I don’t typically write movie reviews. However, I do from time to time write about leadership and motivation, and in a world that starts with “I” you would have to look far and wide for a better contemporary portrayal of a leader, than Ted Lasso.
Sweet but not cloying, wholesome yet not prudish, Ted Lasso is a clean breath in a smoke-filled room of narcissism. Business social media and blogs are full of verbal selfies fueled by mindless commentary like, “you rock”, or “awesome”. We measure our value in numbers of followers and have countless memes about what a leader is or isn’t; usually in the context of one’s success being dependent on some middle manager’s hamfisted attempts to inspire.
In this Apple TV+ comedy Jason Sudeikis plays Ted Lasso, a D2 college football coach from Kansas. Rebecca Welton, the new owner of a Premier League Soccer (football) club, who acquired AFC Richmond in a divorce settlement, decides to destroy the team as a way of destroying her philandering ex-husband. She recruits Lasso, seemingly a rube from Kansas who knows nothing about soccer. She relishes the idea of him failing miserably and being an embarrassment to the team. What she didn’t count on was Coach Lasso’s leadership or understanding of the human condition.
Ted Lasso teaches us that a leader needn’t be an expert at the job that the team does. A leader doesn’t have to have all the answers. Lasso treats everyone with respect, from his boss the vindictive team owner, to the townspeople who greet him with cries of Wanker! But perhaps it is his respect for the lowly “kit boy” Nate that truly shows his leadership. Lasso not only remembers Nate’s name (when no one else even knows he exists), he elicits Nate’s feelings and ideas. Nate is encouraged to help shape the offense and offers an idea for a play. Lasso thanks and praises Nate. He even decides to run the play in practice, and when the play works a local adversarial journalist asks where he got it. Ted relinquishes the rare opportunity to make himself look good, and gives all the credit directly to Nate.
Despite being over 4000 miles from both his young son and his struggling marriage, Lasso’s focus is on getting to know his team on a personal level. He identifies the key team members that are influencers. The aging former champion and team captain, the young diva superstar, and the humble journeyman player that just wants to contribute. He learns their story, where they come from, and what their needs are. After a conversation with the diva’s girlfriend, Lasso learns how important positive reinforcement is to the star. In one scene after a team loss, Jamie’s (the Diva) self-absorbed behavior needs to be addressed. Coach Lasso tells him that he is one of the best athletes he has ever coached, but in his quest to be 1 in million, Jamie might want to learn to be 1 of 11.
Leaders are not without problems, but they don’t wear them as a badge. They own their mistakes and give credit to others. In one of the more telling scenes, Lasso tells the journalist that he doesn’t care about wins and losses, he cares about making his players the best players they can be, the best versions of themselves they can be. I am reminded of a story I heard about Steve Bisciotti, co-founder of Allegis Group, and owner of the Baltimore Ravens. In one of his early meetings with his coaching staff, the story goes, Bisciotti asks the staff, “What is the main thing?”, “winning,” says one coach, “winning the Superbowl,” says another. Bisciotti says “No, the main thing is becoming the best team we can be.”
Lasso teaches us that while skills development and tactics are important, they are not the realm of a leader. Leadership is about developing relationships, taking time to learn about your people, and having the courage to be vulnerable without being manipulative. Their purpose is helping others become the best they can be, on or off the field, in or out of the office. The rest will follow. To a leader winning is a consequence, not an objective. Lasso is a leader worth following.