You can step over the line....

He was making calls that normally they let slide or only call when the infraction is really obvious.  Most of us parents on the sidelines have never played before so we're still learning about things like off-sides and indirect kicks.  So at half time my son's soccer game the referee did something really surprising...  he came over to the sideline and asked us how we thought the game was going and if we had any questions about what he had called on the field.  Silence....   But he did not leave it there, he reviewed three calls that he made that may have been controversial or misunderstood and described them to us.  He explained that "The goalie can step over the line of the goalie box and kick the ball if it is released behind the line" - in our case he did not release it soon enough and the penalty was called against us.  After two more scenarios he asked if we had any other questions and when no one did, he thanked us for coming to the game.  This all took about two minutes of his time, but made a big impression on all of us.


In this two minutes, he established his expertise in a way that was helpful, non-threatening, and positive and he gave us the gift of new knowledge and understanding.  In doing this he had to step over a line himself.  He did not follow normal protocol and go get a drink and talk with the line judges for the short half time.  He took a risk and made a positive impact.  We left this brief interaction feeling better about him, the league, referees in general, and ourselves. 


I think this is something we can benefit from as project managers too.  We can be on both sides of this dialogue as well (that may be considered off-sides in soccer - I really don't get that call yet!) .  We can receive new knowledge by being interested and 'coachable' with our project teams and share our passion and expertise in project management or any subject as a way of building a high-functioning supportive team.  All we need to do is care enough to share two minutes of time receiving a gift of knowledge from an expert with passion and pass it on.   I hope you do!




Do great things -- (with goals!)




Ed Sullivan, PMP