From the Pitch to the Boardroom: Lessons from Liverpool FC’s Winning Culture

In today’s world, "culture" is more than just a buzzword; it's the secret sauce driving success from boardrooms to soccer fields. Whether it's the latest leadership podcast or a sports commentator, culture is a hot topic—and for good reason! I've heard about dysfunctional cultures (apologies to my Cleveland Browns friends) and healthy ones (cheers to my English Premier League team, Liverpool FC). Having experienced both toxic and healthy cultures firsthand, I can vouch for the transformative power of a well-defined cultural blueprint. The results are clear: healthy cultures unlock human potential and lead to positive outcomes.

At its core, culture is “the way we do things around here,” according to the writer Annicken Day (“Culture Coding for Startups”). I like this definition—simple, packed with meaning, and memorable. Defining “the way we do things,” though, requires a blueprint.

Just like in the corporate world, sports teams thrive on a strong cultural foundation.  Take the legendary English Premier League football (soccer) club, Liverpool FC, which lives by its cultural blueprint. What makes Liverpool FC’s culture so effective? Let’s break down a few elements of their blueprint.

• Its Ethos – “You’ll Never Walk Alone” – promotes the club as a family.
• Its Core Values – “The Liverpool Way” – define how the club behaves (Ambition, Commitment, Dignity, Unity).
• Its Sustainability Strategy – “The Red Way” – guides the club in addressing its relationship with its people, planet, and communities.

Under legendary coach Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool FC adhered to its ethos, core values, strategies, and principles. Klopp built on the already established cultural blueprint by living out core principles—Trust, Clear Definition of Success, Behavioral Identification, Embracing Setbacks, and Creating a Safe Zone for Debate. These principles set clear expectations about how things would operate for the club, and they laid a strong foundation for future leaders.

Like Liverpool FC, building a healthy culture requires determining and staying true to a cultural blueprint. A cultural blueprint provides a plan for how your company works and how you want it to work. However, creating this requires answering key questions and confronting current realities.

Components of a Cultural Blueprint – Answering Key Questions

1.      Who are we? (Team Norms, Attitudes, Behaviors, and Beliefs)

2.      Why do we exist? (Purpose)

3.      What do we do? (Mission)

4.      Where are we going? (Vision)

5.      How will we behave? (Values)

6.      How will we get to where we want to go? (Strategy)

Benefits of Having a Cultural Blueprint

1. Definition: A Culture Code defines who you are, why you exist, what you do, how you do it, and what is important to you.

2. Language: A Culture Code creates a shared language, enabling people to communicate more effectively and efficiently.

3. Decision-Making: A Culture Code provides a framework for saying “yes” and “no” when making decisions. It is much easier to answer tough questions when using a well-defined set of guidelines and core convictions.

4. Unity: A Culture Code increases the likelihood of maintaining a unified culture.  Growing organizations face many challenges when attempting to scale. A defined Culture Code allows for healthy growth by providing a common language, aspirations, and norms.

5. Connection: A cultural blueprint answers the key questions of an organization's existence (see above). When answered, promoted, and lived, people who buy in have a deeper emotional connection with the organization.

6. Message: When lived out, a cultural blueprint conveys a clear message to people inside and outside the organization. It attracts and retains “believers” and repels and dismisses “non-believers.”

When you get your cultural blueprint right, you attract the right people and repel the wrong ones. That’s a winning formula for success!

Do you need assistance addressing short—and long-term people, culture, leadership, or strategy needs?  Contact me at steve.black@brixeyandmeyer.com, and our team will address them proactively.

Disclaimer: This blog is not legal advice but merely informed opinion or general information for no particular purpose.  Issues addressed in this blog often implicate federal, state, and local labor and employment laws.  This blog is not intended as a substitute for legal advice.  Readers should consult labor and employment counsel to determine whether their policies, procedures, decisions, or courses of action comply with such laws.