Reapply Your Skills

Many association board members get frustrated with the behavior and antics of certain members during board or membership meetings. Or maybe the inability of maintaining a fair atmosphere for all members to participate frustrates them. Does that sound familiar? People-management and fairness are core skills of every successful official. Why not reapply your officiating skills to meetings?

Planning.

Effective pregame preparation is a paramount skill for an official that wants to succeed. Bring that same skill to meetings. Come with your thoughts organized and the information placed in an easily understood format (e.g., outline, presentation). Have a plan for how you will succeed. Think ahead to the situations and questions that you may be forced to face. Determine your best strategy for addressing them. Know the people involved in the meeting. Consider how you may be able to defuse their concerns and enlist them as champions for your cause.

Teamwork.

If you are working with a group of people to develop a new program for the association, you must work as a team in a manner similar to how you work with your fellow officials on the court or field. If you are the leader, work with your teammates to define who is going to be responsible for specific tasks. Make the expectations and timings clear for each stage of the program. Encourage the team to work effectively together by setting a good example and acknowledging and supporting team members’ decisions.

Rules of engagement.

The first thing new officials learn are the rules. Without a working knowledge of the rules, no official can expect to be effective. Without a deep understanding of the rules, an official can’t know when to officiate against the “spirit of the rules” versus the “letter of the law.” Know the rules of engagement for your meeting. Are you a voting member? Are you a leader of the association? Are you the primary speaker? Your role in the meeting often defines the boundaries of your behavior.

You should also know your material prior to doing a presentation. Association members can tell if you just threw together some points or video a few minutes before the meeting or if the meeting was well-planned and executed with a clear objective. Members are more likely to return, participate and invest their time in the meeting if they know you have invested your time in preparing.

Proper mechanics.

Part of an official’s pregame exercise is to inspect the field or court to determine if there are unique peculiarities on it. The official works with his or her team to make sure that the entire playing area is being officiated and there are no areas that are not being viewed. Effective officials have tried and true mechanics they use in specific situations that help them work most effectively. Effective meeting communicators also have a bag of tricks they can use in special situations. You should show up early at the location of the meeting to understand the advantages and limitations of the venue. Is the room big enough? Can you employ audio-visual aids? Do you need an additional power strip or extension cord? Do you need a microphone or is your voice sufficient to be heard in the back rows?

Fairness.

Safety and equality are the very core values and purpose of officiating. Bring those ideals to meetings. If you are presenting, do not ignore attendees that might ask a question you do not want to answer. Do not play favorites. If you only accept comments and questions from friends or the experienced officials, the younger ones may feel exempted and not involved. They may become frustrated and lash out against the others to try to regain their equality. Inconsistency generates dissent and misbehavior.

Handling dissent.

Every speaker fears the heckler, the attendee that wants to be the star of the show and embarrass the speaker. If you expect a heckler or someone who will likely argue during your discussion, think of creative ways that you can shut them down without causing them to be embarrassed. Officials are often forced to deal with dissent and arguments against their decisions in games; doing it in meetings shouldn’t be hard.

Effective officials know how to use their body language, voice tone and facial expressions to control that dissent. Officials also know they are often forced to “take the higher road.” Do not get caught up in the emotion of the argument. Keep a calm composure. Look the dissenting member in the eye and speak to him or her directly. Be empathetic to their frustrations and concerns. Listen. Do not react or preach. Strive to understand, and then strive to be understood.

Skills that you acquire as an official can be applicable to many different situations, like working with your association board or presenting to the association membership. Use them for success.