12 Feb Playing The Infinite Game In Your Interpreting Career
Playing The Infinite Game In Your Interpreting Career
By: Jiraporn-Ann H. Huynh
With Special Credit To Contributor and Editor: Hilda Shymanik
I was at a dental event for an elite group of dental practitioners who don’t just fix teeth and collect money; they are highly specialized dentists whom people seek out to restore their health and livelihood. They are the ones who did not have to go look for patients, and yet, they were talking about relationship-based practice. This group of dentists was the living example of those who play the “infinite game” in their personal lives and careers.
A concept that was originally published in 1986 by James P. Carse, Finite and Infinite Game, was made viral by Simon Sinek’s application to explore how these concepts apply to business and leadership.
In Carse’s Argument:
“There are at least two kinds of games: finite and infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play. Finite games are those instrumental activities – from sports to politics to wars – in which the participants obey rules, recognize boundaries, and announce winners and losers. The infinite game – there is only one – includes any authentic interaction, from touching to culture, that changes rules, plays with boundaries, and exists solely for the purpose of continuing the game. A finite player seeks power; the infinite one displays self-sufficient strength. Finite games are theatrical, necessitating an audience; infinite ones are dramatic, involving participants 1…”
At this point, you might be wondering where I am heading with this blog. With Sinek’s adaptation from Carse’s theory, in his book, “The Infinite Game,²” he suggested that some games, those with fixed rules, known players, and clear winners, are finite. Infinite games are those with no finish line, players come and go, and the goal is “to keep playing well.”
In His Book, The Infinite Game’s Five Principles Are:
(1) Pursue a Just Cause beyond profit
(2) Build Trusting Teams
(3) Learn from Worthy Rivals
(4) Embrace Existential Flexibility to adapt boldly, and
(5) Have the Courage to Lead with long-term values.
Sinek emphasizes that the “Infinite Mindset” is necessary to be able to succeed in business for the long term. Business leaders should prioritize building a strong, sustainable organization over competing to win or be the best.
Existential Flexibility → Adapting Without Losing Integrity. 
The role has been moving. One of their partners for years of the pandemic, and legal interpreting is changing even faster. Various new methods have been introduced to the interpreting landscape, along with modern technologies and artificial intelligence.
The legal system itself often feels finite (cases, verdicts, deadlines). But legal interpreting is very much like an infinite game, where your main goal is to keep improving = keep playing well.
When we apply Sinek’s framework to legal interpreting, we can map input in such a case that:
-
Just Cause → Language Access As a Justice Component
Through the infinite lens: The goal isn’t just to “get through today’s hearing.” It’s to protect due process and equal access to justice for people who don’t speak the court’s language.
In practice, a few things that interpreters can do are to focus on accuracy, completeness, and neutrality, even when no one is watching. Do not be afraid to say “I need to clarify” rather than guessing, as well as advocating for proper conditions (breaks, sound quality, prep time). One thing to always keep in mind is that your cause isn’t speed or convenience; it is conveying meaning in a precise and contextual manner.
-
Trusting Your Teams→ Psychological Safety in Courtrooms
Legal interpreters perform best when they feel safe to ask for repetition or clarification and flag cultural misunderstandings.
Infinite behavior can be demonstrated through normalizing interpreter interventions as quality control, not disruption, and supporting fellow interpreters instead of competing.
-
Worthy Rivals → Peer Excellence, Not Undercutting.
Learn from colleagues with stronger legal registers or courtroom presence and avoid underbidding or cutting corners that degrade the profession.
Keep in mind that the “win” is a stronger profession, not a single assignment.
-
Remote and Hybrid Hearings
AI-assisted tools can be used to assist in remote/ hybrid hearings to increase caseloads and language diversity. This can have both a positive and a negative impact.
To have an infinite mindset, interpreters will have to adapt to technology without compromising standards and push back when conditions make accuracy impossible. We should be willing to walk away from work that violates ethics—even if it costs short-term income.
-
Courage To Lead → Ethical Backbone
Leadership isn’t a title; it’s a behavior. Leadership is defined by your actions, not just empty words.
For interpreters, courage can look like:
- Correcting the record when a mistake is made
- Interrupting when the meaning is being lost
- Refusing to “summarize” or soften testimony
- Educating legal professionals about proper interpreter use
Finite vs Infinite Thinking in Legal Interpreting
| Finite Thinking | Infinite Thinking |
| Just get through the case | Protect the process |
| Avoids interruptions | Intervenes for accuracy |
| Competes on price | Competes on standards |
| Short-term compliance | Long-term trust |
Legal interpreters aren’t just service providers—they are guardians of understanding in an infinite system of justice.
The case ends. Trust endures.
Keep the Conversation Going
If this topic resonated with you, be sure to check out our previous blog posts for more insights on the realities of our profession, and the evolving world of judiciary translation and interpreting:
-
- Beyond AI, Beyond the Conference — An invitation to help shape ongoing discussions about AI, ethics, and the human role in interpreting and translation.
- On Verbatim — If “verbatim” really means word for word, why does taking it literally in court sometimes get the truth wrong?
- Not An Infallible Technique, After All — A trusted courtroom technique that usually ensured smooth interpretation failed in one high-pressure moment, forcing a reassessment of judgment, timing, and courtroom dynamics.
You can find these and more in our blog archives!
The images used in this post are sourced from Unsplash and/or Pixabay . They are used for illustrative purposes only.