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Which legendary Premier League manager are you most like in the workplace?

Are you inclined to give colleagues the ‘hairdryer treatment’ when things go awry? Do you have the tactical nous to turn an impossible situation into a winning one?

Mustafa Mirreh
Friday 24 February 2023 21:34 GMT
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Workplace mangers who have employed methods used by their favourite football managers believe it has improved their leadership skills
Workplace mangers who have employed methods used by their favourite football managers believe it has improved their leadership skills (PA Archive)

Are you a Sir Alex Ferguson type or more of a Pep Guardiola?

Take this quiz to find out!

By answering a series of workplace scenario-based questions, this quiz will reveal which legendary gaffer you’re most similar to – when it comes to your own managerial approach.

It was commissioned by CopyBet.com, polling 1,750 workplace managers with a love of football, and found 86 per cent have adopted traits from football managers at work.

Such behaviours include passionate team talks, over-exuberant celebrations, and calling for a decision to be overturned.

A spokesperson 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.”

It also emerged Jurgen Klopp is the current gaffer those polled feel most resembles their approach to management – followed by Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho.

Of managers gone by, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger are the former leaders who still have the most impact on bosses today.

Methods likely used by these legends of the game and adopted by many respondents in their own workplace include giving the ‘hairdryer treatment’ – and wearing tracksuits to work.

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 misdemeanor.

While many have some sense of what transfer deadline day is like – including losing star employees to another employer or identifying staff they’d like to bring into their own workplace.

And others have even been warned about their future conduct or got into a spat with a rival manager.

Of those who’ve employed methods used by football managers, 87 per cent believe their leadership skills have improved as a result and 88 per cent think they’ve become better communicators.

Almost half (45 per cent) opted to embrace such techniques in the hope of achieving team objectives, while 42 per cent wanted to improve team spirit.

However, 36 per cent simply want to create a bit of fun in the workplace.

And they seem to have been largely successful, as 53 per cent claimed employee motivation improved and 45 per cent believe their team found their methods inspirational.

Carried out through OnePoll, the study found 62 per cent claim there’s not much difference between managing staff and a team of football players.

While 43 per cent believe they have all the attributes needed to become a top football manager, with 37 per cent claiming such a role would be “easy.”

A spokesperson 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:

  1. Sir Alex Ferguson
  2. Arsene Wenger
  3. Sir Bobby Robson
  4. Louis van Gaal
  5. Sir Kenny Dalglish
  6. Roy Hodgson CBE
  7. Bill Shankly OBE
  8. Johan Cruyff
  9. Walter Smith OBE
  10. George Graham

Top 10 - Present football managers’ bosses claim to be like:

  1. Jurgen Klopp
  2. Pep Guardiola
  3. Jose Mourinho
  4. Erik ten Hag
  5. Antonio Conte
  6. Eddie Howe
  7. Gareth Southgate
  8. Frank Lampard
  9. Mikel Arteta
  10. Zinedine Zidane

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