The Game.
April 2019. Liverpool had just lost 3-0 to Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final first leg at Camp Nou.
It was brutal. Messi had been unplayable. Liverpool's hopes of reaching the final looked dead.
The cameras caught Jürgen Klopp in the tunnel after the match, with reporters expecting frustration and anger.
Instead, Klopp smiled.
He told his players on the bus:
"We're going to beat them at Anfield. I have no idea how, but we will."
Most managers would have gone into self-preservation mode, managed expectations and protected themselves from the inevitable criticism if they lost the second leg.
Klopp did the opposite - He believed when believing seemed irrational and more importantly, his players saw it.
Six days later, Liverpool beat Barcelona 4-0 at Anfield, which will go down as one of the great nights at Anfield and champions league history.
Klopp's response to losing didn't just keep hope alive, it defined the culture that made the comeback possible.
Your team isn't watching how you win - it’s easy to respond to ‘success’. They're watching how you lose. How you respond when things fall apart and whether you panic, point fingers, or stay composed and lead them through it.
The Analysis.
In business, leaders are judged by how they handle adversity, not success. Anyone can lead when the numbers are up, customers are happy, and the team is flying. The real test is what happens when you lose the contract, miss budget or watch a competitor take your market share.
Do you blame the team? Do you spiral into reactive mode? Or do you stay composed, acknowledge reality, and chart the path forward?
Brené Brown writes in ‘Dare to Lead’:
"We need leaders who can own their setbacks, integrate them as learning, and show up with their whole hearts. Your team doesn't need you to be perfect. They need you to be present, especially when things go wrong.”
Compare Klopps reaction to leaders who crumble under pressure. The CEO who panics when a deal falls through and immediately starts cutting costs without a plan. The founder who blames their team publicly when a product launch flops or the manager who withdraws and stops communicating when results drop.
These responses hurt morale and create a culture of fear. People stop taking risks and they start hiding problems instead of solving them - they go into self-preservation mode.
Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar, talks about this in ‘Creativity, Inc.’:
"Failure isn't a necessary evil. In fact, it isn't evil at all. It is a necessary consequence of doing something new. But failure only becomes valuable if leaders respond to it with curiosity, not punishment.”
Your team is always watching you. Not what you say in the all-hands when things are going well, but how you show up when the wheels fall off and whether you model the resilience you expect from them.
The Reflection.
When something goes wrong in your business, does your response make people want to stand-up and solve the problem or hide?
Best,
Daniel Holloway
Founder, Sport of Business
P.S. Know someone building a business who thinks like an athlete? Forward this to them. The best performances are by those who understand the game.