What we could learn from Ted Lasso
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With phrases like, “Be a Goldfish”, “Smells like Potential”, “I Believe in Believe” and my personal favourite “Be Curious not Judgemental”, you can’t help but love this show.
If you haven’t seen the show, it’s key theme is triumph over adversity. It’s about an underdog football coach who’s only ever coached the American version of football, and who takes on a coaching job opportunity in England’s Premier League. He is written off from the get-go. However, Ted Lasso teaches people about leadership and that it has nothing to do with the leader themselves and everything about their people.
Here are some of the key learnings from the show:
Leadership
It isn’t about the leader – it's about the people. Leaders work for their people and not the other way around. If you want to show genuine interest and drive a good culture, you can’t be selfish. Your team need to see that you want the best for them and are prepared to do your utmost to understand and develop them to be the best they can be.
Compassion
This doesn’t necessarily mean hugs and a shoulder to cry on although some people do need these things from time to time. Tailor your approach to people on what works best for them. To do this, you need to understand who each of your team members are. Genuinely get to know them. Unfortunately, there is no one size fits all, so you need to be receptive to listen, support and understand.
Respect
You’ve employed or inherited team members. It is your job to know that they are all different and respect them for the individual qualities they bring to the business. For example, this could mean that the quieter and shyer people still get the opportunity to contribute but in their own way. Find out what that way is.
Involving your team
Show your team that they are just that a team. Clearly, they don’t need to be involved in the bigger company decisions but in the day-to-day dynamics and areas where they could offer ways to improve production or business ideas let them feel heard. Don’t be afraid that the ideas may be better than yours – embrace it.
Acceptance
If everyone was the same the world would be a boring place. So, when people are different to you it doesn’t mean they are right or wrong they just are. Acceptance involves a level of understanding of different personalities and the qualities they bring to a team. Healthy team dynamics involve different personalities.
Resilience
Actively demonstrate this. Embody the quote “Be like a goldfish” - learn from it and then forget it. Carrying around mistakes and letting them weigh heavily on an individual or team doesn’t help culture or enjoyment – it weighs it down and does nobody any good.