5 Reasons Why Bashing Your Predecessor Helps No One

Why pulling the trigger of blame is never a good idea

The buck stops with you.

Scary thought isn’t it? Each and every day, you make decisions that impact your teams, customers, culture, and ultimately, your bottom line. As the leader you pull triggers…it’s what you do. You’re focused on aiming down the right range, pulling the right triggers, to hit the bullseye for your organization. Some days you hit it, some days you don’t.

Early in my ReLeader journey, I quickly learned that one of the most challenging things I would have to do is carry around a loaded gun that I could never pull the trigger on.

This particular trigger was like a hair trigger, so tempting to pull. It was a trigger called “blame it on my predecessor.” As a ReLeader, you always carry this metaphorical weapon with you. It represents intimate knowledge and a behind-the-scenes understanding of the mistakes your predecessor made. This gun is loaded with history and documentation, and it is now your responsibility to handle it with care.

The challenge with this trigger lies in the fact that you're leading through a mess that isn't of your making, yet its impact echoes on your leadership. Sure, you've created your own fair share of messes, but this one isn't yours! It's like driving a car that's been previously wrecked, but not by you. Yet, the perception is such that everyone who sees you in the driver's seat assumes you're the one who caused the wreck.

The urge to pull this trigger can be incredibly strong. Instincts will tell you that pulling this trigger would vindicate you of any responsibilities for this inherited mess you find yourself leading. Perhaps pulling the trigger would prop you up as “better than your predecessor.”

However, I feel compelled to warn you that succumbing to this intoxicating temptation would simultaneously do dreadful damage to the organizational culture, and ultimately your leadership credibility. You cannot fire this weapon to vent frustrations or assign blame, but rather, you must find a way to carry its weight while charting a new course for the organization.

I know, I’m spoiling all your fun and I may have already lost you. But if you’re still reading, I want to explain why I think this is so vitally important to your ReLeader success.

Here are 5 reasons why placing blame is a mistake:

1. Because You’re Bigger Than That

   To pull the trigger of blame makes you look small and insecure. When I played basketball in college there was nothing more annoying to me than someone who “pushed off.” I was a big man down in the paint (tall guy down by the basket for those who don’t know basketball lingo). When the ball was shot, some of the shorter players would come down in the paint, put their hand on my shoulder and push off of me to gain more elevation in order to get the rebound.

   I hope you’re catching the analogy here. Only small players need to push off to rise above the taller ones. The same is true in leadership, you don’t need to push off the failures and mistakes of your predecessor to establish yourself as a good leader. You’re better than that. Do the hard work of keeping your finger off that trigger and establish yourself as a ReLeader who doesn’t need to blame others in order to achieve great things. Don’t push off.
   

2. Because Respect is Earned, but Honor is Given
   “R.E.S.P.E.C.T., find out what it means to me.” Aretha Franklin taught us all about respect. Deep down we all seek it. We want to be respected and we can easily be motivated to do things in order to achieve it. Respect must be earned. It is gained by the spoonful and lost by the bucket full. But honor is something far different. My pastor and mentor, Craig Groeschel says, “Respect is earned, honor is given.” You do not need to respect someone to honor them. By refraining from blaming your predecessor, you demonstrate humility, maturity, and a commitment to positive change. This allows you to build a foundation of trust, enabling you to earn the respect and support of the team as you navigate the challenges ahead. By honoring your predecessor, you actually gain respect.
   

3. Because Your Trigger Starts a Chain Reaction
   As the leader, whatever trigger you pull, sets a precedence in your organizational culture. Pulling that trigger would undoubtedly create a behavioral pattern within your organizational culture. Maybe not overnight, but eventually it would create an environment of finger-pointing, blame-shifting, and mistrust. By choosing to honor your predecessors, you recognized the importance of preserving the positive aspects of the existing culture. This requires you to acknowledge the strengths, achievements, and contributions of those who came before you. Through this act of recognition, you foster an atmosphere of respect, unity, and collaboration, enabling the organization to move forward in a more harmonious and productive manner.
   

4. Because you’re not perfect either

   If you’re a ReLeader, chances are another ReLeader will follow you someday. Someone is going to come in behind you and take the wheel not knowing your “why’s.” Why you had to lay off people, why you had to cut budgets, why the economy’s collapse impacted the decline, or why your season of exhaustion caused you to stumble. We must remember that our predecessor had a “why” too. We don’t know the full story because we weren’t there. Even if we were a part of the organization physically, we were not in our predecessor’s life intimately. We do not have the context of their situations or the complexities of their circumstances. We don’t honor them for what they did or didn’t do, we honor them because they were human then like we are now. And because we are hopeful that someday someone will give us the grace and honor that we don’t deserve either.
   

5. Because God will honor you for honoring them

   You may not call yourself a Christian, but I want to bring my perspective on this topic as a Christ-follower for just a moment. Romans 12:10 reads, “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves” (NIV). This word honor in Greek is the word “timē” and is translated to mean, “a valuing by which the price is fixed.” The honor that Paul speaks of is not measured on a sliding scale, but a fixed one. It is not an honor that can be decreased or increased based on performance. It is either given or withheld. David did not honor his predecessor Saul because he deserved it. He honored Saul because he understood that honor is fixed and unwavering. If we are to love the way Christ loved us, we must understand that honor is given, not earned.

I know it’s tempting, but take your finger off the trigger and get back to the hard work of ReLeading. Honor their time at the helm and watch God honor yours.

I only gave 5 reasons. What are some other reasons blaming your predecessor would be a bad idea? Put some thoughts in the comments and let’s start a conversation.