Jim Harbaugh – Secrets of a Turnaround Legend
Love him or loathe him, Coach Jim Harbaugh’s superpower turnaround proficiency officially entered the stuff of iconoclastic legend January 8, 2024. How does he do it? Now returning to the NFL as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers (after another legendary streak at Michigan), Harbaugh was once known as “Captain Comeback” when he quarterbacked the Indianapolis Colts. Harbaugh has engineered near-impossible turnarounds for programs at Stanford (1-11 to 12-1 in a year), the San Francisco 49ers (decisively breaking a long Super Bowl appearance drought) and now a national champion crown for a once-sputtering Michigan (twice, if you count his own brief Michigan slump in 2020).
How does he do it time and again? The WSJ’s Ben Cohen notes a simple playbook, tightly and relentlessly executed. Before we take a look at that, consider what’s at stake for a head coach – read CEO – in such situations. As Cohen writes in his weekly Wall Street Journal “Science of Success” column, “There are few industries with billions of dollars at stake in which the hiring of a single person makes as big of a difference as it does in college football. This is a sport where one charismatic leader can bend reality and rebuild an entire team through sheer force of will.”
How extraordinary is this amazing streak of stunning Harbaugh achievements? The leadership task of turning around a bottomed-out program ranks among the near-impossible.
Cohen tapped an expert in strategy, who explained that two types of turnarounds set the table: the difficult ones and the ones that are nearly impossible. “The difference,” Cohen was told, “is the underlying health of the organization’s resources.”
Mediocre performance can be transformed if sufficient resources to be competitive exist. Add a uber-focused and experienced motivator like Harbaugh and things start clicking.
Coupled with an uncanny ability to “instantly make teams much, much better,” Harbaugh promises “to attack each day with ‘an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.’”
Build up confidence
What’s the first and most important mission for a leader engaged in turning around a flat program? Restoring confidence. Under Harbaugh’s winning program, forget fear-based, bullying approaches that sap team motivation and innovation. “Lightning blots of confidence burst out of the guy,” observed one Michigan business professor about the champion coach.
Harbaugh is “obsessed with basics and fundamentals,” writes Cohen. The formula for winning is simple, but relentlessly coached:
- Work hard
- Get better every day
- Watch that improvement compound
After working on restoring confidence and setting the stage for success, the next step focuses on “identifying the problem and recruiting the kinds of people who can solve them.”
Avoid a critical error
Cohen points out one critical error that some turnaround CEOs make: “The typical playbook for a corporate turnaround involves cutting jobs and slashing costs, but reaching for the nearest chain saw doesn’t work in football.”
In fact, programs like Harbaugh’s spend more money in building up success.
How can you execute this simple playbook? Build up, deploy professional competence and example, set high standards, don’t tear people down – restore their confidence and make certain that the fundamentals are covered. Then watch the small, consecutive results and progress compound into success.
Does it work? As Cohen points out: “He’s applied that formula so many times to so many teams that case studies should be taught in business schools about Harbaugh.”
Believe
Harbaugh “believes in himself, which makes players believe in themselves… his relentless positivity and unshakable confidence tend to have a medicinal effect.”
A winning strategy can start with you. Are ready to model confidence, motivate your team, and achieve the near-impossible?
By Michael Snyder, MEK.
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Hi Mike. I agree. Enthusiasm and work ethic are a great combination. A steady temperament adds confidence to colleagues. Mitch Daniels did a marvelous job at Purdue and left us with a high quality successor who is off to a great start. Be well.