Early this morning on the team flight back from their 62-41 loss to Arizona State, USC athletic director Pat Haden relieved head coach Lane Kiffin of his coaching responsibilities.
While the news was sudden, it certainly was not shocking. The team and program had been in decline for some time as Kiffin was on the hot seat. ESPN’s Gene Wojciecowski wrote a great article about Kiffin’s dismissal which you can read by clicking here.
As I read the article, I gleaned 10 Reasons Leaders Get Fired. Check them out and see if any apply to you:
- Leaders Get Fired For Missed Expectations – USC lost games to Washington State, generally the worst team in the Pac-10, and after giving up 62 points to Arizona State. This is unacceptable for a program with the expectations (however unrealistic they may be) which exist at USC.
- Leaders Get Fired For Losing Customers – The Coliseum has too many empty seats to satisfy the financial needs of USC. Also, the most popular team in the city of Los Angeles is no longer the Trojans but rather the rival UCLA Bruins.
- Leaders Get Fired For No Longer Having The Confidence Of Their Team – Your team has to be ABLE to help you. But they also have to WANT to help you for your leadership to be a success.
- Leaders Get Fired For No Longer Having The Confidence Of Their Boss – Partly because of increased criticism of a demanding alumni base, Hayden had lost confidence in Kiffin.
- Leaders Get Fired For Not Connecting With Key Influencers – Call it politics or social intelligence, but connecting with influencers is a key element in any leader’s success. While comfortable in the football facility, Kiffin was never comfortable dealing socially with the alumni.
- Leaders Get Fired When They Are Not Liked As A Person – Kiffin said, “When you’re a sports figure and people dislike you, they’re going to look for the negatives. Once you start rooting against somebody, you’re always going to look for the negative in everything they do.”
- Leaders Get Fired For Things They Can’t Control – NCAA sanctions from the previous administration limited Kiffin to 55 players rather than 85. This is 30 players who could have been at his disposal.
- Leaders Get Fired Because Of Loss Of Talent – Once again, see the loss of scholarships. While most people felt this something Kiffin would never overcome, the alumni did. Also, ESPN’s Shelley Smith also reports that “recruits are dropping like flies”.
- Leaders Get Fired Because They Are In The Wrong Position – ESPN’s Danny Kannell pointed out that Kiffin makes a great quarterback coach or offensive coordinator but not a great head coach.
- Leaders Get Fired Because Of Fractured Leadership – ESPN’s Smith also noted grumblings were coming out of USC about Kiffin’s staff being quite frustrated.
If you are a leader who is experiencing any of these 10 items, make corrections today. If not, sadly one day you may be fired as well.
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