Know what battleranks you have. Know if you have newbies and account for it. Never demand anything beyond your group's capabilities. This part takes a bit of practice. There's no way to tell what unlocks everyone has at a glance. So you've got to feel it out.

Worst case scenario.. ask your people. Ask them who has what you think you need. If it seems like they do. Request it. People will respect this. In their position they hear "Who has a pheonix?" Oh snap.. that lunk I bought might be useful. And then when you tell them to pull it. They feel useful, like part of the team. Now you're engaging them. And that builds trust and respect.

Its not the only way but its a damn good example. Make your people feel useful. If things go well, congratulate them, nothing crazy, just a quick blurb like "that was pretty sweet" or the like. If things don't go well, don't blame anyone for it. Just wrap it up and come up with a new objective. Don't let failure sit in. Keep it rolling. Pull them out and elsewhere.

That last one is the most important. As a leader its not your responsibility to win. Its your responsibility to keep everyone working as a team and having fun. This is a game. Individually you should play to win in order to set the example and the standard. But as a group, its just some bros and honorary bros trying to have a bit of fun at the end of the day.

i always just casually lead my minions to victory by being laid back and start a conversation with members. i mean after all its a video game, we can chat and play at the same time

but if something happens that requires immediate action ill say something along the lines of "listen up skrubs" and surprisingly that gets everyone quiet lol. For the most part Emerald TR listens to me, but i think thats mostly because a lot of them are looking for a lead who knows what theyre doing, something we lack nowadays.

So all in all, id just say to be a good lead, be a likable person and the rest will follow naturally. be stern if you need to, dont shy away from the kick button, but dont be an ******* about it.

People that play together regularly get to know one another and understand what's up without a detailed battle plan over chat. If by charisma you mean don't offend people, be polite, laugh and enjoy the game then I agree.

My opinion is if you have to do more than point the way to the next objective, you might as well press I for instant action.