Lessons in Leadership: Why the Cleveland Cavaliers Fired One of the Best Coaches in Basketball
Justin Bariso
Founder & Principal at EQ Applied | Management Thinker & Doer | Emotional Intelligence Student & Teacher | Inc. and TIME Contributor
Picture the scene: You've just been hired to lead a great company with loads of potential and a promising future. Shortly after taking the job, a leading expert is added to your team. Together, you turn the company into an industry leader, and you match or exceed all reasonable expectations.
Shortly thereafter, you’re fired.
That was the intro to my article for Inc.com this morning, detailing recent events involving David Blatt, head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. (There are some extra details in that piece that I don't cover here; if you care to read, here's the link.) Last Friday, Blatt was fired by the Cavaliers organization. This despite the fact that he was able to guide the Cavaliers to the league finals (in his first year as an NBA coach), and the fact that the team leads the division halfway through the current season.
Many onlookers were shocked, including a number of Blatt's fellow coaches. But those with more insight into the situation knew this was coming.
In a press conference announcing Blatt's dismissal, Cavs General Manager David Griffin claimed the decision was necessary due to the “disconnect” and “lack of spirit” among the team. It's true that the Cavaliers' single goal of an NBA championship would be difficult to achieve with such an environment, which seemed to be worsening in recent weeks.
But what factors led to the Cavs' current situation? And more importantly, what lessons do we gain that can help you, your career, or your business?
What Changed?
The Cleveland Cavaliers organization hired David Blatt because he was a proven winner. One of the most successful coaches in European basketball history, Coach Blatt had won multiple championships and “coach of the year” honors.
The idea was for Blatt to bring needed experience and a culture of winning to a young group of players. But things suddenly changed in the summer of 2014 when NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James announced he was returning home to Ohio, to help Cleveland win its first NBA championship. The Cavaliers went from rebuilding mode to championship contender, literally overnight.
Cavs management knew there wasn't a lot of time. True, James was in his prime at the age of 29, but the window of opportunity would only get smaller as the years went on. Griffin made sure James had the support he needed to win. Then, he had to sit back and wait.
What effect did all of this have on Blatt and the coaching situation? As ESPN reports:
"David was hired to coach a developmental team and young players who would've wanted to please him," one team source said. "He ended up coaching a finished product where the players expected him to please them."
Blatt may have come to Cleveland with an awesome reputation, but to LeBron and his teammates, he was a rookie coach who had never played in the NBA.
The next year and a half was a back-and-forth of learning and adapting, success and failure. For the most part, the Cavs won. But a series of missteps led to the disconnect mentioned earlier.
If you're put in a position to lead a team, pay attention to the following lessons:
Respect isn't a gift. It needs to be earned.
Don’t expect your team to automatically hold you in high regard. In fact, your previous accomplishments are irrelevant.
That being said, there's a reason you've been put into this position. You have knowledge and experience that the others don't have. Look for opportunities to teach and share your gifts, and the respect will come.
Be humble, but also be confident.
Favoritism doesn't help anyone.
Favoritism and partiality will undermine your leadership in a major way.
In an exclusive interview with NBA.com, former Cavalier Brendan Heywood claims that Coach Blatt was quick to point out team members' mistakes, but wouldn’t do the same with LeBron. In Heywood's opinion, this caused the coach to fall more out of favor with the rest of the team.
The most successful leaders know that consistency is key when dealing with your team. This doesn't mean treating everyone exactly the same, but individuals must be held accountable for their actions, including fellow company leaders.
And of course, if you refuse to correct high-performers, they'll never get better.
Even the best make mistakes.
It’s easy for us to point out mistakes without being in the situation. The truth is, David Blatt did a remarkable job with the circumstances he was given--possibly better than 99% of those given that chance.
There were plenty of mistakes here from all sides. This could easily be an analysis of what management could have done better, or what the players could have done better. No one is perfect, and we'll all handle certain situations better than others.
You should view any mistakes you make in a leadership role the way I hope Coach Blatt, LeBron, and David Griffin will look at their own--as learning experiences.
If you do, you'll be better prepared for the next time.
What do you think? Did David Blatt get the raw end of the deal? Any lessons I missed? Look forward to hearing from you in the comments.
Image credit: Erik Drost from United States (David Blatt) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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As an author and one of LinkedIn's Top Voices, I share my thoughts on management best practices and organizational culture weekly. If you're interested in reading my free monthly newsletter, click here or contact me via email using jbariso[at]insight-global.de. (Or feel free to follow me here on LinkedIn or on Twitter @JustinJBariso.)
I also write for Inc. and TIME. Some other articles you might enjoy:
Coach | Teacher | Podcast Host | Lifelong Learner | Sales Leader
8 年There is also a culture issue in play here as well. Compare the Cavs organization to another organization in the NBA that not only brought in a "foreign" coach but also a female coach. Did their best players complain or go behind the head coaches back?
Managing Director at Recreational Services
8 年An interesting decision made around the cultural requirement for a top end Sportsmen in LeBron. The win at all cost attitude runs true in professional sport, and building towards that win is not always realistic, results today is what sponsors and fans want to see. But I would have thought there was an opportunity to build using the strengths of Blatt and LeBron. Blatt may have had his chance over that year to make it work and by the looks of it he may have favoured LeBron and lost the confidence of the rest of the team. But as with the All Blacks culture change in recent years, within a team, leadership should come from all levels to maintain a long term wining culture, no matter who is in the team. So although I totally agree with the 3 lessons stated, who was the leader that fell over here, Blatt or LeBron? The nature of sport is the coach is always accountable.
seasonal June-September
8 年They need to up their defense, play love in a more vital role in the offense, and everyone pick it up with energy 100% of the game not 85%. As a leader Chemistry and Respect is key the players play for you or tune the coach out. I don't see them beating the winner from the west this yr or in the near future they need a couple more players for match ups. Its not easy to win a championship and its harder to stay a champion.
Payments expert from processing to distribution
8 年I once had an opportunity to meet with senior management at a company who had recently been hired for his "leadership" at his previous company in a different industry. Took about 2 minutes of conversation for me to realize he didn't know the industry, the challenges, or how to solve them. Like Blatt, he lost credibility and became an ineffective leader. Its not that his past accomplishments were "irrelevant," its that he failed to make his past accomplishments relevant in his new role.