Who do you learn gratitude from?
Who do you consider a gratitude expert?
A gratitude expert is not always someone who is the best at, the nicest, or the kindest, but rather the person who stays in the game and operates no matter how difficult from a foundation of gratitude.
I devoted a chapter to Ted Lasso in my next book, The Gratitude Gap. At the heart of Ted’s approach is a conscious practice of gratitude that shapes every action and interaction.
Ted Lasso is a sitcom about a syrupy-sweet midwestern football coach transplanted to lead a premier United Kingdom football team (soccer for those in the United States). It is one of my all-time favorite shows, which I’ve watched multiple times and talked about in my leadership workshops. It has been nominated for sixty-one Primetime Emmys and numerous other awards. According to entertainment critic Richard Roeper, the pop culture references in Ted Lasso “fly faster and more frequently than a string of expletives from Roy Kent when he’s in a particularly verbose mood.”
***Spoiler Alert***
Ted created a supportive and positive workplace that led to wild success. Success for the fictional story was winning games and their season, learning, growing, being strong, having trusted and lasting relationships, and having fun. All were led by Ted using his positive leadership style. Gratitude is a fundamental skill and theme throughout each episode.
The show is entertaining and deeply human. It has the right mix of story, action, and character development. From his recruitment as a naïve U.S. football coach in season one, episode one, Ted was able to create a successful, world-class U.K. football team in three seasons based on the principles of positive leadership.
Here are four short videos to watch from the show that highlight different leadership lessons:
Leaders build confidence – Rebecca Makes Herself Big (Ted Lasso) – YouTube
Curious, Not Judgmental, Darts – Ted Lasso (2020) – Darts Scene – YouTube
Difficult Conversations – Ted/Nate – Ted Lasso – Nate tells Ted the truth – YouTube
One person can change the mood, Rebecca – Ted Lasso The Greyhounds singing Three Little Birds at the Bus #TedLasso – YouTube
While I do not consider myself an expert at gratitude, I do consider myself an expert at continuously growing my gratitude, coaching and teaching leaders to build their gratitude foundation. Here’s what one leader said about our work together –
I opted to work with Star Dargin as a leadership coach following a great workshop for leaders on communicating to motivate. Star’s practice is rooted in gratitude, which is essential to me to be kind and express gratitude. I want to be a positive-minded leader.
The result is that I am now a more confident and comfortable leader. I’m working at a higher level and a sounding board for peers and others. I’m getting better business results through collaboration and successful conflict management. I’m happier and leading from a much more positive place. ~ Amy Washburn, BUSINESS MANAGER, Weston @ Sampson
What I’m curious about is who or what helped you strengthen your gratitude?
