Hey folks,

I’m brownbear. Today’s piece is a short tribute to leadership in the StarCraft II community.

I started playing StarCraft II with the launch of Legacy of the Void. This was just a few months prior to the 2016 Korean match-fixing scandal. Being new to the scene, I had almost no context – little to no firsthand experience with sports betting, no idea who Life was or why he was important, and no understanding of professional StarCraft’s financial situation or trajectory.

Nothing engages people more than emotionally charged, negative situations, and this was no exception. Getting a feel for this incident from Reddit was like reading an obituary. Folks were understandably upset, and the combination of grief, bitterness, and cynicism gave me a sense that I was playing a game that was doomed.

Fortunately, JaKaTaK and Neuro soon produced this wonderful video. I didn’t know either of these guys prior to this incident, but they did a superb job explaining their take on what had happened. More importantly, they went further than that – they provided a healthy way of looking at the situation, filled in context, and fundamentally leveled with their audience.

This is great leadership – discussing difficult topics openly, suggesting a path forward, and setting a positive example on how to handle a tough situation. As I mentioned when I spoke with Dank Shrine, it’s a big part of the reason I got hooked into the StarCraft community. It felt like a place where there were good people trying to create something compelling.

I wrote up this piece mostly to say thanks and acknowledge folks who did something good. I’d also like to encourage more folks to step up and be leaders – it really does make a difference. Even the simple choice to be positive and proactive rather than negative and cynical can make a world of difference. So choose to be a leader! You never know what kind of positive impact you might have.

If you’d like to see more content from me, you can follow me on Twitter and Facebook or check out my game-design focused YouTube and Twitch channels. Thanks and all the best!

P.S. My favorite leadership book is The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Check it out if you’re interested!