LEADERSHIP LESSONS LEARNED

BE A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE THE NORMAL GUY
THIS GUY KNOWN AS "THE NORMAL GUY"
IS CURRENTLY ONE OF THE BEST, IF NOT THE BEST SOCCER COACH IN THE WORLD BY NOW.
JÜRGEN CLOPP CALLED HIMSELF "JUST THE NORMAL GUY" WHEN BEING INTERVIEWED ABOUT WHAT MAKES HIM SO SPECIAL.
IN FACT, THAT'S AN UNDERSTATEMENT IN VIEW OF THE FACT THAT...
IN THE PAST TWO YEARS, HE HAS WON THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AND THE BRITISH PREMIER LEAGUE WITH LIVERPOOL FC.
AND THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT THE ONLY SUCCESS.
WHEREVER HE GOES, HIS TEAM WILL BE SUCCESSFUL.
WHY DO MIRACLES LIKE THESE SO OFTEN HAPPEN TO KLOPP'S TEAMS?
AND HOW CAN THE COACH'S GREAT SUCCESS OVER THE PAST TEN YEARS BE EXPLAINED AT ALL?
FUN FACT...
I'M NOT A SOCCER FAN, BUT I STILL BELIEVE JUERGEN IS AWESOME.
DID YOU KNOW THAT JUERGEN HAS EXTREMELY INFLUENCED WHEN IT COMES TO BUILDING INNOVATION TEAMS?
I EVEN WATCHED YOUTUBE VIDEOS OF PRESS CONFERENCE WITH JURGEN.
IN MY WHOLE LIFE, I HAVE NEVER SEEN A SINGLE SOCCER PRESS CONFERENCE.
THESE ARE THE THINGS I LEARNED FROM JUERGEN:
#1 "I AM THE FRIEND OF MY PLAYERS, BUT I CAN'T BE THE BEST FRIEND".
BEFORE HE CAME TO THIS CONCLUSION, HE HAD TO MAKE SOME MISTAKES.
WHEN I READ THAT, I ALSO REALIZED ONE OF MY BIGGEST MISTAKES.
TOO MUCH INTIMACY, TRUST AND WAY TOO MUCH TOLERANCE.
I WANTED TO BE A GOOD BOSS.
COMPLETELY MISSING THE POINT...
PEOPLE DON'T WANT A FRIEND, THEY WANT A LEADER.
SOMEONE WHO GIVES BOTH DIRECTION AND CLARITY.
#2 BE BRUTALLY HONEST AND DEMANDING, BUT STILL HUMAN.
JUERGEN CALLS A SPADE A SPADE. NO BULLSHIT.
WHEN ASKED BY REPORTERS ABOUT THE CORONA VIRUS IN LATE MARCH 2020, JURGEN REPLIED...
"MY OPINION ON THIS ISSUE IS NOT IMPORTANT. THIS ISSUE IS EXTREMELY SERIOUS. AND IT'S NOT OK FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO KNOWLEDGE- LIKE ME- TO GIVE THEIR TWO CENTS ON THIS ISSUE. I'M JUST A FOOTBALL COACH."
MOST PEOPLE WOULD PROBABLY BABBLE SOME BULLSHIT JUST TO LOOK SMART.
UNLIKE JÜRGEN. HE CLEARLY SAYS WHEN HE DOES NOT KNOW SOMETHING. THAT BRING ME TO THE NEXT POINT...
BUT HE IS ALSO VERY DEMANDING, IF YOU DON'T SHOW ANY PERFORMANCE, YOU NEED TO LEAVE THE TEAM.
I HAVE ALSWAYS TRIED TO BRING EVEN NON-PERFORMERS SOMEHOW BACK ON TRACK.
FRIENDLY WORDS ARE OF NO USE IF YOU WANT TO BUILD A REALLY STRONG INNOVATION TEAM.
IT HAS NOT WORKED EVEN ONCE IN THE PAST 15 YEARS.
#3 DEDICATION&OBEDIENCE.
ABSOLUTE DEDICATION TO THE JOB- AND ABOVE ALL ABSOLUTE OBEDIENCE-IS WHAT JURGEN KLOPP DEMANDS FROM A PRO-
SOMETHING I HAD EXPERIENCED ONLY VERY RARELY UNTIL THEN IN OUR TEAM.
THIS MADE ME THINK A LOT.
PEOPLE WHO CONSTANTLY QUESTION EVERYTHING CAN DISORIENTATE THE WHOLE TEAM...
A PROBLEM WE STRUGGLED A LOT WITH AS WELL.
BECAUSE EVERYONE HAD A VOICE IN OUR COMPANY.
#4 DEALING PROPERLY WITH SETBACKS
ONE OF LIVERPOOL FC'S GREAT STRENGTHS IS THAT THE PLAYERS DON'T LET THEMSELVES GET RATTLED BY SETBACKS.
A TYPICAL CHARACTERISTIC OF A KLOPP TEAM...
SETBACKS ARE DEALT WITH IMMEDIATELY AND WITH A DIRECT REACTION.
IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT THAT HIS PLAYERS BELIEVE AND FOLLOW HIM. AND THEY DO.
PARTICULARLY STRIKING: PLAYERS WHO WERE NOT PREVIOUSLY CONSIDERED AS WORLD-CLASS PLAYERS...
... HAVE BEEN ACHIEVING EXTRAORDINARY LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP.
A MIRACLE?
THERE'S A SIMPLE FORMULA...
KLOPP FINDS THE APPROPRIATE AND HUMAN APPROACH FOR EACH PLAYER. AND THE RIGHT WORDS.
#5 NO EGO.
ALTHOUGH JÜRGEN IS EXTREMELY SUCCESFUL AND EARNS MORE THAN EUR 1 MILLION PER MONTH, HE IS NOT ARROGANT AT ALL
HE DOES NOT SEE HIMSELF AS THE CENTER  OF THE UNIVERSE, BUT DIRECTS THE FOCUS TO THE TEAM  WHEN THEY ARE SUCCESSFUL.
ON THE OTHER HAND, HE TAKES FULL RESPONSIBILTY IF SOMETHING DOES NOT WORK OUT AS PLANNED.
AND HE DOES NOT BLAME OTHERS.
JÜRGEN IS SOMEONE WITH WHOM YOU WOULD LIKE TO GO TO THE PUB FOR A FEW BEERS.
#CONCLUSION HOW TO BE THE BEST IN YOUR BUSINESS
JÜRGEN IS INDISPUTABLY THE BEST FOOTBALL COACH IN THE WORLD AT THE MOMENT.
JÜRGEN HAS INSPIRED ME TO ALSO BE THE BEST IN MY FIELD: INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT
MY VISION: I WANT TO SHAPE THE BEST INNOVATION TEAMS WORLDWIDE TOGETHER WITH YOU
AND MY MOTTO: "LEARN FROM THOSE WHO REALLY DID IT."
BECAUSE ABOVE ALL I CAN SAYHOW SOMETHING DOES NOT WORK.
BECAUSE I AHEV LIVED THROUGH IT ALL. NOT ONLY ONCE-BUT SEVERAL TIMES.
I HAVE TRULY FALLEN INTO ALL PITFALLS OF INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT
SO THAT I CAN HELP YOU AVOID THEM.
LET'S QUICKLY REPEAT WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED TODAY...
THERE ARE 5 THINGS WE CAN LEARN FROM JURGEN
#1 BE THE FRIEND OF YOUR TEAM, BUT DON'T TRY TO BE THE BEST FRIEND.
#2 BE BRUTALLY HONEST & DEMANDING BUT STILL BE HUMAN.
#3 DEMAND DEDICATION & OBEDIENCE.
#4 DEAL PROPERLY WITH SETBACKS
#5 LET GO OF YOUR EGO.
WHAT WE LEARNED FROM JURGEN TODAY IS ALSO CALLED...
INNOVATOR'S MINDSET & TEAM LEADERSHIP
YOU KNOW WHAT STRUCK ME?
THERE ARE ONLY VERY FEW GOOD LEADERS BUT...
VERY GOOD LEADERS ARE IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZED BY EVERYONE.
WHY? BECAUSE THEY ARE SO OUTSTANDING.
IT'S WEIRD THAT...
THERE SEEMS TO BE MERELY A FINE LINE BETWEEN AN ASSHOLE  AND A BELOVED BOSS.
BIGGEST LEARNING?
DON'T EVEN TRY TO DO EVERYTHING RIGHT.
YOU SIMPLY CAN'T.
LEARN TO DEAL WITH THE FACT THAT WHEN YOU CAN ACTIVATE THE BEST IN YOUR PEOPLE IT CAN'T JUST BE ALL HARMONIC.
SO, TAKE THIS STICK OUT OF OUR BUTT AND...
... STOP TRYING TO BE PERFECT.
THEY GONNA HATE YOU ANYWAY ;-)
AT LEAST SOMETIMES ;-)
BUT IN THE END ALL OF YOU WILL BE BETTER UP DOING IT THIS WAY.
I KNOW... THAT WAS BRUTALLY HONEST NOW.
BUT SOMETIMES IT'S GOOD TO HAVE A FRIEND WHO HOLDS UP A MIRROR TO YOU.
YOU'RE WELCOME AND...
NEVER FORGET...
YOUR NEXT INNOVATION MAY BE ONLY ONE WEEK AWAY.

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