Ted Lasso is the Future

A friend recently started watching Ted Lasso on Apple TV and remarked to me that Lasso is “just so nice, when does he do something?”

Ted’s wholesomeness is particularly jarring because Ted Lasso is a TV show that takes place at work. Maybe this should be a sitcom that takes place at home or within a friend group? Maybe we’d be more used to Ted’s brand of kindness if it didn’t manifest itself at work?

I think that is the point — Ted is so nice, so genuine, and real (the further along you get). He is exactly the tutorial we all need as we head back to the office. Otherwise put, the model for professional relationships in a post COVID era is Ted Lasso not Michael Scott.

Over the last few years you’ve heard a lot of people say ‘bring yourself to work.’ Which means don’t be afraid to celebrate your identity and the things you care about. It means to tell people about your culture and traditions. It acts as permission to redefine the dress code and eat that snack no one has heard of before. These are all good things…but it is also all about me.

Lasso teaches us to check-in with your boss every morning because they are a person too. To look out for a teammate who is having a hard time at home. To promote the quiet wunderkind who secretly has great ideas. Lasso teaches us to look out for the other. To be genuine in a Lasso world is to genuinely care about others.

We love Ted Lasso, and so did the Emmy’s ,and I hope we remember that when we return to work.