Ken King's Leadership Example

I am a proud Calgary Flames fan - though it has been hard the past five years, being eliminated in the first round four times and then not even making the playoffs last year. I have also been a decent Darryl Sutter supporter, realizing he's made some mistakes but have not been one howling for his neck for the last year. Nonetheless, I admit that yesterday's decision that Darryl Sutter step down as GM was necessary for the club to move on positively.

I love leadership... reading about it, talking about it, doing it, and every once in a while you get a chance to see good leadership. Yesterday as Flames President & CEO Ken King led the press conference, I think it was just another example of watching (listening to) great leadership.

First, King provided clarity on everything, even before the questions were asked. He stated that he had asked Darryl Sutter to step down. Now those story-hungry reporters have no question (did he resign or was he pushed?). Then he answered the Jay Feaster questions with his statement, "I asked Jay if he would be willing to take on the interim GM role? and he indicated that yes he would accept the role, though he did not take the assistant GM role with this goal in mind" - which we honestly all wondered about when King hired Feaster to "assist" Sutter in the summer. Finally, King was clear that both men solidly supported the coaching staff and that this was a vote of confidence for Brent Sutter and staff. King was also clear that he asked both of them (Sutter & Feaster) the question independently, not because he didn't support them, but because he wanted to hear it from them separately. Again... well, there's go another batch of questions the reporters all wanted to ask.

Secondly, King honoured the character of both men. In honouring Darryl Sutter, he highlighted his excellent work in returning the franchise from the sorrowful late 90's and early 2000's. He also commented that Darryl Sutter's response when asked to step down was "what can I do to help the club in this transition?" Then in honouring Feaster he indicated the new GM's character when he said, "The first thing he said was that he was willing to accept it, but it needed to be re-stated again that this was not why he took the assistant GM job." (You mean, you didn't take the assistant GM job knowing that Darryl Sutter was being publically crucified in Calgary and that you would probably get the GM job as soon as anything went wrong? WOW! Even more amazingly, I think King & Sutter & Feaster have me believing them.)

I was just "excited" after listening to the press conference. I believe Ken King and Darryl Sutter are/were good friends. And I believe this was a tough day for Ken King. And yet it was such an example of "good leadership" and it was so beautiful to see.