Recently,  there was a great deal of controversy regarding the statements made by Cleveland Cavalier’s owner Dan Gilbert, after his employee LaBron James decided to accept employment elsewhere with the Miami Heat.  Gilbert was very incensed at James taking a job with his competitor and lashed out at him, in a written PR statement issued by his company.    He published words such as “cowardly betrayal”, “narcissistic”, ”disloyal”  in his statement about James.  Many of us have had employees leave our firms and accept employment elsewhere, it’s a fact of being in business.  Depending upon the employee who leaves, we may be as hurt or angry as Dan Gilbert was, however, airing our opinion in public is simply shortsighted and self defeating. 

Most of us have the advantage of replacing the departing employee relatively easily compared to Dan Gilbert.  After all, there is only one LaBron James.  By badmouthing James on his way to Miami, it could be argued that Gilbert dug himself into a deeper hole because ego-centered athletes, like any high achieving employee, will think twice about going to work an owner that is viewed as a back-stabber.  In an industry with only 30 employers, like the NBA, Gilbert has moved himself closer to the bottom of the list of attractive employment options for future employees, and has certainly shut the door on James ever returning to Cleveland at a future date, as many professional athletes end up doing.

As leaders and managers, we are expected to take the highroad and wish our employees well when they leave.  Some companies even throw employee’s going away parties, (which I have never understood).   There is very little, if anything, gained by bad mouthing an employee when they leave.  If I were Gilbert, I would have kept in mind that LaBron James had once been a valuable asset. Even though he is no longer going to be part of my organization, I would still want him to have as good a feeling about the company as possible. James made Gilbert and the Cavaliers a lot of money, and the last thing you want to do is burn bridges in a small industry.