A few years ago, we wrote about 11 leadership lessons we could learn from Ted Lasso.
At the time, we had the BELIEVE sign, the goldfish, “be curious, not judgmental,” and a relentlessly optimistic American convincing skeptical Brits that kindness and empathy could be superpowers.
It was extraordinary, sometimes, in spotlighting the ordinary, and this season is just as thought-provoking.
This time, Ted returns to Richmond to coach the women’s team, the Lady Greyhounds, and his old playbook doesn’t automatically work. Different team, different challenges, different dynamics and, thankfully, still Coach Beard.
This season takes the idea of BELIEVE and pushes it a little further. Because belief is wonderful, but eventually you have to do something with it. You have to listen, adapt, risk looking foolish, have uncomfortable conversations and admit when your way isn’t working.
Here are nine lessons worth taking with us.
1. You cannot copy and paste what used to work
Ted returns with an impressive résumé. He transformed the men’s team, changed lives and left behind a sign that probably deserves its own IMDb page. But the Lady Greyhounds aren’t the men’s team with different uniforms.
That’s one of the smartest things this season explores. Experience matters, but experience can also make us assume that because something worked before, it should work again. Markets change. Consumers change. People change. We change.
The lesson isn’t to throw out everything you know. It’s to keep what works without becoming so attached to it that you miss what this moment requires.
2. You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room
Alice Chilton knows women’s football in ways Ted simply doesn’t. Ted doesn’t become better by pretending otherwise. He gets better by respecting what she knows.
There is enormous freedom in saying, “I don’t know. You do. Teach me.” Whether you’re leading a team, working with clients or simply trying to get better at what you do, you don’t need every answer.
The smartest person in the room might be the one willing to admit there’s something left to learn.
3. ‘Yes’ is nice. ‘Yes, and’ changes things
Alice is trying so hard to change that she starts saying yes to everything, and Ted introduces her to the improv principle of “yes, and.”
There’s a difference. “Yes” accepts what someone gives you. “Yes, and” accepts it and adds something. That’s collaboration. Communication. And a pretty terrific way to approach clients and, frankly, people in general.
Stop waiting for someone to finish talking so you can give them your answer. Listen to what they gave you and build from there. People don’t need us to agree with everything they say. They need to feel like what they said had somewhere to go.
4. Eventually, staying comfortable becomes the bigger risk
One of my favorite moments centers around the quote, “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” That hits.
How often do we stay where we are because changing feels embarrassing or uncomfortable? We don’t make the call, ask the question, try the new idea or admit we don’t know something because we might look foolish.
Ted has never been particularly concerned with looking cool, which may secretly be his superpower. There comes a point when staying safely inside that bud costs more than risking the bloom. Sometimes you have to risk looking a little ridiculous to discover what you’re capable of.
5. Sometimes the problem isn’t you. It’s what you’re working with
The women’s team isn’t simply dealing with different expectations. They’re working with different resources and conditions, and Ted notices.
We’re quick to blame ourselves when something isn’t working, but sometimes it’s worth looking around. Do you have the tools, training, systems and support you need? Are you putting yourself in environments that help you grow or ones that keep you stuck?
Self-reflection matters, but so does context. Figure out what you can change, and then change it.
6. You need people
The Lady Greyhounds splintered into cliques, and it became clear that sharing a uniform doesn’t automatically make people a team. People have to experience belonging. They have to know each other, trust each other and have reasons to care about the person next to them beyond what that person can produce.
Real estate can be surprisingly lonely for a business built entirely around people. Find yours. Learn together. Share ideas. Ask for help. You can be independent without doing everything alone.
7. Sometimes the best thing you can say is nothing
Episode 8 gave us one of the most beautiful moments of the season. Alice is struggling. Ted is struggling. And there isn’t some magnificent Ted Lasso speech. They just sit together.
We’ve developed this idea that being helpful means always knowing what to say. It doesn’t. Sometimes the greatest gift you can give another human being is your presence without your advice.
That’s worth remembering with clients, coworkers, friends and family. Sometimes people need information. Sometimes they need solutions. And sometimes they just need to know someone’s here.
8. Follow the anger
This may be the new “be curious, not judgmental.” Anger is often the loudest emotion in the room, but it can be covering something else: fear, hurt, disappointment, feeling unseen or powerless.
When a seller snaps, a buyer gets frustrated or someone becomes defensive, you can fight the emotion or get curious about what’s underneath it.
Don’t just react to the anger. Follow it. Usually, that’s where the real conversation begins.
9. Let people surprise you
One of the joys of Ted Lasso has always been watching characters become more than the labels we originally gave them. Jamie wasn’t just an arrogant superstar. Rebecca wasn’t the villain. Roy wasn’t just angry. Keeley was far more than the bubbly model everyone first assumed she was.
People are unfinished, and sometimes we forget that. The person who drives you bananas may be carrying something you know nothing about. The quiet person may have the best idea. Someone you wrote off may surprise you completely.
Leave room for people to become someone you haven’t met yet. And maybe leave a little room for yourself to do the same.
BELIEVE was never really about the sign
Maybe that’s what there is to love most about this season. Ted came back to Richmond, but he couldn’t simply come back and do everything the same way. Neither can we.
Our industry changes. People change. Life changes. We change. Maybe the next evolution of BELIEVE isn’t believing harder. Maybe it’s being brave enough to ask, What does this moment require from me now?
Listen more, judge less, get uncomfortable, ask for help, make the call, try the idea and sit quietly beside somebody who needs you.
And when you’re scared you might look ridiculous? Ted Lasso has been dancing, punning, baking biscuits and mispronouncing British expressions for four seasons now, and it’s game-changing.
BELIEVE. And then do something with it.
