Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cavs, wrote a seething open letter to the fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He shared his frustrations, anger and hurt. Reading between the lines you could see that they basically did everything LeBron asked of them, whether it pertained to the coach, players, spending money beyond the cap, whatever. Really, there was nothing that Gilbert and the Cavs didn’t do to try to satisfy all of LeBron’s wants and wishes. Well, we all know what happened, right? – LeBron left. In spite of everything the Cavs did. He said he had to do what he felt was best for him.
Lessons for leaders: It’s bad leadership to think that you can’t afford to lose a player. Catering to a specific individual, to the degree that it goes against the organization’s values and vision, puts you in a bad position. I am not suggesting that you treat everybody alike (I don’t agree with that), but I am saying that you can’t sacrifice the team of the future for the sake of one person. Those kinds of moves will always come back to haunt you – just ask Dan Gilbert.
No matter what – sacrifice the one for the many, never the many for the one. Whom are you afraid of losing? It may be having a bigger affect on your future than you realize.
