This is the ninth and final installment in a series focused on tying the L3 qualities to actions/behaviors you can find at all levels in the judge program.
One of the major steps of the L3 advancement process is the creation and occasional revisiting of a detailed self-review. This review specifically must address strengths and weaknesses in the 9 identified qualities of an L3 judge.
As I have been spending some time contemplating these qualities, I realized each individual quality is worth a discussion here. One topic I’ve mentioned previously is the idea that a level does not define you as a judge (though it certainly does have implications on the amount of work/testing you’ve gone through). It strikes me that many judges, therefore, may not have taken the time to think about and review their strengths and weaknesses at each of these qualities until they are contemplating going for L3.
These qualities are not reserved for L3s or L3 candidates. On the contrary, many of these are characteristics of judges I see regularly, and from those who have likely not yet even thought seriously about the L3 advancement process. These qualities, therefore, serve as a nice framework for a series of blog posts. I hope to bring a discussion of how each quality may apply or be seen at a local (L1) or area level (L2), not just at the regional level (L3).
Stress and Conflict Management
Level 3 Judges can perform under pressure, maintaining a calm and focused demeanor at all times. They can handle leadership duties without allowing stress or pressure to adversely affect performance. They are capable of managing conflict as it arises between players, judges, event staff, etc, and they can do so without displaying signs of stress, doubt, or panic. A deficient judge is unable to handle the varied demands of an event while in a position of authority without having stress or pressure affect his or her performance. When under pressure, the judge may become noticeably affected, unable to maintain his or her composure or focus. He or she goes “on tilt” easily. An exemplary judge is one whose performance actually improves under stress. He or she thrives when under pressure, making effective decisions while maintaining attention on numerous aspects of the tournament. He or she rarely, if ever, appears to be negatively impacted by the pressures of an event and all its challenges.
Stress and conflict management know no judge level. The skills and abilities a person has in being able to stay calm and focused during stressful situations can certainly be learned, but they are often learned through other aspects of our lives, apart from judging. Certainly, judging offers occasional opportunities, particularly public ones at that, to display skill in this quality, but I’m not sure anyone ever really “practices” for it.
Be it a player who is angry that they have lost a match at FNM, or a player who is upset they lost in the bubble for top 8 at a GP, the judge’s response to both should be similar if handled with grace and diplomacy. Certainly, this is a game we play, and I think the vast majority of the community would agree that we play for the enjoyment of the game first and foremost. Even with that being the primary motivator, players can get very invested in events that have significant time commitments, significant prizes associated with placement, or even just that cool FNM promo they really wanted.
Keeping yourself calm when a tense situation arises can take some focus and poise. One thing that helps me (and I have certainly had trouble in the past with this) is to always try to remember that this is a recreational activity for everyone, and that your response to the situation can easily be the difference between someone leaving angry and someone who can calm down and rejoin the event. There are a LOT of articles written about this topic, not just in the context of judging. Take some time and read through some strategies on how to handle conflict if you identify this as an area you need improvement in. Having a few simple strategies to use can be a lifesaver when something unexpected comes up. Very briefly, consider separating contentious opponents during a call, think about measures you can use to distract someone’s focus away from the source of their anger and frustration (“How about that local sports team?”), ensure all parties that they are being or will be given a chance to be heard, etc. There are tons of ways to diffuse conflict, and there are more expert voices out there than myself to go research. Aside from the article linked above in the quality title itself (you realize those are links to excellent judge articles, right?), here is an article I’ve found to be fairly accurate and applicable to judging. Just be aware that not all of these examples fit perfectly as the topic is business, not judging.
The examples I’ve used so far are mainly issues of handling conflict, which, of course, can also be stressful. There is another layer to this quality in that it also encompasses the ability to maintain composure and keep working in the face of stress itself. How you react to stressful situations can have a huge impact on the events you are a part of. Planning for a nice, easy, 30-person event? How do you react when that event explodes to over 100 people and you have no floor judge? If you freeze up and get visibly shaken by this type of thing, the players and TO will notice, and they will respond. If, however, you can maintain composure, and keep smiling and appearing happy (even if you are quivering with fear inside), then you have a much better chance of running the event well, with players who will be empathetic to you being short-staffed and doing your best. In addition, you have the opportunity here to model behavior for any other judges you are working with. Maintaining composure and displaying conflict management skills is thankfully rarely needed. As a result of it’s relative rarity though, taking the opportunity to handle those situations well and being able to use them to teach other judges how to deal with them is extremely valuable. In fact, you can see some excellent evidence of these behaviors in the Exemplar highlights below.
The bottom line for all of these scenarios is that the most important thing you can do is to control your own reaction. Staying as calm and collected as you can is really the best way to handle any stress and conflict. Rising to meet someone’s anger will only escalate an issue, and getting frozen with fear/anxiety will cause your events to grind to a halt. Keeping a level head and staying focused on ensuring your events are smooth, enjoyable times for your players will go a long way.
Conclusions
This post is the final installment in the series bringing the concepts of the L3 Qualities into focus at all judge levels in the program. I will be honest and let you all know that this was part of a thought exercise I wanted to do while studying these qualities on my path, studying and striving for L3 myself. Whether I end up making that goal or not isn’t really relevant, though; helping to get judges thinking about ways they can observe these qualities in themselves and others was really the point. Keep watching for excellence, and don’t be afraid to confront your shortcomings. No one is an expert in everything, and knowing where we have to grow is often more important than recognizing where we have strength.
Examples from Exemplar
As for each previous post on the L3 qualities, I checked through Exemplar nominations from the previous wave (wave #7, as I wrote this before wave #8 was published) for examples of judges displaying exemplary behavior in Stress and Conflict Management. This quality is heavily represented in Exemplar, likely due to its highly visible nature when a judge excels. Just a handful of highlights are included below.
From Mathew Hoskins to Joseph Thomas (L1) – Joseph you exhibited exceptional diplomacy and conflict management skills at PPTQ Dublin at Wizard’s Asylum in Tulsa. You played a key role in de-escalating a very contentious interaction between two players. You quickly intervened as soon as I separated the two players. While I worked to calm one party you worked to do the same for the other. Your skillful handling of the situation helped maintain a safe environment for everyone.
From Thomas Ralph to Steve Ford (L2) – Steve, your work and diplomacy in resolving the complete breakdown of the “5isthenew7” series in the South-West was nothing short of outstanding. In an unhappy situation where parties had ceased talking to one another, money was missing, and judges were not cooperating, you rose above the conflict and obtained the best closure possible in the circumstances. This exhibited tremendous diplomacy and was greatly appreciated by local players and judges alike.
From John Reuben Ferrer to Mark Joseph Coquia (L1) – At GPT Kuala Lumpur @ Friday Quest Last October 9, you had your first stint as head judge of a competitive event. You impressed me with the way you handled the conflict that erupted in the last round of that tournament. I was playing against my opponent at a distant table when I heard two players begin jawing at each other and raising their voices arguing about whether or not the combat damage step had already passed and whether or not the non-active player was casting Izzet Charm at the end step. Within seconds, you had left your table next to the laptop and arrived at their table. You separated the more volatile player which prevented the conflict from escalating further. You handled your first investigation very well. Due to the cramped nature of the shop, I know that it was very difficult for you to talk to the less volatile player without his opponent trying to refute whatever that player was saying from his seat. To be honest I expected it to be a mess for you. Despite this, you were able to ask the right questions to elicit what truly happened from the players. At the end of the day, the players involved were at least civil to one another. The one you ruled against even made top 8 with me and said he was happy with your service. I talked to the TO after the event and he said he was happy with what you did as well. The TO froze instead of acting on the situation. If you did not act immediately, a shouting match would have ensued and that would not be good for the shop. Keeping one’s composure in the midst of a heated argument is already a challenge even for older judges. It was unfortunate that on your first judging assignment you had to face such a situation. Still, you handled the conflict with grace that is commendable for a new Level 1 Judge. You did not freeze and just watch the two players argue it out. Your quick thinking and knack for handling sticky situations is exemplary and is something that other Level 1 Judges should emulate.
From Chris Lansdell to Meghan Linscott (L2) – On Friday at GP Providence, I came to you with a potentially unpleasant situation. You were the Swiss lead, and we were heavily overstaffed. Some judges had been complaining about the perception that other judges were doing nothing, and the whole thing had the capacity to blow up as tempers were getting a little heated. Not only did you quickly address and diffuse the situation, you did so without letting anyone know that there could have been a problem. That sort of conflict management and people skills is, in my mind, exemplary. There were big egos involved, and at least one person was already upset by the situation. Well handled!
The Elvish Farmer 