Pulling a “Favre”: Lessons in employee relations

Thomas Godar, JD, of Whyte, Hirschboeck, Dudek S.C.

In week four of the National Football League season, Brett Favre threw a record six touchdowns for the New York Jets while Aaron Rodgers, the Packers quarterback, was sacked, threw three interceptionsand was taken out of the game with a shoulder injury. Favre played for the Packers for 17 years, amassed virtually every record a quarterback could achieve, and had one of his most productive years and was one completion away from the Super Bowl in 2007. But with all that, some thought he had become a distraction and did not represent the long-term interests of the Green Bay Packers. The two previous seasons he teased the Packers’ management and Packers’ fans with rumors of retirement, not retirement, and allegedly made suggestions/demands that the team acquire or trade for certain players, or sign other players to long-term contracts with the Packers. Following his very successful 2007 season, Brett Favre announced in March that he would retire.

There are few tales, if any, that the Packers begged Brett to stay. They did, however, confirm orally on several occasions that he did mean to retire, and tried to seal the deal by creating plans to retire his jersey at the opening Monday night game of the 2008 season.

However, Brett pulled what will forever after be called a “Favre” by un-retiring, and ultimately forcing the Packers to declare that he was not in their future plans, and trade him, one of the most successful players of all time, to the New York Jets for future draft picks.

Aside from the emotions that this stirred up for members of the Packer nation, can we learn some lessons from this as managers of our most productive employees? Indeed, lessons are rich even if none of us will be faced with the prospect of such a public human resources issue.

1. Stay close to your key employees.

The members of your team want to know you care, and frankly, the more successful they are, the more their contributions should be acknowledged. If you have a great contributor who is either nearing retirement age, or can take his or her skills and accomplishments elsewhere, leave the lines of communication wide open, find out what is exciting that employee, what is giving that employee angst or reservation, and, consistent with the overall goals of the organization, acknowledge, encourage and challenge that employee. Everyone knew that Favre had flirted with retirement for several years, and we do not hear of Ted Thompson, General Manager, or Mike McCarthy, Coach, specifically scheduling a weekend in Kiln, Mississippi with Brett Favre to tell him they loved him. Instead, we hear of family e-mails and phone calls, and certainly less personal and encouraging way of communication. What if McCarthy and Thompson had hopped on a plane immediately after Brett said he wanted to retire, and hashed this out in person?

Stay close to your best performers, remember their needs and egos, and that everyone wants to feel that they are essential.

2. Think strategically: Have a plan B (or C or D).

The Packers had a fine plan A should Brett retire: Aaron Rodgers, long on the sidelines as a number two, would step in. There would be a great celebration in September retiring Brett Favre’s number. A great plan until Brett pulled a “Favre.” Apparently, plan B was to stay the course and make it known privately and publicly that the die had been cast and Brett was not allowed to “un-retire.” Neither plan A nor plan B came to fruition. Brett would not humbly accept the retirement of his jersey, nor would he be publicly persuaded to un-retire his un-retirement. So, instead of a thoughtful plan C or D that would allow this icon of the Packers to continue with the Packers with all his successes and frailties, a plan was essentially forced upon the Packers to take its greatest asset over the past two decades and send it to New York.

While perhaps it was impossible for the Packers to define and execute a plan C or D, in your organization, a much quieter plan C or D, should allow an excellent asset to be productive for your organization for another season, even if there has been some real confusion or dissatisfaction. Quiet reconciliation, perhaps using a third party when the stakes are so high, can be an option. Creation of new or different challenges, or different rewards packages for superstars, including ownership options for those in the private sector or deferred compensation arrangements that reward longevity can be crafted.

A willingness to create and explore plans C and D and E ought to be contemplated.

3. Don’t squander credibility.

This writer has no way of knowing how transparent the communications were between the Packers and Favre. Certainly, we know Favre announced his retirement in March, but was pressure applied for him to do that? And had he been told things by Thompson, as alleged, that were not true or not all completely true? At the end, it appeared that the credibility gap had grown so wide that finding a plan C or D was not an option.

At all levels of employer/employee relationships, honesty is significant. For those superstars with a bigger impact than the norm, and who participate with passion, an organization must recognize that they have an owner’s mentality, and rightly or wrongly believe that they are owed even greater candor, and access to strategic plans. Therefore, even greater transparency in communications is essential. When your best employee can walk because she or he does not believe the organization has been “straight” with them, vulnerability is very significant.

Treat your best employees as invested owners, never deviating from full candor in communications.

4. Check egos at the door.

A strong argument can be made that no great general manager of a national football league team, and no great quarterback achieved that role without a lot of ego. Whether true or not, the need for senior management to check their egos at the door, and make decisions best for the organizations, rather than “winning,” is essential. Without more knowledge of Ted Thompson and the Packers, it is impossible to know what role ego played in this decision for Brett to move on, but certainly our general experience shows that decisions made out of our sense of pride often favor the short-term interest of the individual over the long-term interest of the organization. When it comes to human resources, the long-term success must be shared and the credit given rather than competing for a short-term “ego” win.

Assume your superstars have an ego invested in their accomplishments, and plan your company’s long success without needing to win battles with your best “player.”

Most of us Wisconsin football fans now live with the conflict of hoping for great success for our Packers, and great success for Favre in New York, even as some carry a sense of confusion and even betrayal to their TV sets on Sunday afternoons. However, following the four lessons outlined above in your organization may put you on a win-win path for your organization and well-regarded team.

Don’t let your superstars do a "Favre."