Jürgen Klopp’s trust in the expertise of the backroom team around him lies at the heart of his leadership of Liverpool FC.
In a special Western Union video feature, ‘The world according to Jürgen Klopp’, the Reds boss opened up on his approach to management.
The German cited his complete confidence in those who form part of the support network at Melwood as a crucial factor in allowing him to lead strongly and successfully.
“I try everything to be as successful as possible. I live 100 per cent for the boys, with the boys, what we do for the club. I think that’s leadership in the first case,” said Klopp.
“As a leader you cannot be the last who comes in and the first who goes out; you don’t always have to be the first coming in or the last going out, but you have to be an example.
We have enough confidence and that’s very important for a leader. If I would expect from myself that I know everything and I’m the best in everything, I couldn’t have confidence. But I don’t expect that. I know I’m good in a couple of things, really good in a few things, and that’s enough. My confidence is big enough that I can really let people grow next to me, it’s no problem.”
“I need experts around me. It’s really very important that you are empathetic, that you try to understand the people around you, and that you give real support to the people around you. Then everybody can act.
That’s what leadership is: have strong people around you with a better knowledge in different departments than yourself, don’t act like you know everything, be ready to admit, ‘I have no clue in the moment, give me a couple of minutes and then I will have a clue probably.’
That’s how I understand it but it’s no real ‘philosophy’, it’s just my way of life.”
Klopp is acutely aware, and appreciative, of the scale of the club.
“This club is so unbelievably big, it’s incredible,” he said. “It feels really good and gives us a lot of power and, for me, absolutely no pressure.
I sometimes try to imagine how it is in all the living rooms all over the world; millions and millions of people when we are playing are completely concentrated on what we are doing.
During the week they follow us wherever we go, they read everything about us, and it’s very positive – it’s the best thing you can do in your spare time actually… if you love football, obviously.”
