Ever wonder why a fresh-minted manager storms in and starts trash-talking every project, process, and pixel the last boss touched?

Here’s research that tells you why:

A 2024 study out of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business tracked 2,600 leadership transitions and found that managers who loudly discredit their predecessors enjoy a 12% faster rise in title (and comp) during their first two years. Turns out the “I’m here to fix the mess” narrative plays well with execs hungry for quick wins.

Why?

Because bravado still gets confused with brilliance.

And negativity? Too many boards mistake it for “clarity.”

So the newbie who trashes yesterday’s roadmap? “Visionary.”

The one who renames every initiative? “Strategic reset.”

The one who calls the old guard “legacy thinkers”? “Culture change agent.”

But while these self-anointed saviors preen, their teams start to:

→ Lose faith in institutional knowledge

→ Question whether their past work has any value

→ Spend energy defending the old instead of building the new

→ Polish LinkedIn profiles and eye the exit

Morale tanks, momentum stalls, and the very talent that could have turbo-charged the new leader’s success walks out the door.

Here’s the kicker: dismiss-and-replace behavior is often a cloak for insecurity. If your first move is to burn the previous playbook, you’re signaling one thing - “I don’t know how to build on it.” Real confidence is additive, not destructive.

We see the same theater in politics every election cycle. A new administration barrels in, labels everything “a disaster,” and positions itself as the lone adult in the room. The intent? Distance from predecessors and frame any future progress - no matter how incremental - as heroic salvation. It’s page one in the desperation playbook, and employees spot the falseness from a mile away.

The antidote? Humility plus curiosity. Great managers walk in, shut up, and listen. They honor the wins that came before, learn why certain paths were taken, and then layer their own perspective on top. They co-create the next chapter instead of ripping out the pages.

If organizations promoted leaders for empathy, self-awareness, and the guts to celebrate what already works - rather than the flair to stage a coup - workplaces would be rocket ships, not revolving doors.

Talent deserves the top seat, not theatrics.