Leadership lessons from the Jim Harbaugh era of University of Michigan football

I am a graduate of the University of Michigan and lived through the rollercoaster ride of Jim Harbaugh's reign in Ann Arbor, which recently ended with his return to the National Football League after winning the national championship at Michigan. The past nine years have provided many lessons that entrepreneurs can learn from regarding how to approach leadership. This article summarizes the best of these leadership lessons to potentially apply in your business.

Brief history

Michigan's football program is the winningest in college football history, with a rich tradition of excellence and a passionate fan base that expects nothing less than winning championships every year. And when head coach Lloyd Carr retired after the 2007 season, no one expected it to be followed by two unglamorous coaching stints for Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke between 2008 and 2014. This situation made Michigan fans even more eager to recapture their heroic ways. And who better to answer that call than Jim Harbaugh, a true “Michigan Man,” a much-loved disciple of Bo Schembeler, and a former captain of Michigan’s stellar team, who has had outstanding coaching successes everywhere he has been (e.g. San Diego, Stanford, San Francisco 49ers). 'ers). Harbaugh has agreed to stop captaining the Michigan football team beginning in the 2015 season, in order to “save” his beloved alma mater and return Michigan to greatness.

Leadership lessons from this story:

Your strategy really matters:

When Harbaugh started, he was persuaded to try a wider style attack, with speed in space, which was what the better teams were using at the time. But with all the big bodies in the greatest college, they were not winning in the tunnels on the defensive and offensive lines. It wasn't until Harbaugh returned to his tried-and-true style of play, the "extreme use maneuver" of football, that he really began to excel. This was not a popular strategy, with the slow play style resulting from “three meters and a cloud of dust”, but it was a strategy Harbaugh knew well and had worked well in the past. So, he paid all his chips, repeated that strategy, and the wins started to follow. So, like anything else, do what you know and believe is best, regardless of any “noise” that may suggest the contrary.

Your management team really matters:

Harbaugh rotated through a group of assistant coaches during his tenure. Things didn't start to work out for Michigan until he was introduced to the defensive systems used in the National Football League by his brother John Harbaugh with the Baltimore Ravens. Harbaugh hired two defensive coordinators from the Ravens, Mike McDonald and Jesse Minter, and those guys helped turn Michigan's defense into the premier defense in all of college football, in many years. And this isn't even talking about the addition of physical conditioning and nutrition coaches in the world class, because Harbaugh knew those areas were just as important to success as learning the playbook. So, make sure you surround yourself with the best people possible.

“Don't show your actions publicly unless you have to.”

The only big criticism of Harbaugh has been his constant affinity with the National Football League. In 2022, he was with the Vikings out of Minnesota. In 2023, he was with the Denver Broncos. In 2024, it was with the Los Angeles Chargers that eventually hired Harbaugh. Even if Harbaugh intended to create negotiating leverage to renew his contract with the University of Michigan, you're not doing it publicly in the media, for all current players, coaches and recruits to show. It doesn't create a sense of stability, and people will naturally have to look for the door, especially with opposing coaches feeding this message on their court. Which is part of the reason why Michigan's recruiting class has faltered. So, keep your cards close to your chest any time your actions could negatively impact the team.

Time is everything

If Harbaugh had left Michigan after his failed 2020 season, his reputation would have always been damaged. It would have been his first real failure, and his reputation with the university he loved would have transformed him from beloved Michigan man to pariah. But, by setting the record straight, and leaving after winning the national championship, all is right in the world. Harbaugh executed his goals, delighted the fans and will be remembered as the man who “saved” Michigan football. And if he wants to go and want to be in the NFL and leave Michigan, so be it, we wish you the best. In three short years, Harbaugh's reputation evolved from "loser" to "legend." And let's be real, there's only one way to go when you're at the top. It wasn't likely that Michigan would have another unbeaten season in 2024 with top-ranked programs like Texas, Washington, Oregon, USC and Ohio State on the table, on the heels of joining four Teams from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten are in next season. Time is a critical component to your success and reputation, so use it wisely in your efforts.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it

On the heels of Michigan's first national championship since 1997, losing a head football coach is not what an athletic director wants to deal with. But his administrative interventions were quick and appropriate. He elevated offensive coordinator, Sherron Moore, to head coach. Why? First and last, because Harbaugh said he was the next man to carry the torch, and the director trusted Harbaugh's opinion. But more importantly, the players loved him, and he would preserve Michigan's unique culture well into the future, giving the team a greater chance for additional championships in the future with a winning recipe on its hands. Everyone remembers Moore's success filling in for Harbaugh during his three-game suspension last season (due to the signal-stealing scandal), as he won the right to be present in three games against Michigan's three strongest opponents that year (Penn, Maryland and Ohio State). So, he was known. Could Michigan have hired a head coach from another program? Yes, it was possible. But he would have risked dropping the entire cart in the process.

The last rings

Thank you Coach Harbaugh for all you accomplished during your time at Michigan, you exceeded everyone's goals with three straight wins over OSU, three straight Big Ten titles, three straight trips to the College Football Playoff, and a national championship this year. It may take you an additional two or three years, but you will eventually succeed. We wish you nothing but success in Los Angeles. And for all the small business owners out there, see if you can apply any of these leadership lessons to your business!