{"id":747,"date":"2013-07-16T00:00:52","date_gmt":"2013-07-16T00:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/articles\/?p=747"},"modified":"2014-09-16T17:01:17","modified_gmt":"2014-09-16T17:01:17","slug":"l3-qualities-attitude-and-maturity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/articles\/2013\/07\/16\/l3-qualities-attitude-and-maturity\/","title":{"rendered":"L3 Qualities \u2013 Attitude and Maturity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Written<\/a>

Written by Jurgen Baert<\/p><\/div><\/em><\/p>\n

In this article, I hope to be able to share some insights on what I consider to be one of the vital Qualities of Regional Judges: Attitude and Maturity. Before we start, I\u2019d like you to read its definition as provided by the L3 Advancement Procedures Manual:<\/p>\n

Regional Judges maintain a positive attitude when interacting with other members of the Magic community and demonstrate a solid and consistent work ethic. They are mature, trustworthy, punctual, and enjoyable to work with. They are rarely, if ever, regarded as being difficult to work with, negative, tardy, lazy, etc. A deficient candidate may have a history of negativity, tardiness, poor work ethic, or reliability. He or she may display a problematically low maturity level that affects his or her performance at events. An exemplary candidate is frequently sought after by fellow judges and tournament organizers for his or her exceptional attitude and contribution to events. He or she is generally regarded as a pleasure to work with.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 L3 Advancement Procedures Manual<\/b><\/p>\n

This is a pretty basic definition, which pours into words what many of us intuitively view as the concept of having a positive attitude and acting maturely: is this a person people want to work with? It talks about the way people perceive someone, and it highlights some of the key features of a mature person with a positive attitude towards judging. It also defines some boundaries on what we consider deficient behavior, or, at the other end of the spectrum, what someone with exemplary skills in this area would be like.<\/p>\n

But you didn\u2019t come here to just read that definition, so let\u2019s dig a little deeper, shall we?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is maturity really about?<\/h1>\n

As I said earlier, the definition given above basically boils down to \u201cis this a person people want to work with?\u201d I\u2019ll immediately note that this goes beyond the superficial \u201cbeing, but not smelling, funny\u201d: it also covers punctuality, for example. It\u2019s about professionalism. It\u2019s about meeting certain social standards. Morality. Self-reliance. And well… on a certain level, it is<\/i> about being, but not smelling, funny.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all still quite broad though, and frankly, very focused on the behavior that\u2019s associated with attitude and maturity, rather than those qualities themselves. Also, evaluating oneself in terms of \u201cdo people want to work with me\u201d is anything but easy. Therefore, I\u2019d like to explore the core concepts of attitude and maturity a little more. Let\u2019s start out with maturity.<\/p>\n

<\/p>A mature person is someone who is able to respond in an appropriate manner to his or her environment. This doesn\u2019t really depend on age\u2014or at least, a young age does not preclude maturity and an old age doesn\u2019t imply it. What this so-called appropriate behavior exactly constitutes depends on culture and environment, which means maturity is something that needs to grow; needs to be learned. This learning process is what creates a link with age. People also become more moderate and careful in their actions as they become older, which adds a lot to a person\u2019s maturity.<\/p>\n

Some important concepts that I\u2019ve found are often associated with maturity are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • the ability to make one\u2019s own decisions<\/li>\n
  • the responsibilities one bears<\/li>\n
  • an innate calmness that helps avoid drama<\/li>\n
  • knowledge and acceptance of oneself<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Being capable of making decisions implies realizing the consequences of those decisions (in fact, this aspect of maturity comes very close to the legal definition of adulthood). With this ability to make informed decisions comes a sense of confidence that a mature person will often display when in a position of authority.<\/p>\n

    Responsibility is another matter. Having responsibilities breeds a need to act maturely. Having a child, being a team leader at work, owning a house or even just a car are all prime examples of responsibilities that require you to act maturely. Another way of looking at the link between maturity and responsibility is examining the opposite: immaturity. Acting immaturely can only (at least, only successfully) be done when one has no responsibilities. Although immaturity is a chance for experimenting and is crucial in growth (hence the above-mentioned learning), adult environments are often unforgiving when it comes to immature behavior, and a large part of that is linked to responsibility.<\/p>\n

    The ability to moderate passion does a lot to a person\u2019s maturity. Being able to care about stuff is important, but when emotions start driving your actions, it\u2019s easy to get lost in drama. People tend to act the most emotionally aggressive when they are facing unfairness or powerlessness.<\/p>\n

    Teenagers often display irrational behavior when acting in a group, simply because of the way they believe this group should perceive them. The need to feel accepted and the uncertainty that comes with this need is something that disappears as they grow older. The key here is knowing who you are, and accepting yourself for who you are. It lessens the need for approval, which translates to less irrational, more mature behavior.<\/p>\n

    Attitude: the theory<\/h1>\n

    Let\u2019s take a look at attitude. I think we actually need to make two different, but equally important definitions here. There is what is usually called \u201cpositive attitude\u201d, which I\u2019d say is mostly about optimism and enthusiasm, and there is \u201cgood attitude\u201d, which comes closer to professionalism or reliability. These are clearly very different animals, yet we\u2019re looking for both in regional judges.<\/p>\n

    On the surface, attitude is not very different from maturity as you\u2019ll often find both qualities working in conjunction, strengthening each other. Yet, there are some differences.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>Attitude (the \u201cpositive attitude\u201d variant) can be compared to moods. A mood is a basic psychological state which, in a rather narrow definition of the word, can be positive or negative. A negative mood is generally unconstructive since it inhibits a person\u2019s ability to process information due to a lack of focus on the messaging. A bad mood also negatively affects social interactions, for obvious reasons. A good mood will usually influence your environment positively, but may have some negative consequences as well, again related to focus: being in a good mood may make one careless or distracted, and feel overly confident. People in different moods also have a tendency to annoy each other.<\/p>\n

    Much of the same is true for attitude, but where moods are volatile and don\u2019t necessarily have a direct cause, attitude is linked more closely to personality and personal history and is often more permanent in nature. Attitudes are also more closely associated with culture than moods: someone from northern Europe tends to be more closed than someone from the southern countries (and I\u2019ve been told this is similar across different regions of the US). This will translate in their attitude being a bit colder, even if they\u2019re quite positive or enthusiastic.<\/p>\n

    When talking about the \u201cgood attitude\u201d variant, I like to think about this quality as a determining factor in a person\u2019s long term suitability for a job. Of course, keeping a job requires skill, experience, knowledge or physical fitness. But besides those easily measurable qualities, being punctual and professional, reliable and trustworthy are key factors in professional success. And that\u2019s exactly what a good attitude is all about.<\/p>\n

    Back to the surface<\/h1>\n

    Well, that sure was a dive into deep water\u2014if you\u2019re still reading: thanks! And congrats: you\u2019ve survived the theoretical part! In this section, I\u2019ll try to share some more practical advice here, rather than the philosophical musings you\u2019ve endured so far. Let\u2019s get to it!<\/p>\n

    Maturity<\/b><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Act like you\u2019re the least important person in the room. Take care of people, learn to understand the things they care about. It\u2019s important that your interest in people is genuine. If you don\u2019t mean it, people will feel it.<\/li>\n
    • Don\u2019t draw attention to yourself; be humble. Someone who always makes a scene or acts like they\u2019re the center of the universe is never perceived as mature.<\/li>\n
    • Suppress your need for immediate gratification, and focus on what\u2019s right. Sometimes you just have to do something you dislike for the greater good.<\/li>\n
    • Don\u2019t let criticism ruin your day. Likewise, don\u2019t let a compliment distort your self-view. Appreciate that (constructive) feedback is seen as the truth by the people giving it. It\u2019s not easy to give feedback, so realize that they do it because they care, and they believe what they say.<\/li>\n
    • Control your anger. Don\u2019t act too quickly, and when you act, do so with diplomacy and moderation. Seek out knowledge first, think things through and consider the bigger picture. The world isn\u2019t perfect; maybe you need to let this one go?<\/li>\n
    • Take responsibility for your mistakes. Apologize when apologies are due.<\/li>\n
    • Be thankful. Appreciate how your success is based on the people around you\u2014and let those people feel that appreciation. Success is meaningless if it can\u2019t be shared.<\/li>\n
    • Finally, be honest with yourself.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Attitude<\/b><\/p>\n

        \n
      • Get up early, but get a good night\u2019s sleep, too. Don\u2019t skip breakfast. You\u2019re more likely to be in a good mood and you\u2019re more likely to be productive.<\/li>\n
      • Don\u2019t procrastinate or let things slide. It\u2019s easy to delay something, and we all do it. It\u2019s hard to overcome procrastination, but you must do so if you want a reputation of being professional.<\/li>\n
      • Do things for others. A good attitude requires you to think about the greater good and about the well-being of people around you.<\/li>\n
      • Be friendly; smile. This one might seem obvious, but it\u2019s the first thing people notice and first impressions go a long way.<\/li>\n
      • Show respect for people around you, but also for cultural differences or for an opinion that differs from yours.<\/li>\n
      • Don\u2019t discuss confidential information. When people trust in you, you need to earn that trust.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        So, what do I do with all of this as a Magic judge?<\/h1>\n

        <\/p>This is the point where you should probably go and re-read the paragraph at the top of this article, quoting the L3 Advancement Procedures Manual. We need our L3 judges to be mature. They\u2019re the cornerstones of the judge program, the community managers, and the regional leaders. They set the example, and if that example is a bad one, other judges will follow. It can\u2019t be disputed that L3s need to have the hard skills (rules knowledge, tournament operations, investigations …) but they also need to simply be good people. We\u2019re building on them, so they need to be reliable. We\u2019re depending on them, so they need to be punctual. Acting appropriately as a judge is much more than dressing well or being fun to be around.<\/p>\n

        I hope that this article helped you understand what attitude and maturity entail. I\u2019ll even go a bit further: I hope that it\u2019ll help some people understand why they\u2019re being told they need to act more maturely, and that it\u2019ll eventually help them improve.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Additional resources<\/h1>\n

        There are countless articles and books on these topics; any good psychology course will teach you much more than I’ve talked about here.<\/p>\n

        <\/p>There is one specific resource I\u2019d like to point out though; it\u2019s a book that I was given by Judge Manager Andy Heckt briefly after becoming L4. It contains some really good advice on attitude; while it is aimed at professionals, it\u2019s written as a story that\u2019s quite enjoyable to read. The book is named \u201cLeadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box\u201d, from the Arbinger Institute. You\u2019ll see personal and professional relationships in a very different light after reading it. The basic premise of the book is that people can feel it when you don\u2019t mean something. From there, it explores the way relationships work, and it teaches you how you can improve those relationships. I\u2019ve re-read this book a few times, as well as its companion, \u201cThe Anatomy of Peace\u201d, and I have to say they\u2019ve been eye-openers.<\/p>\n

        Finally\u2026<\/h1>\n

        Thank you for reading! I hope it has been an enjoyable and interesting journey. If it was (and even if it wasn\u2019t), I hope you\u2019ll also love the rest of the series on L3 Qualities!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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