Ted Lasso's Leadership Lessons of Successful Leaders

Ted Lasso’s leadership style of servant leadership is rare to see on TV.

I expected Ted Lasso to be skits of Jason Sudeikis acting like a bumbling fool. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The show turned out to contain so many…

Heartwarming moments.

Despite having zero knowledge of English Football, Ted Lasso makes A.F.C. Richmond a better team. I love that Ted doesn’t have a magical skill that helped him. Ted’s leadership philosophy is the reason for his success.

The core tenant of Ted’s coaching style is:

I will do everything he can to help others achieve their goals.

Ted’s leadership style struck a chord with me – I lead teams the same way. So I’m here with you to explore the five leadership lessons from Ted Lasso that made me a successful leader.

Read on to the end to hear about one more mind-blowing detail I noticed when re-watching Ted Lasso for this essay.

Spoilers ahead if you have not watched Season 1.

Disclosure: This article includes affiliate links to any books I reference. I may receive compensation when you click on links to these products.

Ted Lasso’s Leadership Lesson 1: Ignore the Haters with Clear Goals

In first half of the season, Ted Lasso goes through a gauntlet of negative criticism. Everyone doubts him. Rebbeca sets him up to fail. The players think he is a joke. His first game has him walk out to a stadium of people calling him a wanker.

How does this environment affect Ted?

It doesn’t phase him at all.

His enthusiasm doesn’t waver. He ignores being called a wanker. He doesn’t even care if A.F.C. Richmond loses! Why does Ted not care what others think?

Ted Lasso ignores the haters because he has a clear goal.

Ted explains his goal when talking with Trent Crimm, played by James Lance, in Episode 3:

For me, success is not about the wins and losses. It’s about helping those young fellas be the best versions of themselves on and off the field. And it ain’t always easy, Trent, but neither is growing up without someone believing in you.
“Trent Crimm: The Independent.” Ted Lasso, episode 3, 2020. Apple TV+,

This goal gives Ted clarity. He knows that helping others become the best version of themselves takes a long time. It requires focus, understanding, and incremental steps. The outside world doesn’t see the emotional work Ted puts in for the team, so he disregards them.

Just as important though, are the people Ted Lasso does not ignore. These are the people that understand his goal. He listens to their feedback and puts it into action.

Ted’s clarity in his goal is a great example of changing what you can control. You’ll achieve more by understanding your goals, finding allies that support you, and focusing on the domain you have complete influence over.

Ted Lasso’s Leadership Lesson 2: Each Person Matters

Great leaders believe that everyone on the team matters. From the owners to the equipment manager, the team succeeds with everyone’s contribution. Since the start, Ted acknowledges everyone’s contribution:

Ted builds trust with Nathan by giving Nathan space to voice his opinion.
Ted sees Higgins as a partner and regularly gets lunch with him.
Ted understands how important A.F.C. Richmond is to the community. He reciprocates this care by learning all he can about the town.
Ted manages up to Rebecca by bonding with her via “Biscuits with the Boss.”

As the season goes on, Ted leverages these relationships to achieve his goals:

Nathan contributes innovative new plays, which helps win games.
Higgins advocates for Ted to Rebecca and tracking Dani Rojas’ health.
Mae, the pub owner, provides Ted space to meet with the team to resolve “The Curse”.
Rebecca mentors Ted in the season finale by showing that his lack of experience is a strength.

Each of these moments depended on the relationships that Ted developed. He showed up. He paid attention. He supported each person (much like Hank Scorpio). These relationships paid off such that when Ted needed help, each of these people aided him in turn.

Each person on your team and life matters. When you support them, they will help you in your times of need.

Lesson 3: Teach Others to Believe in Themselves

My favorite storyline in Season 1 is the growth of Nathan Shelley, played by Nick Mohammed.

Nate is the representation of someone who doesn’t believe in himself. He gets bullied, is intimidated by everyone, and feels that his ideas aren’t valuable.

Ted changes Nate with mentorship and advocacy.

Ted builds Nate’s confidence by consistently supporting Nate with positive feedback. It starts with remembering Nate’s name, but Ted does so much more:

Ted shows excitement about each donation box Nathan brings to the team.
Ted welcomes Nathan’s ideas for new plays, which shows that great ideas come from anyone.
Ted stops the bullying of Nathan while also teaching leadership lessons to Roy Kent.
Ted gives Nathan feedback that his suit doesn’t fit and then buys a new one for him.

Ted cares deeply about helping everyone around him achieve their full potential. He doesn’t care about titles, skills, or background – everyone has room to grow. So, what does Nathan do with newfound belief in himself?

Nathan Shelley roasts all of A.F.C. Richmond.

Nathan’s words, something he didn’t believe was valuable, were the reason A.F.C. Richmond won a critical match. He found a way to speak truth and give constructive feedback to his team. Everything snowballed for Nathan from here, resulting in my favorite moment of the show.

Nate being promoted to Assistance Coach.

Sometimes, the thing holding people back is believing in themselves. Great leaders, like Ted, build that belief by supporting their team everyday.

Lesson 4: Surround Yourself with Experts

We all know the hook of Ted Lasso – an American Football coach is asked to coach an English football team.

Ted doesn’t have the skills to succeed, and he’s aware of it! So what does he do?

Ted surrounds himself with experts in English football to make up for his weaknesses.

How does this play out?

In the first episode, we see Coach Beard, played by Brendan Hunt, reading Coaching Soccer for Dummies and Inverting the Pyramid. Beard builds on this knowledge to own the tactical plays for the team.
Ted pushes Nathan for feedback. As the kit manager, Nate observes the team everyday and is aware of their weaknesses.
Ted builds a relationship with Higgins, the Director of Communications, played by Jeremy Swift. Higgins understands who the decision-makers are. Higgins’ experience is important when Ted manages up to Rebbeca.

https://youtu.be/VSGKgi2IFks?t=119

As the season progresses, we see Ted develop the skills to effectively coach A.F.C. Richmond. He even utilizes his weakness as a strength to create Trick Plays in the season finale.

Turns out this approach is not too far from how I go about managing existing engineering teams. What we learned from Ted is:

Surround yourself with experts in the domain you wish to lead.
Stay curious and learn as much as you can by asking lots of questions.
Become comfortable with your ignorance of the team’s environment. Your new perspective can be a strength.

Ted Lasso’s Leadership Lesson 5: Success Requires Teamwork

The philosophical conflict of Season 1 is between Ted Lasso and A.F.C. Richmond’s ace player, Jamie Tartt. Ted prioritizes the personal development of the entire team. Jamie, played by Phil Dunster, only cares about being number one.

Jamie is right to feel he’s the top player on A.F.C. Richmond. He’s loaned from a higher-performing team. Jamie is the only one scoring goals. Both Jamie and the community feels he’s carrying the team. Without him, the team will lose.

Yet, the team still loses.

Football is a team sport. Ted knows this and understands that A.F.C. Richmond won’t win if he only focuses on Jamie. Ted works on the team’s development in two ways:

Working with individual players to elevate their specific skills.
Creating an environment where the team supports one another.

Some ways Ted develops the skills of individuals are:

Building up the morale of Sam Obisanya, played by Toheeb Jimoh, by teaching him to “think like a Goldfish”.
Teaching Roy Kent, played by Brett Goldstein, to be a compassionate leader. Ted pushes Roy to defend Nathan and mak him read a Wrinkle in Time.

Ted Lasso’s Line: Prioritizing Only Yourself

All of this effort is the reason why Ted gets angry at someone in the show. Unsurprisingly, it’s Jamie Tartt.

Ted’s work pays off as trust is built within the team:

Ted gets everyone to chip in for a birthday present for Sam to build his morale.
Ted organizes a “Reverse the Curse” ceremony. In it, each player must sacrifice an emotionally significant item to the team.
Ted has the entire team watch The Iron Giant to create an emotional experience for the team.

It’s not until the team trusts one another that are able to beat Liverpool for the first time in 60 years. The players rely upon, support, and elevate one another throughout the journey.

You can still succeed when losing

Seeing everyone elevate eachother is why I love the final moments of the season. In the game’s final moments, when success is in their hands, the team loses to Jamie and Manchester City. It’s not because the team failed, but that Ted’s definition of success won.

To win the game, Jamie couldn’t go for the final goal himself. There was too much defense in front of him. Instead, he passed the ball. He trusted his teammate to score the winning goal.

While A.F.C. Richmond lost, Ted won. True success is the result of helping the people around you achieve their goals.

⭐Bonus⭐: The Secret Principles of Ted Lasso’s Leadership Style

In the first episode, there’s a scene where Ted and Coach Beard are setting up their office. It’s a simple montage, but Beard hangs up one picture that caught my eye: The Pyramid of Success.

An image of Coach John Wooden's Pyramid of Success. — Coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success.

I’ve never heard of the Pyramid of Success before, but I had to learn more given the context. Coach John Wooden created the pyramid over his career. It contains 25 behaviors that define a successful life.

Seeing this was mind-blowing to me.

The Pyramid of Success is the foundation of Ted Lasso’s character. I look forward to reading more about Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success in the future.

Conclusion

I loved watching Ted Lasso and can’t wait for Season 2.

What’s one lesson you learned from Ted Lasso about how to be a successful leader? Let me know on Twitter or LinkedIn.

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