What Jim Harbaugh Did To Get His Players To Believe In Themselves

Summary

Regardless of whether or not you like American football (gridiron), there’s some big leadership takeaways in the story of the  Michigan Wolverines’ head coach, Jim Harbaugh. After losing eight consecutive games to the team’s arch-rival Ohio State, many people wanted Harbaugh gone. Harbaugh’s players, however, stood behind their coach. Harbaugh did what all great leaders do—get their people to believe in themselves. Harbaugh took the following approach with his team:

Believe in yourself and your team. Harbaugh instilled purpose and pride in those he led. He did this despite a soul-destroying losing streak.

Establish the purpose. People want to believe in something greater than themselves. For the Wolverines, it was to establish (or re-establish) a winning tradition. 

Set the goals. Goals are the milestones that anchor purpose. 

Support the effort. Good leaders provide the resources teams need to succeed. 

Teach resilience. Leaders show how to deal with adversity.

Maintain composure. When things get tough, people look to their leader. If a leader is acting jittery or upset, people feel that tension. 

Maintaining that positive and consistent leadership framework led Harbaugh and his players to a 42-27 victory over their long-time arch-rivals in November 2021.

References

Jun 2020 Forbes Build Your Organization’s Confidence Now

Dec 2020 CNBC Op-ed: Workers across U.S. are losing confidence. We need to fix that before it’s too late

Jul 2021 Business Australia How To Help Your Team Work Better Together

Nov 2021 Gallup Effective Leadership: How to Be a Better Leader