If you haven’t watched Ted Lasso on AppleTV yet, you must. It’s one of the best TV series I have ever seen. It’s hilarious, heartwarming, and surprisingly relatable. In addition to being entertaining, this show is also amazing at demonstrating leadership lessons from which we can all benefit.
In this latest episode, I especially loved the examples of vulnerability by Ted and Dr Sharon, the demonstration of empathy by Roy Kent and the courage shown by Rebecca and Sam. If you don’t know what I am talking about, then it’s better to watch it or read this summary first before reading further.
Vulnerability is a Strength and Not a Weakness
I love that Dr Sharon is not perfect. She is completely irritated by Ted Lasso who was unwilling to open up to her. What Dr. Sharon’s own therapist said to her is something we can all learn from – “You must meet him half way if you want him to open up.”
In another word, if you want to build trust with someone, you must first show some vulnerability yourself. Vulnerability is a strength and not a weakness. It makes you much more human and much more approachable and trustworthy. A show of genuine vulnerability is also contagious and creates a safe space for others to open up as well.
Once Dr. Sharon opened up about her own feelings of fear during the bicycle accident to Ted, it enabled Ted to feel comfortable later in the episode to share his own disturbed feelings about his past. In a similar vein, when Ted shared the truth about his “panic attack” to his team of coaches, it provided a safe space for each of the others in this picture below to “confess” their own imperfections to each other.
I just love the way this episode was written and what a perfect demonstration of leading by example. Once you allow yourself to be vulnerable to others, they will also trust you more to be vulnerable and imperfect themselves. At the end of the day, you see clearly how that brought a team of coaches more closer together.
True Empathy Leads to Common Understanding and a Stronger Team
We saw Jamie Tartt as an callous “axxhole” in Season 1. He and Roy Kent were literally mortal enemies. In this episode, we witnessed the pain Jamie Tartt must have experienced as a kid when his father showed everyone that he is the true “axxhole” of the family.
The entire team witnessed Jamie’s agony in response to his father’s callous and abusive remarks and actions. Roy Kent, now a coach for the team, showed true empathy and compassion to walk over to Jamie to hug him.
What I learned is sometimes when people irritate us, it doesn’t mean they are necessary intentional or bad people. They also have their own bitter stories that led them to be the way they are towards us. Jamie Tartt is actually a good person at the core and just needed a better support system than what his father provided.
Roy is a man of a few words, but his action speaks volumes of his compassion and leadership. It’s not what a leader says but what they do that really matter. I just loved the way Roy demonstrated this throughout the second season as well as in this particular scene.
Courage is About Being Willing To Try
I loved Sam’s short interview after the game. Even though Richmond lost badly 5-0, he said what he was happy about was that he tried his best. He took a chance and put his heart on the line. Of course, this was also referring to finding out his blind date is his boss Rebecca.
Those scenes between Rebecca and Sam were so amazing. While this story between Rebecca and Sam is about the courage to love, it’s a great reminder to us all to have the courage to try new things in life. How many times have we decided not to try something, like a new job, new career, because we are not sure we will succeed.
This story between Sam and Rebecca reminds us life is exciting when we try, even if we don’t know where it may go.
At the end of the day…
Our family loves gathering on Fridays to watch the latest episode of Ted Lasso. It’s amazing to be both entertained and educated by a TV show. My 9 year old watched this episode with me again just last night.
While she may not know all the nuances of what I highlighted above, I love it that Ted Lasso as a show can demonstrate the kind of examples that I also want to show my daughters in real life. Examples that vulnerability, empathy, and courage are the types of qualities that help connect us closer to each other, and makes life more exciting and rewarding.
Your comments: What life and leadership lessons have you learned from the show Ted Lasso? who is your favorite character? I think mine right now is Roy Kent :-). I look forward to your comments
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Lei