For those that know me know that I am a passionate football/soccer guy, moreover I am a passionate follower of the Liverpool football club in England. They just won their first premiership in 30 years and I could not allow this moment to pass without mention!
Jurgen Klopp is the manager of LFC and oozes natural leadership qualities. Have a look at the following link to get an insight into the man.
I am a big believer in the parrallels of leadership between sport and business. Below is my attempt to translate some of Klopp’s key insights into business leadership reflection questions:
Klopp:
“My dream is that we can play in any random shirt but people who watch us know its Liverpool.”
Reflection question:
If you were to strip your branding/logo out of your business, would people still know it’s you?
Klopp:
“You can decide how much it (a loss) hurts and you decide what you can do with the information (learnings from a loss).”
Reflection question:
This is somewhat provocative given the stress that COVID-19 has put on balance sheets however the question, I believe, still stands..
Are you choosing how much to allow the pain to hurt? Are you focused on the pain or on your response?
Klopp:
“The next game is the most important game in our life because it’s the only one we play”
Reflection question:
Where is your focus? The past, present or future?
Klopp:
“Have a clear handshake deal”
Reflection question:
How clear/aligned are you with your team around expectations regarding objectives and behaviours? How good are you at holding people to those expectations?
Klopp:
“A football dressing room is a good example of how colourful the world can be and we try to use all the different cultures and their strengths to be best team we can be.” Reflection question: No translation required here.