If You Meet with Ownership - DON'T DO THIS!
If you enjoy pro sports front office drama, The Athletic's story on the past two seasons within the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins is a fascinating read. Recently fired GM Ron Hextall, a former player, comes across as incompetent in his former role, but more striking is how vindictive and petty he was in his role as the leader of the organization, such as cutting a player during the team's annual father-son trip while at dinner with his teammates and father.
Organizations and college athletic departments are notoriously horrendous at hiring, so the fact that a former player like Hextall would ascend to such a role in a premier organization despite showing little ability to manage people is not surprising. What is unforgivable is how he presented himself to the new ownership group when they requested a meeting to discuss Hextall's plan for the team moving forward.
The executives asked to see Morehouse’s and Hextall’s plans for the business and hockey departments, respectively. Morehouse detailed team finances and waning ticket revenue in a PowerPoint presentation, but Hextall was caught off-guard by the request and said the hockey plan was in his head. Ordered to put it on paper, he scrambled that afternoon, hand writing his ideas on a legal pad, transferring them to a Word document and printing out a couple of pages in the hotel’s business office.
How he wasn't fired on the spot after this meeting is beyond me. Hextall eventually got what was coming to him in April when the team announced his firing. But this example serves as a good lesson for any leader or coach: Don't be like Hextall. If you meet with ownership, treat them with respect, show up prepared, and let your attention to detail highlight how you lead and manage people.
Check out The Athletic's full article "Chaos, loathing, and the Big Three: How the Penguins unraveled".
