Two umpires provide a template for solving more than baseball issues
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"Collaboration is the secret sauce that transforms organizations from mere entities into what I like to call dynamic organizations of innovation of success.", said Chris Goede, from the podcast, "Minute with Maxwell"
I love to umpire baseball. Part of the reason why is because it gives me an opportunity to meet and make new friends. Relationships are particularly important to me, and I have developed some wonderful friendships over the years of umpiring on the baseball field.
But a second reason I love to umpire is because it provides an opportunity for collaboration, and I have learned that whenever people come together to solve a problem or achieve a common goal, they almost always get better doing so. Yes, cooperation is important in any working relationship, but collaboration is even more valuable.
A few years ago, I had the privilege of working with a 39 year veteran umpire. He had traveled Europe teaching umpiring to those in the international Little League program, and I was excited to hear of his travels and how his experience had culminated in his umpiring a Little League World Series game in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the home of the Little League World Series.
After the game, we headed to Dunkin Donuts to spend some time talking about the game. We discussed one situation where we collaborated on a particular call and how that collaboration helped solve a potential issue.
In umpiring, collaboration is a vital resource in solving problems and helping to make the right calls. In the third inning of our game, the batter attempted to bunt the ball, but being blocked by the catcher, I couldn't discern whether the ball had hit him or hit the bat. I immediately called, "Out! Dead ball. It hit him, take first base." The opposing coach screamed out, "It didn't hit him, it hit his bat, and it should be a foul ball."
Now umpires are taught to collaborate in situations like this, so I called time, signaled a meeting with my new friend and asked him, "What did you see?" He told me he saw the hitter offer at the pitch that hit him, but even though the ball hit him, because he had made an attempt to bunt the ball, it now became just a strike, and he was not awarded first base.
We apparently got the call right, for both coaches were satisfied. Collaboration had solved the problem, and the way we had handled it had gained the respect of both coaches.
Someone said, "Collaboration is nothing more than cooperation on steroids." Cooperation is 'having' to work together, while collaboration is 'wanting' to work together. Cooperation is good, but collaboration is even better. When people intentionally determined to collaborate, a number of things happen. Problems get solved, the participants learn from each other, and respect for one another increases.
Simply put, "You get better together." When collaboration takes place, whether it is around the family table, in a corporate boardroom, or in a church conference setting, problems get solved. We learn from each other, and we grow to respect one another.
There is a synergy that is developed as thoughts and ideas are shared and almost always those involved come away with a better solution to the problem being discussed.
That Saturday was a good day for two veteran umpires. A common responsibility forged a new friendship, and two umpires were both reminded that collaboration is not only of value in the family, church or corporate world, but it is of value even on a high school baseball field.
The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."(Ecc. 4:9-10)
Yes, we really need each other, and it is important that we learn from one another, for when we do, we can solve major problems that might not otherwise be solved alone. And best of all, when this happens, we can walk off the baseball field, as we did, to the welcome sounds an umpire loves to hear: "Good job blue."
 | Tom Crenshaw serves as Connections Pastor of the New Monmouth Baptist Church (non denominational) where he previously served as a three year interim.He has been married to Jean for almost 50 years, and they have four children, all of whom are teachers.Tom loves perennial gardening, umpiring high school baseball, coaching baseball and football, fishing for small mouth bass, rooting for his favorite team, the Cleveland Indians, and listening to ‘real’ country music, the classic kind. Learn More » |
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