Are You a Player, Coach, or Referee?
If you have been around sports, you have probably heard the old saying that those who can’t play coach, and those who can’t coach referee. Although this is usually used to make fun of referees, there is a degree of truth to this generalization that applies to just about every area of our lives. I don’t know if this is necessarily a hierarchical statement, but it is more about accepting one’s role. If you cannot be a player and then waste the opportunity to be a great referee because you are bitter, you will be worse off than you would have been if you had embraced your role as referee and gone into it 100%.
The players are the high performers who get the job done and are effectively what drives the remainder of the business. After all, without players, there will be no one to coach or referee. They are also the ones that drive the sales of tickets and merchandise. This is not to say that they are the only important ones, but they are the most visible frontline product that is put forward. Lastly, the players must have a specific skill set and are usually the vast minority. If we consider a bull’s-eye, there are a lot fewer people who can play in the NBA than who can coach or referee in the NBA.
The coaches are the managers. They keep the talent moving in the right direction, even if they don’t have that level of raw talent themselves. Admittedly, I often times felt that way at An Unexpected Journal. I was the managing editor for several years, but I was working with people who were a lot more talented than I was. I did and still do contribute some pieces, but they were not our most read or best (I realize two superlatives do not always overlap) by any stretch of the imagination. In that organization, my personal skills fit better into the coach slot. I was better at helping organize everybody in the same direction, creating a unified publication.
The referees are those on the outside looking in who still impact the success of what is being done. I have heard it said that referees intend to actually never impact the game. They are there to ensure the rules are followed, but the good ones I have talked to always say they do not want to influence who wins or loses. As a result, they are almost outside the game, not necessarily invested in the result but simultaneously charged with helping a result develop into what it should be if everyone follows the rules. To put this in a digital context, I think about this as the readership. You determine what content is good or not. You are not necessarily invested in any individual doing well beyond wanting to support individuals who produce high-quality content. Therefore, you keep everything fair by sharing, promoting, and talking about that which is good. It is not a perfect parallel, but you do not have to be invested in the wins and losses to have an influence on a particular outcome.
As we are approaching the year's end and probably starting to think about our goals and ambitions for 2025, I believe we need to begin with a true appraisal of our skills and abilities. Some people are built for management, and others are not. Some people love to chase the big ideas, while others prefer to dive into the minute details. Some people are better at evaluating and sharing content than creating it. As I have suggested many times over the years in my writing, I believe that we are all called to pursue greatness, but I also believe that greatness can look different for each of us. This is not to suggest that we fall into some kind of squishy subjectivity but rather to suggest that you are ultimately responsible for what you do with the gifts you have been given. Even if you are not the best musician in the world, if you are a good musician, people will benefit from hearing you as a good musician in a variety of contexts where it is a whole lot better than no musician. You may not be the best writer, but your local newspaper will never survive without people who are good, and they are unable to afford those who are writing for the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times. They need good writers. As I said, know your role, maximize your talents, and everyone will benefit. Don’t pretend to be something you’re not or give up because someone else might be better than you right now.