Leadership in Athletics: The Intensity of Tom Izzo

Tom Izzo, head coach of the Michigan State University (MSU) Spartans, is known for being a passionate, tough coach who pushes his players and teams hard. On Saturday, March 23^rd in a game against the University of Minnesota, Coach Izzo gave an intense, verbal scolding to freshman Aaron Henry.

Cassius Winston, the team captain, stepped up and intervened diffusing the situation. The Spartans went on to win the game.

Coach Izzo shrugged off the criticism and pointed out that others do not understand his methods. Many former players also came to his defense. The day after, Izzo stated, “To me, it was ridiculous the way it blew up. I would publicly thank the many, many people that saw it as ridiculous.”

The intense exchange happened during a nationally televised game and drew the attention of many people. It has since spurred a public debate on whether or not Coach Izzo’s actions are acceptable.

Aaron Henry addressed the issue after the game, “It was just coaching... And people are blowing it up more than what it is… I signed up to be part of this, and I’m loving this so far. I hope to get yelled at more, not that I’m messing up, but just to keep going.”

This episode highlights two important aspects of leadership in athletics; emotional intelligence and culture.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) – A key part of EI is using emotions to facilitate performance. The NCAA tournament is win-or-go-home; there are no do-overs and second chances. Leaders need to know when it is appropriate to use coercive leadership styles. This direct style of leadership instills a sense of urgency and helps make every possession count. Driving a sense of urgency in players is difficult to convey through soft, fluffy language.

In this case, Coach Izzo was effective in pushing his team forward to victory.

Culture – The Spartans’ basketball program has built a culture on intensity. This is not a secret and the players know this before they commit to Michigan State. This culture has led to deep commitment from the players and has helped the athletes be successful on and off the court.

The NCAA tracks graduation rates for student athletes. Let’s compare MSU’s basketball program to the University of Kentucky’s (UK) program for the 2008-11 cohorts:

MSU –

Graduation Success Rate (GSR) = 100 percent

Federal Graduation Rate (FSR) = 50 percent

UK –

Graduation Success Rate (GSR) = 83 percent

Federal Graduation Rate (FSR) = 17 percent

(Source: NCAA)

Both of these programs have been successful in recent years with very different cultures. Comparing the GSR and FSR rates of both programs indicates that Coach Izzo and the Spartans have created a culture where the players are committed to success and stay through graduation. This attitude and culture should not be underestimated.

Organizational culture and emotional intelligence are important in all industries. Leaders need to make sure that they build a culture that fosters success, and they need to have the emotional intelligence to apply the right leadership styles at the right times.