The Lessons of the Juwan Howard Incident

There’s no shortage of opinions on the altercation between Michigan Coach Juwan Howard and the Wisconsin basketball staff from this past weekend.

But instead of focusing on who was right or wrong and whether punishments were appropriated doled out, we might be wiser to concentrate on the leadership lessons of the episode.

The moment we accept a leadership position, we surrender some personal liberties. We can no longer react emotionally to adversity without our team following suit in some regard. It may sound cliche, but we truly do set the standard for those who follow.

If we preach self-discipline, we ourselves must demonstrate it. If we preach mental toughness, we ourselves must be mentally tough. And if we preach poise under pressure, we ourselves must always remain deaf to the din of chaos around us.

Far too often, though, leaders contradict their words with their actions, giving extra meaning to the phrase, “Do as I say, not as I do.” We must do better.

We must always play our part to get our team members to do what they may not want to while holding them accountable to the standard we’re collectively striving toward.

We must remind ourselves that we serve something bigger than ourselves and thus must prepare differently. We will at times be tempted to fly off the handle and will have our bad days, but once we take the oath to lead, we cannot lose sight of our obligations to maintain our composure no matter the circumstances.

When it comes to our individual behavior in the heat of the moment, it’s always wise to follow the carpenter’s rule: Measure twice, cut once.

It can help us avoid leadership’s many jagged edges.