Top 10 football managers who inspire workplace bosses – Jürgen Klopp tops list
Jürgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola, and José Mourinho have topped a list of inspirational Premier League football managers – who workplace managers model their leadership style after.
From giving colleagues the “hairdryer treatment”, to leading passionate team talks – and even wearing tracksuits to work – 86% of office team leaders claim to channel a legendary football boss at work.
Manchester United’s Erik Ten Hag, and England’s national team boss, Gareth Southgate, are also among the top managers that workplace execs draw inspiration from.
And of managers gone by, Sir Alex Ferguson topped the list of football managers that employers claim to be most like, followed by former Arsenal boss, Arsene Wenger.
The poll of 1,750 workplace managers, with a love of football, was commissioned by CopyBet.com – which also commissioned this quiz to help office bosses determine which legendary gaffer their approach is most similar to.
(Image: Ash Donelon/Getty Images)
A spokesman for the gaming site said: “It is exciting to see so many people taking inspiration from the world of football management and putting it into practice at their workplace.
“This was a fun exercise to see what actions bosses have taken to make themselves better managers, in order to improve their workplace performance – whether that’s delivering objectives, boosting team moral, or building relationships.”
Methods likely used by these legends of the game, and adopted by many respondents in their own workplace, include passionate team talks, over exuberant celebrations, and calling for a decision to be overturned.
Some have arranged for senior staff to attend training with younger members of the staff – the equivalent of senior players being forced to train with the youth side after a misdemeanour.
And many have some sense of what transfer deadline day is like – including losing star employees to another employer, or identifying staff they’d like bring into their own workplace.
Others have even been warned about their future conduct, or got into a spat with a rival manager.
Of those who have employed methods used by football managers, 87% believe their leadership skills have improved as a result, and 88% think they’ve become better communicators.
(Image: SWNS)
Almost half (45%) opted to embrace such techniques in the hope of achieving team objectives, while 42% wanted to improve team spirit.
However, 36% simply want to create a bit of fun in the workplace.
And they seem to have been largely successful – as 53% claimed employee motivation improved, and 45% believe their team found their methods inspirational.
The study, carried out through OnePoll, found 62% claim there’s not much difference between managing staff and a team of football players.
And 43% believe they have all the attributes needed to become a top football manager, with 37% claiming such a role would be “easy.”
The spokesman for CopyBet.com added: “It goes to show just how much influence football has on our everyday lives, including in the workplace.
“Bosses have adopted traits from some of the best managers in the history of football, and continue to take inspiration from the current crop.”
TOP 10 PAST FOOTBALL MANAGERS BOSSES CLAIM TO BE LIKE:
- Sir Alex Ferguson
- Arsene Wenger
- Sir Bobby Robson
- Louis van Gaal
- Sir Kenny Dalglish
- Roy Hodgson
- Bill Shankly
- Johan Cruyff
- Walter Smith
- George Graham
TOP 10 PRESENT FOOTBALL MANAGERS BOSSES CLAIM TO BE LIKE:
- Jürgen Klopp
- Pep Guardiola
- José Mourinho
- Erik ten Hag
- Antonio Conte
- Eddie Howe
- Gareth Southgate
- Frank Lampard
- Mikel Arteta
- Zinedine Zidane