Leadership Lessons from Ted Lasso
We are massive soccer fans in our household. (Soccer = football for non-US people.) Like the annoying kind who watch all the games very loudly. Of course, I am a HUGE fan of the USA Women’s National Team (see my pay equity thoughts here). And the World Cup starts this week. Cue my flip charts around the house where we track games and brackets for the entire tournament. Since the first week of games happens during the November holidays in the US, we’ve already had to warn our extended family about our obsessive game watching habits.
While we watch all kinds of soccer, our main focus is the Premier League, which is the highest level of the men’s English football league system. So, imagine our surprise and delight when Apple TV launched a series about English football in 2020. Ted Lasso is a comedy series that follows an American football coach (Ted Lasso) who is hired to coach an English football team. Of course, American football is not too similar to English football, so hijinks ensue. The many storylines and characters in this show make it endearing to viewers, which is why Ted Lasso has won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series for its two seasons.
As the World cup begins and we all need some hope for the future, I want to highlight some leadership lessons from Ted Lasso. He is not a traditional leader in that he didn’t work his way up in the company to reach this status. He also doesn’t have identical relevant experience. (Did I mention that American football is very different from English football?) And he is not from the home country of the organization. Ted Lasso has many obstacles to face from day one. Here’s how he approaches it:
1. He is willing to take risks – When he accepts the job offer, Ted Lasso is a head coach at a Midwestern US college football program. He doesn’t even know the rules of soccer, but he brings his assistant coach and best friend, Coach Beard, with him to start the adventure together. As he gets into the role, Ted Lasso is willing to try new plays and reorganize in a way that disrupts tradition and structure in the system.
2. He admits what he doesn’t know – The English press is not exactly known as kind across the globe, so imagine what they think of an American trying to coach a beloved English team. Ted Lasso shows up to his regular press conferences with humility and kindness. He willingly admits that he has a big learning curve and shows confidence in his vulnerability.
3. He knows everyone’s names – The organization that hires Ted Lasso is not known as a people-first workplace, so employees are startled when Ted Lasso makes sure to learn everyone’s names and remember key facts about them. He treats everyone the same, which also disrupts the workplace and hierarchy.
4. He shows up consistently – One of the highlights in the first season is Ted Lasso showing up every morning in the football team owner’s office with biscuits. The owner (Rebecca) is not really interested in getting to know Ted, but he keeps showing up every day with those biscuits and builds a strong relationship with his boss.
5. He focuses on connection first – Ted Lasso takes the time to get to know everyone in his organization and even his neighborhood. He is not well liked with locals, but he works hard to build relationships with them and learn the English culture. He also uses the same approach with his team. He builds trust with a key player just by listening to that player’s suggestion to fix the locker room showers.
These are just a few lessons from Ted Lasso, and I’m sure you could name way more. But these five behaviors can make a big difference for a leader. Here are some evaluation questions for you:
· Where can you take a small risk in the next 30 days?
· What is one thing you are willing to admit to your team that you don’t know?
· Whose names do you not know in your life? What difference would it make if you learned some of those names this year?
· How can you show up consistently for one person this week?
· When can you build connection first with your loved ones?
As Ted Lasso says, “Takin’ on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse. If you’re comfortable while you’re doin’ it, you’re probably doin’ it wrong.” You may feel a bit uncomfortable taking a small risk or admitting a lack of knowledge, but that’s okay. True leadership challenges us internally.
It’s a great time of year to reassess your leadership. Check out our Reboot Your Leadership series, which contains 4 blog posts, a FREE facilitation guide for team conversations, and an 18-minute training video for you.