Leadership Comes at a Cost

If you want to be a leader, then prepare to be criticized. As your position of authority increases, you’ll be second-guessed and called into question with greater ferocity. The secret to enduring criticism is to be secure in your leadership. Secure leaders focus on others rather than worrying about themselves. As such, they are not threatened by constructive feedback, nor are they troubled by unwarranted criticism. ~John Maxwell Leadership GOLD

As an official I acknowledge that I voluntarily put on the striped shirt and put myself in the cross-hairs of ridicule, and disagreement. I also openly acknowledge that my decision making is open to scrutiny by players, coaches, and fans alike. However, just because I acknowledge that I have put myself in that position doesn’t allow you the right to verbally abuse me because you disagree with the manner in which I am officiating. If you believe you would do a better job, you have the ability to attend the same classes, camps and film study I do.

 Being a leader, there are times where your choices and decisions will be just as scrutinized as the calls I make in the heat of the moment on the floor. Just as we are prepared for the backlash of disagreement, and verbal abuse that will come with all of our calls, a leader must be prepared for push back on change, and growth. As an official I don’t always have the ability to resolve the contention with a valid explanation to the coach, what I do have is, the reserve I’ve been building up during the game demonstrating my abilities, and skills as an official. Leaders, get an opportunity to groom others for a longer period of time, and achieve buy in prior to adjusting the game.

Leaders get the opportunity to grow into their positions much in the same manner. There is plenty of opportunity to learn to follow first, and then little by little take on more responsibility. As an official it’s easy to see which of my colleagues are more suited for the role than others, in the way they handle themselves before, during, and after the game, how they approach the players and coaches.  As a leader the better you’re able to influence others, the stronger you become.

 “Integrity is doing the right things even when no one is watching”

A few years back in the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament, one of my mentors was officiating in the Tennessee –v-Michigan game in the Sweet 16, the winner would move onto the next week in the Great 8.  There’s just a little under 2 minutes left in the game, and Michigan is down by 1 point, as the play develops, my mentor finds himself right in the battle of the play in the low post position, the Michigan player makes a seemingly aggressive move towards the basket to score, at the moment the ball is going thru the basket the official waves off the basket, and calls an offensive foul, the Michigan player pushed the defensive player out of the way to make the move, a maneuver so slight the TV didn’t catch it, but my mentor sure did, he deemed that was enough of an illegal maneuver to cause the Michigan player to get the upper hand in the play, WOW did the stadium erupt with Boo’s, and jeers,  all the commentators we’re challenging his call, questioning if he should be in this type of game with that kind of call.  The game was intense to say the least, players futures were on the line, it was an opportunity for them to show their abilities, it meant millions of dollars to the wining team.

Knowing what I know, (now) and how my mentor approaches every game, he was one of maybe 5 officials in the country that would have made that call, and he got it right!   While the emotions were high to say the least, the adrenaline was thru the roof, the coaches were screaming, the fans were ecstatic, and the whole basketball world was watching, he makes THAT call?  This is where the training, the exposure, the influence and dedication to the craft the previous 30 years came calling. While the coaches for Michigan were livid, and the commentators were clueless as to the call, he called it the way he saw it, and got it right. No matter how difficult that call was or was not to make, it was the right call, and like I said he’s one of only five that I know of in the country that would have dared make that call.

Now did that decide the game? Some would say yes, but to the trained eye, and the competitor in me, says no. Michigan had several opportunities after that to regain their composure, in which they did, but still ended up losing the game.

The lesson learned here gave Michigan fuel for the following season, and they ended up making it to the Final 4. In light of the perceived controversy, my mentor is still regarded as one of the top officials, largely in part because he was willing to make THAT call in that moment, when very few others would have.

When You Change the Way You Look at Life, the Things in Your Life Change 

In John’s book “Put Your Dreams to the Test” he asserts that the more reasons you have to accomplish your dreams, the greater chance you have of achieving them. His reasoning is that the more reasons you have, the easier it will be to find motivation when some of the reasons fade. You’ll think of other aspects of why to continue to build your dream. If you have just a few or one reason for your dream it’s easy to get sidetracked then soon the dream becomes a memory. Leaders find several reasons as to why they lead and succeed. Leaders take on a proactive state of being, and focus on empowerment, and energy, where as the “Manager” is more focused on policy and procedures, and the status quo. Some of your best managers were or are those who empower you, uplift you, encourage you to want to do more, help you see a bigger picture, make you feel like you’re part of that bigger picture with everything you do.

 Officials have 3 distinct pregame meetings, one is with colleagues, to find common ground on how we’ll best work with each other, then we have a pregame meeting with the team captains, expressing to them what we expect out of them, and they can expect from us. The third is probably the most crucial, it’s with the coaches, where we offer them an opportunity to ask any questions they may have on the rules of the game, then personally as part of my routine with them is I set the stage of the game, I express to them that if we allow each entity to ability to work in their capacity the game will go great. Here’s an example of my coaches pregame meeting;

 ME: Coaches, Great to see you, my name is Steve, and these are your other officials for todays game.

ME: Do you have any questions to the rules of the game? (I wait for an answer from both coaches)

ME: Coaches, we’ve spoken to the team captains about sportsmanship, and playing with in their abilities. I would contend that as we let you coach, the players play, and you allow us to officiate, the game will go very well. Are you good with that? (I wait for acknowledgement from both coaches)

ME: If you have any questions about calls made please talk to us versus screaming at us, we’ll try to address your questions as we’re able, but we’d rather not stop the flow of the game, ok?

ME: Coaches, Good Luck and Lets get rolling.

I just empowered the players, and coaches to the bigger picture. They now know what they can expect from us, and as long as they play, and coach in the realm of accomplishing the bigger picture, they’ll have a great game.

Leaders get that same opportunity to guide their team towards the bigger picture.  Good leaders will cast the vision, and then let the team develop the daily duties. Leaders will not get caught up in the “petty” stuff that brings people, teams, and companies to their knees. I like the graph of Leaders –v- Managers quite a bit.

Vision & Strategy –v- Policies & Procedures

Creating Value –v- Counting Value

Influence & Inspiration –v- Power & Control

Followers –v- Subordinates

Leading –v- Managing

People Focused –v- Work Focused

Charismatic Style –v- Authoritarian Style

Risk & Change Seekers –v- Risk Averse & Stability minded

Heart Appeal –v- Head Appeal

Proactive –v- Reactive

Sets a Direction –v- Plans the details

Raises Expectations –v- Maintains Status Quo

Asking Questions –v- Giving Directions

This is a matrix I use to help keep me focused on my bigger picture; it helps me stay focused on “Practicing what I Preach” it helps keep me grounded in my daily duties, and consistent with my growth plan.

There are times when the decision making is easy, real easy, then there are times where the choices are difficult, extremely difficult, that’s when leaders shine. Leaders don’t start out one day as the greatest leader, they start the same was as everyone else, making daily decisions to lead themselves first, then gaining the experience of leading others, and then stepping up.

If you have enjoyed this blog, please “Like” and share it with others. If you have a desire to invest in your personal or professional growth I offer my services with Step Up Leadership Development, and as your “Official” John Maxwell Certified Speaker, Trainer, and Coach to you. I offer Keynote speaking, Seminars, Workshops, Mastermind Classes, Lunch n Learns, Think Tanks, One on One Coaching, Team/Group Coaching, as well as Executive Coaching and Training. I would consider it an honor and privilege to serve you and your referrals. You can also follow me on LinkedIn, and Twitter.