Concerning Whistleblowing

[KenWittlief]

Originally Posted by Tim Delles

Well the very first thing I do is to go up and discuss this with them. Because if they do not know that it is illegal then they should be informed of it, and I am very sure that any team would fix the problem.

If this were any other event or sport I would agree with this statement. My understanding of gracious professionalism forces me to think otherwise for two reasons:

Professionalism. On FIRST teams and in my career as an engineer, I take the position that the people I deal with are professionals. This means they know what they are doing, they are qualified to perform their tasks, and they have earned the right to be in that position. It would be extreemly un-professional for me to second guess another persons skills, ability, knowledge and especially their motives unless I am absolutely certain that they have made a serious error, or they are doing something dangerous to themselves or others. For FIRST teams, this means the students and mentors on all teams are automatically granted the status of professionals in FIRST related things, equal to me, and should be respected accordingly.

Grace. This word deals with how we handle errors and mistakes. The opposite of grace is punishment, rejection, and public humilation. If no one made any mistakes then grace would not be needed. Grace is applied when you know someone else has made a mistake but you DONT hold their feet to the fire.

We have been tasked to interact with each other with both the P and the G. A simple way of combining the two is to give the other person the benefit of doubt. Are you absolutely sure that team did not buy those gears from a COTS source? Are you certain you understand all the aspects of the rule you think another team appears to be violating?

If you are going to confront another team it should only be over matters of a very serious nature. In my career I have confronted managers and project leaders when I thought actions being taken might be illegal, or might expose the company to liabilities that we could not handle. Confrontation is a valuable tool, but it should only be used when absolutely needed.

Without GP FIRST could easily degrade into a contest involving the exchange of various body fluids. I would rather err on the side of Grace then to see FIRST come to the point where we have FIRST-Dads beating each other up in the stands because one driver rammed another robot just a little to hard, or teams showing up for regionals with lawyers.

As an engineer there are times when I review and critique other peoples work : design reviews, job interviews, performance reviews. Even at these events we never judge the person, we judge the work only. If you are a FIRST inspector, a judge, or a ref then you should hold each team to the standards that FIRST has established.

If you are not an inspector, a judge, or a ref then you are NOT an inspector, a judge or a ref, unless another team asks for your opinion or assistance.