Leadership Lessons from Jurgen Klopp: Heart, Mind, and Relationships

Jurgen Klopp, the recently-retired German-born manager of Liverpool, is a standout leader.

Here are four leadership lessons from his glittering career:

• Self-awareness. Klopp started as a player, but quickly worked out that his superpower was coaching: “I had fourth-division feet and a first-division head.”
• Adopting an aggressive mindset. Klopp is a proponent of Gegenpressing, a tactic in which the team immediately attempts to win back possession after losing the ball. “The best moment to win the ball is immediately after your team just lost it. The opponent will have taken his eyes off the game to make his tackle or interception and he will have expended energy. Both make him vulnerable.”
• Embracing emotion. As a coach, Klopp believed that football was best played with emotion. “Tactical things are so important but emotion makes the difference. The best football is always about expression of emotion.”
• Revering relationships. Even after all the glory and the accolades, Klopp recently remarked: “Other managers collect trophies, I collect relationships.”

Keep changing the game until you are playing to your strengths, seek competitive advantage in both head and heart and celebrate the magic of relationships – now that’s a formula for success you can put your trust in.