Beware the knight in shining armor trap lurking in all of us. All leaders want to win their team’s respect right off the bat, but trashing a predecessor as a way to set ourselves up as the great savior who will restore the kingdom to its rightful place of glory… Well, it’s just unprofessional and can backfire on you in so many ways.
Just ask Sean Payton who, upon arriving as the Denver Broncos’ new coach this summer, proceeded to rip the guy who had his job, Nathaniel Hackett, as the “worst” of the bad actors responsible for Denver’s woes the previous year. “There’s 20 dirty hands for what was allowed in the fricking dressing room,” opined Payton, making some technical points about the Broncos’ offensive woes before delivering the coup de grace upon his predecessor, Hackett. “It was one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL. That’s how bad it was.”
The truth is more that Payton’s comment was one of the worst breeches of professionalism by any leader. That’s how bad it was. Some rushed to Payton’s defense by pointing out that he was being intentional in his remarks, drawing attention to himself and Hackett to shield his players and protect their egos. Others wondered whether he fully realized that he was “on the record” when he spoke to the reporter who shared Payton’s thoughts.
Doesn’t matter. What matters is that Payton has now repositioned himself as more of a Darth Vader than a Luke Skywalker. The problem with attempting to insinuate yourself into your new employee’s graces by dissing your predecessor is that some of the people who are still around may have liked your predecessor. And in this small world we live in, that someone might not even be in your organization but will still come to the defense of the disrespected.
That’s exactly what happened with Payton in the person of a certain Super Bowl MVP and future Hall of Famer named Aaron Rodgers, who had been coached by Hackett during some of the great years in Green Bay. Today, Hackett and Rodgers are reunited on the New York Jets where Rodgers has landed after a Hall of Fame career in Green Bay and where Hackett serves as offensive coordinator.
Rodgers minced no words about his feelings toward Hackett or Payton’s public appraisal of him. “My love for Hack goes deep, you know, we had some great years together in Green Bay,” Rodgers said. “(We) kept in touch, love him and his family…And on the field, he’s arguably my favorite coach I’ve ever had in the NFL. Just his approach to it — he makes it fun, how he cares about the guys, just how he goes about his business with respect, with leadership, with honesty, with integrity.
“I thought it was way out of line, inappropriate, and I think he (Payton) needs to keep my coaches’ names out of his mouth.”
Rodgers’ assessment was widely echoed by his teammates, who are now in the position of enjoying a Rocky Mountain-sized chip on their shoulders even before the pre-season is over.
Payton has tried to walk his comments back in various ways, including a classic unapologetic-apology, “I said what I said, and obviously I need to show more restraint.” He also chastised himself for “stepping in it” when he should have known better. All of this suggests that he’s sorry for being called out rather than being unprofessional, which is really the point. When you trash your predecessor (or a competitor of any kind), you invite the people you’re trying to impress to wonder what you’d say about them if presented with the right opportunity.
Back-biting sucks the air out of the room. One only need recall another fairly recent and high-profile example of shade throwing by Disney CEO Bob Iger who publicly discussed how his successor-turned-predecessor Bob Chapek “created a huge divide” during his short tenure at Disney. Even at the highest level of accomplishment, the temptation for throwing shade is always strong but succeeds only in sucking the air of the room — air that is better spent focusing on ways to improve the organization. Iger certainly should have known better.
The best course of action for any of us who find ourselves in the position of taking over for someone else is to let our actions do the talking. Make your mark in the only way that matters in the long run by implementing good practices and setting an example of the kind of values you expect your team to respect. They don’t need your protection; they need your inspiration. That’s what a great leader is supposed to do.
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