Gracious Professionalism or NOT?

[ebarker]

I am definitely not opposed to a team highlighting their accomplishments. My prior comments had to do with the intent of GP, not displaying earned accomplishments.

I was thinking about how awards mentions are displayed in football/basketball stadiums with the signage.

For $ 40 bucks you could do a very nice 20x30 sintra sign that would list the accomplishments and sit very nicely on an easel at public displays or corporate presentations, and in its spare time live on the wall at school.

[JaneYoung]

Keep in mind that information can become dated very quickly.

The awards that have been garnered in the previous season become dated when the current season begins. Listing those awards on your team shirts is costly and will remain current for only so long. If that is not a problem with your team budget and short-term or long-term plans, then it is fine.

I love to see the Hall of Fame teams tell us that they are HoFs on their shirts. It's cool and is never outdated.

I think your question is valid. The bottom line is in how your team conducts itself and how you promote your achievements and your efforts as a team. I've seen some great team pits where teams have taken the time to lay out and organize their pit so that it is efficient, productive, and promotes the team in an effective and professional manner. People pay attention to that.

Good question, stargirl. Good luck to you and to your team in 2010!

[Andrew Schreiber]

I apologize, this post is going to be rather general, in my opinion this decision does not involve GP, it does not involve the community, it involves you and being proud of your accomplishments. I would caution against putting awards on shirts, it means that shirts cannot be reused from year to year.

Originally Posted by artdutra04

Have we become so wrapped up in the words "gracious professionalism" that we've forgotten what they really mean?

Have we become so opposed to possibly offending anyone in the slightest way that we downplay our own hard fought accomplishments and achievements?
...
If people are getting offended at seeing other teams list their accomplishments, maybe they should spend less time whining and more time doing things to make their own team win.

Art is right, if you are so worried about offending someone that you are no longer proud of your accomplishments... well that is just pathetic. As Art said, if someone is offended by your listing of accomplishments then they need to stop thinking of what they didn't do and instead start thinking of what they need to do to win.

I'm going to end with another quote, Ray Bradbury. In Fahrenheit 451 he talks about how censorship destroyed our culture. The truly terrifying part is that this was no state mandated censorship, the people did it. That is what you are doing if you let the fear that you might possibly be "Non-GP".

There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches. Every minority, be it Baptist / Unitarian, Irish / Italian / Octogenarian / Zen Buddhist / Zionist / Seventh-day Adventist / Women's Lib / Republican / Mattachine / FourSquareGospel feel it has the will, the right, the duty to douse the kerosene, light the fuse….Fire-Captain Beatty, in my novel Fahrenheit 451, described how the books were burned first by the minorities, each ripping a page or a paragraph from this book, then that, until the day came when the books were empty and the minds shut and the library closed forever.

I am not saying that you should start cursing and insulting people, instead I am saying do not be afraid to disagree in a professional and respectful manner. You have an opinion, it is just as important as anyone else's, don't ever let anyone take that away from you.

[EricH]

Andrew, your caution also applies to sponsors. Many teams get new shirts every year to reflect new sponsors; when this change happens, the award list can change.

Or you can put a year and event tag on the award; this allows for reuse each year.

[Dick Linn]

"My other T-shirt lists all our awards... but it's too big to wear."

[Molten]

I've read many people talk about offending other teams with their awards. Many find this preposterous because the word chosen was "offend". I definitely agree that nobody will be offended by a list of awards. I would rather inject a different word, "intimidated". I've seen many freshmen* go to their first regional and they get mighty intimidated. Sure, the size of the competition certainly has an effect. But something else that might play a role is realizing the success of their opponents. Thoughts such as, "Look at them, they won the championships last year...we don't have a chance" is a common thought when presented with such displays of pride. Perhaps this isn't a real issue, but I've reassured many students that we all have the same chance as the big teams. I'm not saying that pride is a bad thing. A teacher of mine once told me, "Even the strongest armor needs polished sometimes". Just try to not polish it to the point that its blinding.

*I choose to use this term for new member of the team...not necessarily to the school.

[artdutra04]

Originally Posted by Molten

I've read many people talk about offending other teams with their awards. Many find this preposterous because the word chosen was "offend". I definitely agree that nobody will be offended by a list of awards. I would rather inject a different word, "intimidated". I've seen many freshmen* go to their first regional and they get mighty intimidated. Sure, the size of the competition certainly has an effect. But something else that might play a role is realizing the success of their opponents. Thoughts such as, "Look at them, they won the championships last year...we don't have a chance" is a common thought when presented with such displays of pride. Perhaps this isn't a real issue, but I've reassured many students that we all have the same chance as the big teams. I'm not saying that pride is a bad thing. A teacher of mine once told me, "Even the strongest armor needs polished sometimes". Just try to not polish it to the point that its blinding.

*I choose to use this term for new member of the team...not necessarily to the school.

The mark of a good captain is one in which his/her crew genuinely believes that no matter how hairy a storm or battle gets, they will emerge victorious. Doubt and intimidation about success often proves a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Confidence cannot come from rhetoric alone. It must come at least partially from first-hand experience. Team building exercises, Vex competitions, and attending FRC off-season competitions are all great ways to boost confidence of new members.

[JaneYoung]

I wonder if we have overwhelmed our OP with all of our posts and opinions. It is her very first post here in CD and it has managed to start quite a discussion. Hopefully, some of the posts have answered her question and have provided some insight into all of the areas that folks have introduced into the thread.

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

I wonder if we have overwhelmed our OP with all of our posts and opinions. It is her very first post here in CD and it has managed to start quite a discussion. Hopefully, some of the posts have answered her question and have provided some insight into all of the areas that folks have introduced into the thread.

If she managed to start such a provocative yet civil thread on her first post, she sounds like somebody who should post more often! We need more like her.

ChrisH

[Mr. Van]

I think Molten has a good point here:

Originally Posted by Molten

"Look at them, they won the championships last year...we don't have a chance"

But in many robotics competitions like FIRST, this can be turned into "Look at them, they won the championships last year... and we might get to be their alliance partners!"

If those champions are a team that has embraced Gracious Professionalism, they will welcome, assist, support and cheer for that new team and those new team members.

-Mr. Van
Coach, Robodox

[EricVanWyk]

Originally Posted by Molten

"Look at them, they won the championships last year...we don't have a chance"

How about "Look at them, they won the championships last year, I bet they'll help us with our busted lifter / code / wiring"?

[J93Wagner]

Originally Posted by EricVanWyk

"... I bet they'll help us with our busted lifter / code / wiring"?

If possible, it's what all good teams should do.

[Dan 1038]

I don't think it is either, not arrogant and not ungracious (especially in good taste)... At IRI last summer, the HOT team was wearing tye dyes with "2009 National Champions" on them - but they were on the winning alliance at Einstien and they deserved to advertise that fact. That is a great marketing tool for award winners to use for drumming up support, I don't see it any differently than a football team advertising that they won a championship or rivalry!

My .02,

[Rion Atkinson]

Gracious Professionalism - To compete with others are truly care about the outcome. Yet all the while caring about the other. To be Gracious and Professional. To help them when you are needed.

In the end its like superheros really. They hada sense of GP about them. They were scared to show their accomplishments. They wore costumes. 1. Disguise themselves. 2. Show who they are. And that in its self shows what they have done. So my opinion would be that saying you have done something great is in no way wrong or against GP. For as it has been said. GP is not a gauge. Simply another way of saying "I have morals".

[Bharat Nain]

This really does not have as much to do with Gracious Professionalism.

I'll break it down for you. What messages do you send when you put your awards on a shirts?

1) If done humbly, you help build up your team morale. It helps motivate existing members and new/upcoming members will presume that you are a "successful" team. This is good.

2) You help your schoolmates realize that you have some success backing you as long as you don't brag about it. This is good for your school.

3) You help friends, family, acquaintances, and the like know that you have some success. This is also good as long as you don't brag about it.

4) I assume you will also list a few sponsors. Yes, this is also good. Most sponsors LOVE recognition. I would check with them first though. A couple of them did not want to be on any of our promotional material.

5) Ten years from now, when you happen to stumble across this shirt while you are building a shuttle for NASA, you will realize that this is where it all started.

I am not going to list more. You should see where I am going with this. Having at least one team shirt with many accomplishments listed is extremely valuable in my opinion.

In short, should you list your sponsors, names, awards and accomplishments on you shirt? HECK YES. Just don't brag about it verbally and always carry a humble attitude. It is almost guaranteed to work in your favor.