Perhaps when you first started umpiring, there should have been a notice that said "Warning: the job of umpiring requires extensive reading."
For starters, there's the rule book, and, as we all know, that's not the easiest thing to get through. It's not like it's a novel, with interesting characters, a plot twist and a satisfying ending. Then there's the positioning manuals, the association rules and bylaws, and multiple reference manuals.
But we're not even talking about all those. There's a lot more to becoming a high-level umpire than just learning your rule book, manuals, safes and outs, balls and strikes, fair and foul. It's extra, recommended reading on topics that aren't specifically about umpiring that will help you become even more successful once you've become familiar with your rule book and manuals.
Among many, many other things, you should have confidence to be successful. You should also be a good communicator. And if you ever find yourself in the position of being a mentor, evaluator or someone who makes training presentations, you need to learn how to speak and present to a group.
With that in mind, we're presenting a three-part series on books we recommend that will help you become a better leader, mentor, evaluator, communicator, and presenter. Here we go:
1. Psychology of Officiating, by Dr. Robert S. Weinberg and Dr. Peggy A. Richardson.
This should almost be required reading for any serious umpire. I led off the series with this book because even if you read no further than this, you'll know about this book. It's definitely a worthwhile and important read.
Both authors are professors in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of North Texas, and both have extensive experience in sports officiating.
The book has practical advice and exercises on several key topics for officials, such as getting motivated, officiating with confidence, learning how to concentrate and relax, and being a good communicator. It also has a section on burnout, which is a hot topic these days.
Key quote: "Research has indicated that the most powerful builder of confidence is performance accomplishments. The concept is simple: Having performed a behavior successfully in the past will increase your confidence that you can perform it successfully in the future."
2. A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring, by John Wooden and Don Yaeger.
If you don't know who John Wooden is, you need to get to work. Briefly, he is the most successful basketball coach in NCAA history, and he has become a mentor to hundreds of people.
In the book, Wooden defines what a mentor is, lists the people who have been his
mentors (including Mother Teresa and Abraham Lincoln), and seven people he has mentored, including Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabaar. The chapters about the people Wooden mentored are written by the mentees themselves, with an introduction by Wooden.
As he goes through these stories, Wooden offers valuable insights not only about being mentored, but also about being a mentor.
Key quote: "Mentors do not seek to create a new person; they simply seek to help a person become a better version of himself. Mentors are, after all, primarily concerned with teaching, and a teacher is there to inspire. I urge everyone to seek out someone whose life inspires you and speaks to your own goals."
3. The Leadership Challenge, by James M. Kouzes and Dr. Barry Z. Posner.
Kouzes and Posner are coauthors of more than 15 books and workbooks on leadership and leadership development.
Simply put, you won't find a more detailed book on leadership. The Leadership Challenge is considered the most trusted source on becoming a better leader.
The book features extensive interviews with a diverse group of leaders from organizations around the world. It has scores of new case studies and could be thought of as a "personal coach in a book."
The authors base their system on five practices - Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart.
Key quote: "Of all the things that sustain a leader over time, love is the most lasting. It's hard to imagine leaders getting up day after day, putting in the long hours and hard work it takes to get extraordinary things done, without having their hearts in it. The best-kept secret of successful leaders is love: staying in love with leading, with the people who do the work, with what their organizations produce, and with those who honor the organization by using its products and services.
"Leadership is not an affair of the head. Leadership is an affair of the heart."
4. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You, by John C. Maxwell.
Long considered a leadership guru, Maxwell has written at least 23 books, most of them on leadership. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is perhaps his most well known, and for good reason. The book uses captivating stories to illustrate Maxwell's 21 laws, such as how Ray Kroc took McDonald's to the successful level it's at now, even though two brothers, Dick and Maurice McDonald, created the restaurant. But they didn't understand the "Law of the Lid," and Kroc did.
Other "laws" Maxwell uses include the Law of Influence, the Law of Navigation, the Law of Respect, the Law of Connection, and the Law of Timing.
Key quote: "Many people who approach the area of vision in leadership have it all backward. They believe that if the cause is good enough, people will automatically buy into it and follow. But that's not how leadership really works. People don't at first follow worthy causes. They follow worthy leaders who promote worthwhile causes. People buy into the leader first, then the leader's vision. Having an understanding of that changes your whole approach to leading people."
5. The Greatness Guide, by Robin Sharma
I actually saw this leadership and success guru live, years ago. I didn't want to go, but he was very impressive, and I've followed his career ever since.
In The Greatness Guide, Sharma presents tools, tactics and techniques to improve any aspect of your life.
Topics in the book include Leadership isn't a Popularity Contest, Nothing Fails Like Success, Six Reasons to Set Goals, and Commit to First Class.
There's lots in this book you can apply to umpiring, such as his philosophy that being a leader isn't about being liked. It's about doing what's right. Change "leader" to "umpire" and the philosophy is the same. Or this: "There's no safety in being the same person today that you were yesterday. That's just an illusion that ends up breaking your heart." In other words, keep working hard, and work to improve. If you don't, you'll be passed by someone who is willing to put the work in.
Key quote: "Leadership begins within. Organizational leadership begins with personal leadership. You can't be great at work until you feel great. You can't make someone feel good about themselves until you feel good about yourself. You can't be a source of positive energy if you have no energy. The doorway to success swings outward - not inward."
6. The Greatness Guide Book 2, by Robin Sharma
The book so nice we used it twice. No, not really. Just kidding. Sharma had so much success with the first greatness guide, and so many ideas left over, that he made a sequel.
The Greatness Guide Book 2 contains 101 lessons for success and happiness, and there's little repetition from the first Greatness Guide. The book contains chapters entitled Be So Good They Can't Ignore You, Get Great at Gratitude, Whatever Happened to Commitment?, What is Success, and two chapters that sound like they were written just for umpires - Wear Shiny Shoes and There Are No Mistakes.
Key quote (from the Wear Shiny Shoes chapter): "Okay, your shoes don't need to shine for you to be a superb leader. My point with this chapter is simply this: The way you do the little things says a lot about the way you will do the big things. And resigning yourself to mediocrity around your minor pursuits sets you up for mediocrity when it comes to major ones.
"So pay attention to the details. Focus on the small stuff. Commit to OAD - Obsessive Attention to Detail. World-class people and organizations always do. Because the little things truly are the big ones."
See you next week in Part 2 of the
"Leaders Should be Readers" series
REMINDER
Do you have some thoughts on this week's blogs or any of the other ones? Then please, let us know through the comments section or on our Facebook page. Look on Facebook for "Umpire Mentors" or "Umpire Mentors Group." And please, join our Facebook pages.
REMINDER PART 2
The UMPIRE MENTORS book is now out! 422 pages of advice, tips, secrets and stories from 100 of the world's best umpire mentors. To have a look or get your copy, go to www.umpirementors.com.
UMPIRE HISTORY
1878
The NL instructs home teams to pay umpires $5 per game.
1888
John Gaffney begins calling games from behind the plate instead of behind the pitcher.
This Week's Umpire Quote
“Appearance, behavior, enthusiasm, teachability and leadership aptitude are just as important as anything else.”
- Larry Young
MLB Umpire Supervisor
This Week's Quote That Applies To Umpiring
“There may be people with more talent than you, but there are no excuses for anyone to work harder than you.”
- Derek Jeter
Former Yankees shortstop