WARNING - this blog is about football. I am a Michigan Wolverine. I earned my MBA at the University of Michigan, but fell in love with the team before then, when my freshman year roommate, who was from Ann Arbor, got me rooting for them.
This year, Michigan won the National Championship for football. The team went 15-0, which on paper looks like an easy ride to the trophy. However, in reality, they had to overcome some pretty big challenges along the way. Jim Harbaugh, the head coach, was suspended for the first 3 games of the season because he bought a recruit a cheeseburger. For some reason, this is not allowed by the NCAA. Anyone who watches college football knows that the first few games are pretty easy for most Power 5 teams, so the head coaching duties were split between the other coaches, and the team won the games.
The season progressed and another “scandal” emerged. An off-field analyst for the team was accused of stealing opposing teams’ signs and sharing them with the Michigan team. If you ask any current or former player (as happened many times on ESPN), they will all say the same thing - this is common practice at every level and if you think your team isn’t doing it, you’re not watching the sideline close enough. The problem with the Michigan analyst is that he is accused of filming the signs in person, which is against the rules (stealing them from TV broadcasts is allowed).
This scandal marinated as Michigan kept winning. Their success was attributed to knowing the plays ahead of time and not to their hard work and talent. Even when Michigan beat Michigan State 49-0 and Michigan State ran the plays into the huddle from the sideline every time, people kept complaining. Michigan turned inwards and focused on their process.
Coach Harbaugh concentrated the team on executing the fundamentals really well. They focused on the “next man up”, no matter what role they played. The team functions really well as a unit, and the culture is focused on “THE TEAM” and collectively winning. The players, coaches, and staff were focused on the end goal (a national championship), not individual statistics and awards.
The sign stealing scandal came to a head in mid-November. Michigan’s schedule difficulty was back end loaded, and their hardest 2-3 games were at the end of the season. The night before the Penn State game, while the team was flying to State College, the Big Ten announced that Coach Harbaugh could not be on the sideline for any remaining regular season game. The next day, Coach Sherrone Moore took on the additional responsibility of being the head coach,led the team to victory over Penn State and proceeded to repeat this success against Maryland and the despised Ohio State. Not only was Coach Moore prepared to step up into his role, but the rest of the team was prepared as well. Zak Zinter, starting offensive guard, broke his tibia and fibula during the Ohio State game. The right tackle slid over to take his spot, a new right tackle entered the game, and Michigan scored a running touchdown on the very next play.
Although businesses and football may seem different on the surface, many of the practices used by Jim Harbaugh can be adapted to the workplace. By documenting processes and clearly defining roles, companies can help their employees step up to cover absences both expected and unexpected. Standardized and documented operations help with teamwork, confidence, independence, and build career paths for people because they are prepared and ready to assume more responsibility.
Michigan had to deal with one more change this offseason - Coach Harbaugh accepted the head coaching role for the Los Angeles Chargers. How will they replace him? Easily! Coach Moore was promoted to head coach because he was already prepared and a proven leader. The only confusion among the fanbase and players was “Why did this decision take so long?”
If you want to improve your team's readiness to tackle any situation, reach out to Beck Insights. We can standardize your operations so you feel confident and prepared stepping away.
