Jürgen Klopp is calling it quits. He no longer wants to be coach of Liverpool FC from the summer. Now I have to come out of the closet: I don't know much about football, nor do I know Jürgen Klopp personally. But even I have been following this news closely. Because a public figure has made a very conscious decision. I find the reasoning remarkable: because he was running out of energy.
Psychologically, this can be categorised as self-care, provided the motive is honest. Such statements often have a strategic background - to get another job. But I can't judge that.
The fact is: he's retiring. Is it also the end of his career? I don't think so. Because consciously quitting is not the same as the end of a career. Especially not for managers who have a strong desire for autonomy. That's how I see Jürgen Klopp: he makes the decision for himself. It could be something of a liberating blow. People become all the freer when they can make a decision for themselves. If this decision is taken away from them by external circumstances, the end of their career can quickly become a psychological burden. Traditional retirement is a good example of this.
I see this myself when coaching top athletes. When you finish your career, you lack structure in your everyday life: seven days of training, training, training, every week, for years on end. Top athletes are not used to organising their own day. If this changes, there is a lack of security and structure.
I have an athlete in my mind's eye right now. I advised him to write daily plans for himself after the end of his career. It sounds simple - and it is. And very helpful. He wrote down: when he has breakfast, when he does sport and when he works on his laptop, when he goes to university, etc. Writing plans gives structure back.
What I also notice in my coaching sessions is that competitive athletes and managers also struggle with the loss of their identity when they consciously quit or end their career. They lose status, attention and the team around them. They become normal people. And therefore need a new identity. Many confuse person and position.
If you are left alone with all these challenges after your career, you can quickly fall into a deep hole.
My recommendations for competitive athletes and managers are therefore:
- Think about the end of your career in good time: preferably years in advance. I advise athletes to start one and a half to two years in advance. Managers should start even earlier.
- Take a conscious look at yourselfHow would you like to organise your free time? What do you want to do to fill your everyday life? It takes time and self-reflection to find a new identity. This process can also be accompanied by coaching.
- Organise the time yourself as consciously as possible: then you can shape the transition very consciously and have the reins in your hands, so to speak. This also prevents the deep hole because you have taken your desire for autonomy into account and consciously tackle the challenge.
I'm curious to see how Jürgen Klopp will organise this for himself.
You can find more on the topic in the new episode of my podcast "Find the core" - wherever podcasts are available.