By Tim Sloan
The great management philosopher, Dilbert, once invented a game called Buzzword Bingo. Meeting attendees were distributed little cards, with hackneyed words and terms like “opportunity” and “paradigm shift” arranged into a five-by-five matrix. Whoever heard five in a row first was the winner — or was that the loser? Interesting idea.
Could you play Buzzword Bingo in your association meetings and activities? Are there some things the president and membership are saying, which have the distinct taste of grape Kool-Aid? I hope not; if there are, it’s an indication your group is failing at the prime directive, which is “inclusiveness.” If your group isn’t continually leveling the playing field (the metaphorical one), rewarding things like initiative, success, mentoring and professionalism, then take a look around; you won’t be seeing all these people for very long. Without inclusiveness, you don’t have an association; at least, you won’t have one that doesn’t stumble through, permitting some of the following cop-outs to get by:
“We’ve always done it this way.”
OK, that was an easy one to get us started. Just because some of the members have selfies of them mugging with Abe Lincoln, status quo isn’t an indication of organizational health. Be ready to change with the times. Get over it.
“That’s not my problem.”
If the rejoinder is, “It’s our problem,” you get a three-pointer for demonstrating inclusiveness. If you were going for the more typical — and unfortunate — message of, “Find someone who cares,” go back three spaces; no, actually, go back a paragraph because you’re still not understanding that a successful group is an operationally dynamic one.
You’re not a leader these days if you don’t accept that part of serving your membership is to cheerfully take on the unexpected or unpleasant tasks. The easiest way to make members walk, short of criminal activity, is to let them think they don’t matter. Think about it.
“I don’t have time for this.”
OK, sometimes you don’t; sometimes, you have to buy someone a box of Kleenex rather than keep wiping his or her nose. In more general terms, though, if you find yourself getting bogged down in unfruitful, repetitive, corrective tasks, you and the leadership aren’t doing your jobs. If, for example, you’re correcting a lot of paperwork that the membership is trying to complete, you need to do a better job of explaining the task(s) to them. If the coaches keep calling, wondering why their understanding of a protocol is different from your membership, take another look at the message you delivered them. Your members aren’t idiots; they seem to find the meetings and stadiums easily enough and remember when to order the lights to be turned on. If you keep getting dragged into corrective actions of some sort, you aren’t communicating well enough. Fix it.
“It’s not fair.”
What exactly is fair? In the 21st century, more and more people hold to the notion that fair is somewhat synonymous with equal. At least as far as your association’s ethics go, you shouldn’t be concerned about a member’s perception of fairness, beyond your bylaws being followed. The object of the organizational exercise is to prepare your members to be the best they can be; of course there will be winners and losers. If it’s not fair because someone else is reaping the rewards, tell your members to watch their successful brethren and emulate their successful behaviors. Deal with it.
“You should have asked me.”
That little gem is one of the many variants of what we call division. Right after that selfie was taken with Honest Abe, the president remarked that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Neither can an officials association. In politics, some degree of intrigue and backbiting has unfortunately become the norm; there’s no room for it in an officials association. If we all stick together, whether or not we always agree, we’re far better off in everyone’s perception than if we sow discontent and reward conflict. Take note that “everyone” includes the people and leagues you serve, who really want to believe you and your group accede to a higher standard.
First of all, never contradict a fellow executive in front of the membership, even if he or she made you look bad; address things later privately if things need clearing up, but don’t let the members feel they can play favorites. If a fellow board member has made a judgment, support it. If he or she has made an error, there are remedies, which will leave personalities out of it. Second, never betray a member to the outside world. If you’ve had to take some action against a person, keep it in the family. The smart people, inside and outside the organization, will connect the dots when, “Barney is no longer a member.” The others would prove that too much knowledge is a dangerous thing. Manage it.
Remember that if everything associated with officiating went smoothly, your organization wouldn’t need leadership to run the association. Stuff happens and the best organizations deal swiftly with issues and move on, but let me leave you with one parting caveat. As an association, you are far better off preventing problems than solving them. Once anyone on your board uses any of highlighted phrases in this article, there is bound to be some permanent damage, however minor. There is also going to be a lot more work to do.
Stick to the basics. Work for the greater good. Be the person where the buck stops.
Own it.
Tim Sloan, Davenport, Iowa, is a high school football, basketball and volleyball official, and a former college football and soccer official.
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