Periodically articles written by one of the members of IAABO Board 134 will be posted at this location. They will relate to various aspects of officiating.

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Using Power to Officiate Effectively
By Carl A. Dudley
I.A.A.B.O. Board 134 member

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Now is the time to start preparing for success in officiating in the 2005/2006 basketball season! It is upon us, the excitement, the competition, the heartache and pain. As Dick Vitale will definitely say at the beginning of the season, "It's show-time baby!"

The ultimate goal of any basketball official, officiating at any level of basketball, should be to give their very best every time he/she steps on the court. The official has serious obligations to the game of basketball, to the players and coaches, and ultimately to themselves to be effective in executing their duties. To help the official achieve their obligations, there must be a profound understanding of the power the official possess and how to use it effectively while officiating their basketball game.

One way the official can begin to understand the power is to ask some very tough questions. Questions like, "What is the most powerful tool do I possess to help me achieve my objective? Is it my whistle or is it my mouth?" Or "Is my most powerful tool my presence on the court with a clean, crisply pressed uniform and my shoes shined?"

Asking questions like these will help the official develop the power that they possess and if the questions are answered honestly, the official will be in the position to give their best in executing their duties while on the court. One possible reason why an official may not truly give their best is because there may be a misunderstanding of the amount of power and influence that they possess. According to Webster's Dictionary, power is defined as "(1.) A person, group, or nation having great influence or control over others; (2) The ability or capacity to act or perform effectively."

The basketball official is a person who definitely has a lot of influence over the game of basketball; with a profound understanding of the power they possess, there is a high probability that the official will be effective in their performance. To add some insight and increase the officials' understanding, an analysis of the power an official has is necessary.

From an officials' perspective, there are two types of power the official is working with to be effective in officiating a basketball game. The two types are position power and personal power.

Position power is the extent to which the official has rewards, punishments and sanctions to bring to bear in reference to the game of basketball, specifically, the players and coaches. The power tends to come from above the organization. Depending on the level of basketball the official is referring in, the organization can be the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), or the Federal International Basketball Association (FIBA). The power is delegated down from the organization to use rewards or sanctions and information needed to make necessary decisions.

Under position power, there are four power dimensions that the official should have an explicit understanding of to be effective; these categories are legitimate, coercive, connection, and reward.

The saying "it's only a pick up game if there are no referees" best illustrates the legitimate power an official has. The officials' uniform is one aspect that legitimizes a game. By virtue of being certified and affiliated with the organization (NCAA, NFHS, FIBA, etc.), the official is granted this particular power dimension.

A second power dimension that is granted by virtue of the officials' position is coercive power. The official uses this dimension of position power when attempting to force or change bad performance to good performance. The official can force basketball players from playing a low quality/sloppy basketball game by making foul calls such as hand checking and pushing. These types of behaviors players demonstrate can cause small problems that can easily escalate into large problems, plus it diminishes the quality of the game being played. When the official uses his/her whistle when the infraction is observed, the quality of play within the basketball game can be enhanced tremendously.

Another way the official can be effective in influencing the quality of play within the game is to use a third power dimension; connection power. Connection power is the use of power of knowing people that can influence and make decisions. Let's say that two teams are playing a very competitive and heated basketball game. The emotions are high between the players, the coaches and fans. A definite fan of Team B is getting out of control because they feel the official is making judgments against his team and creating a disadvantage. Team B's fan is not shy in letting the officials know his displeasure with the judgments and vocalizes direct threats that are disrupting the players on Team A and the play of the game. Players from Team B have begun to mimic their fan and taunt Team A players. The official can use their connection and legitimate power by stopping play of the game and seek out the game administrator to discuss removal of the belligerent fan. In addition, the official can summon the captains of Team A and Team B to advise them to get their teammates to get control of their emotions and begin to play quality basketball.

In the midst of the emotions and possibly confusion, the official can use the fourth power dimension, reward power. Reward power is having the power to correct decisions and judgements that has disadvantaged a specific team. Let's say that prior to the chaotic moments, the official called a technical foul on a player on Team B for taunting. While the official was talking with the captains and administrator, Team A identified A2 to shoot the free throws. After the dust has settled down, the official resumes play of the game with administering the free throws to A3. The observant official recognizes the wrong free thrower shooting the free throw and uses their reward power dimension and corrects the correctable error and places A2 as the correct free thrower. This action contributes to the quality of play of the basketball games because the official used their power to get the call right.

While position power is granted to the official by virtue of wearing the stripes and being a member of an association/organization, it is power that can be utilized effectively, however, if used alone, the official will have a hard time in achieving their best. In order to be effective, the official should combine the use of their personal power with their position.

Personal power is the extent to which officials gain the confidence and trust of those people they are trying to influence. When officials use their personal power, they have the respect of the players, the coaches, fans, and administrators. These people feel good about, and are committed to, the officials and see their individual goals as being satisfied by the goals of the official; a well played basketball game!

Under personal power, there are three power dimensions: information, expert and referent. As the old cliché goes, "information is power." This is a true statement in all aspects of life and officiating. Information is power in its purist form because officials use information to make be effective in their judgements and mechanics. The pre-game conference is imperative because the officials can talk about a variety of things from making judgements early on in the game like hand-checking and cleaning up the rough play in the middle to proper game management and maintaining bench decorum appropriately. The information that is communicated within the pre-game conference basically gets the team of officials working on the same "sheet of music." When that happens, the team will definitely achieve the goals and live up to the expectations and obligations to the game of basketball.

While on the court, the official can use the second personal power dimension of expert power to be effective. Expert power is basically knowledge of the rules. If the official's goal is to be effective and get the "calls" right, the official not only must know but also understand the rules of the game. Let's say for instance that during the game, Team A coach has a misunderstanding of this season's point of emphasis and palming rule. With every judgement against A1 for palming, the coach's frustration grows and the coach becomes highly emotional. During a time out called by Team A, the coach comes to the official and asks the official about the interpretation of the palming rule. The effective official has definite understanding of the rule and effectively explains the rule to the coach. Now that the coach understands the rule more clearly, the coach's emotions have been diffused causing the coach to coach their team and not the officials during the rest of the game. The official used their expert power of communication effectively, which maintained the integrity of the game being played.

The communication is the key to success and if the official has the ability to communicate effectively, the official has used the third personal power dimension, referent power, effectively. With referent power, the official uses people skills like charisma, empathy, and respect to gain the confidence of the players and coaches. These skills and power create the perception that the official truly cares about the game being played and they influences the people involved in the game effectively.

By reading this article, the official has taken a first step in preparing for the 2005/2006 basketball season and experience success. With a clear understanding of the dimensions of position and personal power, the official now has the opportunity to be extremely effective in executing their duties and upholding the quality of the game.

The official is classified by the behavior that they exhibit on and off the court. In today's generation of basketball officials, the individual official cannot "march to their own beat," but must continuously improve on the leadership that has been empowered to them. It is the personal responsibility of the official to continue to analyze the position power and influence that is granted by being an official and further develop their personal power. By doing so, the official will be able to honestly say that the most powerful tools that they possess are a combination of both their position and the knowledge they possess.

When all dimensions of position and personal powers are used appropriately, the effectiveness is high and the official can truly say that they have given their best while on the court officiating/leading the greatest game ever invented.

Good luck this season and make the time to reflect and improve your effectiveness every-time you step on the court. The players, the coaches and fans deserve nothing less from you. Live up to it this season and exceed everyone's expectations…even yours!