Profile: Leadership Lessons From Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool FC's Beloved Coach

Key Takeaways from the Management Style of Jürgen Klopp

Widely regarded as one of the best managers in the world, Jürgen Norbert Klopp is a German professional football manager and former player who is the present manager of the Premier League club Liverpool in Liverpool, England.

In 2015, when 48-year-old Jürgen Klopp accepted the role of Manager for Liverpool Football Club, one of the most well known professional football clubs in England that competes in the top tier of English football (soccer in the United States), he immediately distanced himself from the prior macho rhetoric of other managers of his generation. Instead of emphasizing his own unique prowess like José Mourinho said in his now famous 'The Special One' statement in 2004, Jürgen said, “I’m the normal one.” Over the course of the next five years, Jürgen has transformed this team into a consistent, high performing team. Former coaches are astounded by his results. There are many lessons that you can learn from Jürgen’s management stye and approach to team building and performance.

There was a lot of pressure and attention placed on Jürgen immediately upon his arrival at Anfield. He emphasized that he was an ordinary guy from humble means but that he was determined to do a great job and how important playing “emotional football” was and that he wanted to restore that at Anfield.

“When I left Dortmund, my last sentence was it is not so important what people think when you come in, it is more important what they think when you leave. Please give us time to work on it. If you want, this could be a really special day.”

— Jürgen Klopp

Lesson 1: Recognizing We’re Emotional Beings First

Jürgen recognizes how his athletes are emotional beings first and players subsequently. He knows this first hand as former player himself. He connects with players emotionally by being himself and encouraging them to be so. This gives his players a sense of security and also a place to call home. It is both a sense of safety as much as it is a sense of being wanted and belonging. This feeling of family enables players to connect with each other and overcomes individual competition, as the players focus on working together to win together. It’s also an acceptance of different personalities, strengths and weaknesses. By creating an environment where the players feel comfortable being themselves and are accepted, Jürgen has created an environment of trust. This in turn, has unleashed high performance and positive energy from his team consistently. Trust is key to high performance.

“Jürgen creates a family. We always say 30 percent tactics, 70 percent team-building.”

— Liverpool’s assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders talking to the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant

What does it mean to have an environment of trust? When you have trust in an organization, people feel at ease being themselves, sharing their vulnerabilities, discussing their values and concerns, and sharing their strengths and weaknesses. Acceptance enables vulnerability, which in turn, builds deep trust. A team with trust is unstoppable.

Lesson 2: Set Clear Expectations

Counterbalancing the emotional “heart,” Jürgen also has set a clear process and expectations for each player through the tactical side of playing the game applied through both “mind” and “body,” using his now famous system of Gegenpressing, where the team, after losing possession, immediately attempts to win back possession, rather than falling back to regroup. Jürgen has helped each individual player in the team perform at his best by recognizing and harnessing that player’s specific strengths and setting clear expectations for that player in different situations. Jürgen sets clear goals with his team so they are crystal clear about what they are pursuing and what they need to do to achieve these goals.

Lesson 3: Maintain Positivity

Success comes with setbacks. Jürgen recognizes this. He does not blame any individual when things do not work out as hoped for or intended. He takes the pressure away and helps the players focus on becoming better for the next game. Jürgen understands well that people always do better when they are in a positive mental and emotional state and also do not feel attacked, blamed, guilty, judged or ashamed. By avoiding such negative behavior common in high performance sports and business that typically antagonizes players and lowers morale, Jürgen has prevented problems from festering and freed up players to jump right back into playing. This release of positive energy and full acceptance of players has been tremendous for morale.

Lesson 4: Consistency and Control

To perform well again and again takes practice, control, focus and discipline. Jürgen has put consistency as a top priority for the team. Adding the goalkeeper Alisson and defensive player Virgil Van Dijk have helped take Liverpool FC into one win after the next this season. Part of Jürgen’s consistent approach is emphasizing the team over the individual and choosing players who will play well together and eagerly embrace their roles as part of a cohesive, caring and committed team. Having built a strong environment of trust and acceptance, Jürgen’s players are eager to collaborate together. Using a collaborative player evaluation framework adopted from the US, Jürgen has brought in players like Andy Robertson who are now performing brilliantly and helping Liverpool FC win again and again.

Lesson 5: Tell the Story

Jürgen understands intuitively how important story is to both the players and their fans. He connected the team’s present victories to the club’s former legends, Steven Gerrard and Sir Kenny Dalglish. This past summer, in an interview on Sky TV, Jürgen said to Kenny, “It was built on your soul Kenny and on the legs of Stevie,” with incredible humility and emotion.

When Jürgen signed on as manager in 2015, he shared his goal of winning a trophy within four years and helping the football team to advance to the next level.

Photo by Christopher Thomond for The Guardian

“I am a football romantic. I love the stories, the histories. It was my first time at Anfield and I thought about how it would be. I am a really lucky guy. I am looking forward to the first training with the players. I am relaxed. I had four months’ holiday and am in my best shape.

It is the intensity of the football, of how the people live football in Liverpool, all the Liverpool fans around the world. It is not a normal club, it is a special club. I had two very special clubs with Mainz and Dortmund. It is the perfect next step for me to be here and try and help.”

— Jürgen Klopp

In a fascinating interview with Western Union, Jürgen lays out the five essentials of his leadership style — confidence, simplicity, energy, relationships and leading by example.

With just five years under his belt at Liverpool, Jürgen has led his team to consistent win after win over an entire season that few football teams have ever done before in England. Despite such tremendous success, when it comes to Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool FC, you are left with this strong positive feeling that the best is yet to come.

Profile in Courage: Tammie Jo Shults, the Southwest Airline Pilot who Saved a Passenger-full Plane

“She has nerves of steel,” said a passenger aboard the plane about the pilot who remained remarkably calm and safely landed the plane even though it had a massive hole and lost one of its engines.

1992 photo of Tammie Jo Shults, SW pilot currently, Photo by Thomas P. Milne, U.S. Navy/Distributed by Reuters

On April 17, 2018, Southwest Airline flight 1380 heading out of New York City on route to Dallas, was forced to make an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport after an engine failed mid flight. Carrying 149 people on board, the plane had 21,000 pounds or roughly five hours of fuel to last when the pilot discovered the hole along the side of the plane.

The 737 plane had just reached a cruising altitude of 32,500 feet when an engine exploded. 56-year-old Captain Tammie Jo Shults, née Bonnell, remained calm under extreme pressure, safely landing the plane despite the ensuing chaos and protecting the lives of 144 passengers and five crew members. In six minutes, the plane dropped more than 20,000 feet in altitude.

Engine debris crashed into a plane window, breaking it and nearly sucked out a passenger, Jennifer Riordan, seated nearby. A Wells Fargo executive from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Riordan was saved by other passengers who held on to her and saved her from being sucked out of the plane. Riordan was still alive when the plane landed safely on the runway in Philadelphia. Nonetheless, Riordan still suffered intense blunt force trauma to the head, and passed away later that night despite efforts by medics to save her life. All other passengers arrived safely to the emergency destination of Philadelphia after the pilot deftly maneuvered the plane to the runway.

Remarkably calm and focused, Southwest Airline pilot, Captain Tammie Jo Shults, a former fighter pilot for the U.S. Navy, radioed into the air traffic controller. According to audio of the interaction, the conversation did not skip a beat.

“Southwest 1380, we’re single engine,” said Tammie Jo Shults. “We have part of the aircraft missing, so we’re going to need to slow down a bit.” She told the air traffic controller that they needed medical personnel to meet them on the runway. “We’ve got injured passengers.”

“Injured passengers, okay, and is your airplane physically on fire?” asked the air traffic controller.

“No, it’s not on fire, but part of it’s missing,” Shults said, pausing. “They said there’s a hole, and, uh, someone went out.”

In fact, an entire engine had exploded, spreading shrapnel back into the aircraft and destroying an entire window. The intense and powerful damage left one passenger, a woman, dead, and injured seven others.

While passengers screamed and panicked upon hearing the noisy explosion, Shults diverted the plane to an emergency landing in Philadelphia, guiding the plane smoothly onto the runway. She touched down at 190 mph and saved the lives of 148 people on board the sinking plane, thus averting an even bigger catastrophe.

Tammie Jo Shults today; photo of the broken engine of the Southwest Airline plane

Here are three powerful lessons we can learn from Tammie Jo Shults’ heroism.

Lesson 1. Leadership Under Pressure

Staying calm in an emergency is no easy feat, especially when you have a sinking plane, do not know if the plane will safely land and you are surrounded by screaming, terrified passengers. Tammie Jo Shults showed remarkable fortitude and remained calm under high pressure.

In fact, a passenger, 55-year-old Alfred Tumlinson who was traveling with his wife from George West, Texas, was amazed by Shults’ calmness.

“She has nerves of steel.”

— Alfred Tumlinson, passenger

Tumlinson and his wife Diana Self (who took the photo of Shults and passengers after safely landing), did not expect to make it home safely after hearing the loud engine explosion. In interviews later with news channels, Tumlinson shared how calm Shults was and how soothing her voice sounded over the plane intercom after the loud explosion. Shults told the passengers that they were descending and not going down and to stay calm and brace themselves. She told the passengers to keep their masks on.

The plane landed safely. The passengers were amazed to have landed safely to the ground. As medics filled the plane, Shults entered the cabin to talk to each of the passengers, shake their hands and comfort them.

Benjamin Goldstein, a New York resident who was traveling to Dallas for a conference, shared his experience. He told news sources the next day, “I asked her, ‘Do I get a hug too?’ and that she replied, ‘Of course. I wouldn't let you by without a hug.’”

“It was very touching. Here at the most crucial moment, she had the presence of mind and the courage to act with excellence as it was required. It's a beautiful quality, and we have our lives to thank for it."

Photo of Southwest Airlines pilot Tammie Jo Shults, right, speaking to passengers after Flight 1380‘s emergency landing in Philadelphia by Diana Self.

“She is a true American hero.”

— Diana Self, passenger

The National Transportation Safety Board sent investigators the next morning to determine the cause of engine failure. They found out that parts of the protective engine housing had broken off mid-flight and were recovered in Berks County, Pennsylvania, roughly 70 miles northwest of Philadelphia International Airport where the plane eventually landed.

Southwest Airlines issued a statement the day after the event, acknowledging the efforts of pilot Shults and first officer Darren Ellisor. Both Shults and Ellisor avoided media interviews at the time and gave a joint statement. They were empathetic to the Riordan family who had lost a family member aboard the flight, the one casualty of the engine explosion.

“As Captain and First Officer of the Crew of five who worked to serve our Customers aboard flight 1380 yesterday, we all feel we were simply doing our jobs,” the airline reported in the statement. “Our hearts are heavy. On behalf of the entire Crew, we appreciate the outpouring of support from the public and our coworkers as we all reflect on one family’s profound loss.”

Please see below a statement from the Captain and First Officer of Flight 1380. pic.twitter.com/RjoCpucGGS
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) April 19, 2018

Lesson 2. Personal Drive

Tammie Jo Shults already had a list of remarkable achievements prior to her heroic act on the Southwest Airline flight. She was among the first female fighter pilots for the U.S. Navy, according to her alma mater, MidAmerica Nazarene University. After graduating college, Shults flew planes for the Navy and was one of the first women pilots to fly tactical aircraft. She finished her flight training in Pensacola, Florida and then became an instructor pilot on planes including the F/A-18 Hornet in Point Mugu, California.

A decorated pilot who won medals such as the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal and an expert pistol Marksmanship Medal, Shults pursued a career in aviation when it was extremely rare to see a woman pilot. In fact, in the book “Military Fly Moms,” by Linda Maloney, Shults shared how she attended an aviation lecture as a senior in high school in 1979 and a retired colonel started the class by asking her if she was lost. Tammie Jo Bonnell (her maiden name) was the only girl in attendance. Shults responded that she wanted to fly, and while the colonel let her stay, he told her that there were no professional women pilots.

Shults was determined to fly though. The Air Force did not show any interest in her, but the Navy allowed her application. Still there was not much of a demand for women pilots. It took her a year to get a recruiter to process her application, but Tammie Jo did not give up. She got into aviation school in Pensacola and then was assigned as an instructor pilot to a training squadron at Naval Air Station Chase Field in Beeville, Texas. Soon after, she met her best friend and future husband, a fellow naval aviator pilot, Dean Shults.

Tammie Jo Shults still could not fly in a combat squadron like her husband due to the combat exclusion law. She was allowed to provide electronic warfare training to Navy ships and aircraft. She persisted and eventually became one of the first women to fly the F/A-18 Hornet in a support role. After ten years, she achieved the rank of Navy lieutenant commander. In 1993, she retired from the Navy and along with her husband, began flying commercial airlines.

Her brother-in-law, Gary Shults, in an interview with the Associated Press, called Tammie a “formidable woman, as sharp as a tack. My brother says she’s the best pilot he knows. She’s a very caring, giving person who takes care of lots of people.”

Lesson 3. Grace and Humility

After the safe landing, both Shults and her co-pilot, Darren Ellisor, gave a joint statement to the public via their airline. They downplayed their heroism and focused on the passengers and community. Shults retained this composure, humility and high integrity in interviews finally granted with ABC and Time magazine.

Her quick thinking and grace under pressure will always be remembered by the passengers aboard that plane and their loved ones.

Profile: A Few Leadership Lessons in Doing Your Best from Chloe Kim, Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn and More Winter Olympics Athletes

As many of the world's finest athletes gather to compete at the Winter Olympics now underway in Pyeongchang, South Korea, all eyes are steadfast upon them. The Olympics represent many values to people worldwide, notably high performance tied to health, well being and discipline. Here we take a closer look at some of the lessons we're learning from Winter Olympic athletes.

The Winter Olympics of 2018 offers more opportunities for showcasing and testing talent through more events than prior Olympics, ranging from downhill alpine skiing and snowboarding to free style skiing, figure skating and bobsled racing. There are many compelling athletes competing today. Team USA had the largest number of athletes competing in this year's event than any prior Olympics. Here are some lessons we're learning from these wonderful athletes.

Do what you love and love doing it.

When you do what you love, you bring an energy and enthusiasm that is invigorating and helps you push on further to achieve more and more. By choosing a pursuit that you excel at and enjoy doing, you can become better and perform at a world-class level. Many athletes choose to go into different professions after their sporting careers end. There is a time and place to do things. Knowing what you excel at and being able to seize opportunities when they come and apply yourself fully to doing it to the best of your ability, requires focus and commitment.

Watch Chloe Kim on YouTube land back to back 1080s and win Olympic Gold in the halfpipe final.

Be willing to sacrifice for the bigger win.

While a competitive event may range from a few minutes to a few hours at most, winning it takes a lot of preparation. Doing your best at anything requires a willingness to work hard and practice, again and again. To even qualify for the Olympics, an athlete has to win and compete at a higher level. This requires commitment and discipline. Well trained athletes eat, sleep and live their sport. This drives how many hours they sleep, if they indulge in alcohol or any desserts, how much exercise they do every day and their mental and emotional training. It affects choices they make about vacations and other pursuits their friends and families may be doing that they will need to give up in order to keep practicing and get closer to meeting their goals. Being able to work and train regardless of distractions, bad weather or indulgences, is key to athletic success. Winning takes sacrifice, commitment and discipline.

Jamie Anderson after winning Olympic Gold.

Approach success and failure with grace.

Not every competition results in a win. Olympic athletes can spend the entire prior four years preparing for their events and still lose or fail to achieve the goals they had set. Being able to enjoy the process regardless of whether you win or not, is important. Olympic athletes constantly demonstrate that they are more than just winners of sport competitions through their resilience and character. Big moments can be exhilarating and also stressful. American snowboarder Shaun White has seen both exhilarating successes such as his perfect score at the X Games in Aspen in 2012 and most recently again at the X Games in 2018 where he qualified for his fourth Olympics and also failure where he did not win any medals at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Being able to stay steady under extremes and learn from ups and downs takes fortitude and grace.

“I’m walking into it [the 2018 Olympics] with a better peace of mind and a better outlook on things … I’m just hoping to show up and ride like I know I can, put the runs down. If I can do that, I’m totally content.”

— Shaun White

Last night, Shaun enjoyed hard-won redemption with his final run, winning Olympic Gold for the third time. Watch on YouTube.

Fail, get up and try again.

Nowhere is resilience more evident than when you see an athlete repeatedly pursue goals despite failures and setbacks. A great example of this is American skier Lindsey Vonn who has won Olympic medals, World Cup medals and others and is the most successful American ski racer in history. She has suffered painful crashes and injuries, and overcome them to continue to compete again and win! Her remarkable strength is inspiring and powerful. Failure is undoubtedly an integral part of success and part of the journey to victory.

“When you fall, get right back up. Just keep going, keep pushing it. You are only limited to what you push yourself to, you know? You can always get better.”

— Lindsey Vonn

Most recently during the surprise upset at the Super Bowl where the Philadelphia Eagles soared to victory, quarterback Nick Foles also said some inspiring words about embracing failure.

Do your best at every opportunity.

Olympic athletes push themselves to do their best. They are known for pushing themselves and practicing to develop their skills at the highest level possible and perform at their best. Chloe Kim, an American snowboarder, who just won her first Olympic gold medal, epitomizes this. Even if she is joking around with her fellow athletes prior to competing, when it is her turn, she is completely focused and ready to engage. At 17, Chloe has joined a shortlisted group of athletes worldwide who have won their first Olympic medal before the age of 20. She's just getting started!

Work hard and tap in deeper into your talent.

Mikhaela Shiffrin was the youngest slalom champion in Olympic alpine skiing history at 18 years old in Sochi in 2014. Now she's returned to the Olympics after numerous World Cup wins and is the reigning Olympic and World Cup champion in slalom. Since her debut in 2014, Mikhaela has expanded her range, competing in different and challenging events that are new for her. She's consistently shown high performance, strong work ethic and remarkable talent, so much that former Olympian and alpine skier Bode Miller has said, "I think she's maybe the best ski racer I've ever seen, male or female."

Give back.

Training for the Olympics requires funding and not everyone can afford that. While some athletes can and others have wonderful parents who give up their careers to help their kids achieve their dreams, that is not possible for everyone.

Some athletes demonstrate a high level of commitment and caring beyond themselves. An example of this is snowboarder Jamie Anderson, who also just won Olympic gold, who set up a foundation to sponsor equipment, season passes and travel for young winter sports athletes.

Live fully and celebrate passion.

The 2018 Olympics slogan is "Passion. Connected." This is evident in the athletes competing and the audiences that have gathered to support and cheer them on! Passion is essential for achieving anything at a higher level.

On a last note, the Olympics represent much more than winning medals - they demonstrate human commitment, energy, grace, endurance and focus under pressure. There's a lot we can learn from the Olympic Games and from the compelling stories of individual athletes. You can watch the Olympics live at NBC here.