San Antonio Artificial Intelligence Worldwide Leadership’s Post

Transcript

The character Ted Lasso is probably most well known for his wildly positive attitude. Ohh I'd Higgins hi threes a crowd hey, that's a crowd I don't mind being smack dab in the middle of buddy. This is an awesome trait that we may cover in a future video but in today's video, we're actually gonna dive into leadership. While the show is pure fiction, Ted demonstrates techniques that real life leaders like Steve Jobs, Larry Page and Phil Jackson used to achieve incredible success. If you already naturally do these things, it's a sign that under the right circumstances, you could be a fantastic leader. Although. People may not give you quite as much loyalty as Ted gets in the show. Bills, I could watch you do this jaunty North Korean military thing you do all day, and I need a favor would die for you, coach. OK, so let's get into the details of leading people and more specifically, being someone that people want to follow. We'll show some clips with plot spoilers for season one, but we won't touch on Season 2. The first sign of a great leader is that they make everyone on the team feel like they matter. The show illustrates this well on Ted's very first day as a coach of his new team, when he meets the team's equipment manager. You see a small habit here, but it's an important one. So we're supposed to meet with Rebecca Welton. Yeah. That's why I'm taking you, this guy one step ahead. What's your name, by the way? Yeah, no one ever asked my name. And then later that day we see this. You continue to impress Nathan. You remember her name. This may seem like cliche TV stuff, but making people feel like they matter is a core part of being a leader. Author Simon Sinek lays it out well on this next clip. He's explaining the test of a good leader according to a Marine Corps general he knows. It was a three star general in the Marine Corps. He says his test for leadership, and I love that he goes his test for a good leader is if you ask somebody how their day is going, you actually care about the answer. The big mistake that most people make is to only tap into that genuine interest with their bosses or socially when they're talking to the most attractive person in a group. This is a common mistake and it hurts you twice. Not only does it make the people you're blowing off feel like you don't care, it also makes the people you're trying to get to like you dislike you because it creates the feeling that you're a taker or a user. You're only giving them attention because you want something from them. So the best thing you can do as a good person and for your own self-interest is to make everyone feel like they matter. Without weighing what you think they'll be able to do for you, Ted lays it out well here. You gotta see the way I see it, OK? Everybody in this building, part of the team, part AFC Richmond teams, got a bond. Now, while you may consider everyone a part of the team, that doesn't mean that everyone else automatically bought in or cares about your goals as a leader. In fact, most people probably care mostly about themselves. Ted star player Jamie Tart takes this to the extreme after he scores a goal. Check it out. Thanks to budding superstar Cheney Tart, Richmond are right back in it at 21 in the 29th minute. What's he yelling me? He's pointing at the name on his back and the tools are yelling me. Now, most people you're trying to lead won't be quite so obvious about it, but that's probably not too far off from some people's internal monologue. So what you want to do as a leader is align your goals. Instead of trying to get them to do something that's good for you, get them to do something that's good for them that also happens to be good for you. That's a sign of a natural leader. You don't try to persuade someone by talking about what you want or need. Simply put, speak in you, not I. As a side note, if you want to be a great leader, try to help your teammates. See their goals, even when it doesn't benefit you. The show demonstrates this very well. Ted wants Jamie to be more of a team player, but what Jamie wants is to be considered a great footballer. Listen to how Ted aligns their two goals and starts the process of making Jamie into both. I can honestly say you are the best athlete I've ever coached. You are truly great at everything you do out there. Except for one thing. If you just figure out some way to turn that me into us. This guys limit for you. This one speech doesn't magically transform Jamie overnight, but it's a start. At least until Rebecca sabotages Ted. Now that said, ultimately as a leader your goal isn't just to get people to do what you tell them. A good litter creates lieutenants. They set up other people to become leaders. Again, let's turn to the show just to see an example. This clip is from when Ted was struggling to come up with new ideas for his offense. So I'm officially on the proud for any new ideas you hear. Yazoo night. No. So. No. No. God, no. Never mind. I'm sorry. Come on, now. You're one of us. Let's go far away. What do you got? OK. It's just Ted thinks anyone is capable of good ideas, and so he solicits Nate to speak up. In this next clip, you'll see that he also forces Nate to actually bet on himself and his idea or have it thrown out. You know why? It's not very even very good. It's probably really bad. You know what's embarrassing, even. Sorry, Nate. I have a real tricky time hearing folks. Don't believe in themselves. I'm ask you real quick again. Do you think this idea will work? Yeah, I do. Whoa. Why you screaming at us? Nate, We're right here. Alright, come on now, walk us through it. This may also seem like something that only works in a scripted TV show, but Phil Jackson, one of the best NBA coaches of all time, had a similar philosophy. Here are a few quotes of his from his book on leadership. I always tried to foster an environment in which everybody played a leadership role. From the most unschooled rookie to the veteran superstar, the most effective approach is to nurture everyone else's leadership skills. When I did that, it paradoxically strengthens my role as a leader. This philosophy that anyone is capable of a great idea is also similar to Google's 20% project. Before Google's IPO, cofounder Larry Page codified the project by saying we encourage our employees to spend 20% of their time working on whatever they think will be most beneficial to Google, and Google credits this with some of their biggest innovations. You don't even have to try every single idea that's suggested to you in order to be a good leader. The sign of a good leader is if you're genuinely open to ideas outside of your own. There's another aspect to creating Lieutenants that the TV show does a good job of showing. Watch this next clip for an example of it after Nate tries to write a pregame speech for Ted. Read through your thoughts. Yeah, they're great. And I agree with every last one. But I can't say this here, but they need to hear it. I agree. That's why you're going to. Are you drunk? You're giving the pregame talk. You go reading this. A good leader lets people get the credit for what they've done. A common mistake people make when they're in charge of something for the first time is to try to hoard all the credit for themselves. But a good leader knows that if you feel proud of your work, you're going to work harder and do better. In that last example, Ted read the speech and actually made sure it was good. Then he pushes Nate to give it himself, and it's a huge step in Nate's career. Ted's lack of ego also lets him actively solicit feedback and try to improve. This is one of the first things he does. And he gets to his new team. And if the Internet has taught us anything, it's that sometimes it's easier to speak our minds anonymously. Right. So I ask now you here to make us a good old-fashioned suggestion box. Hey, look at that. Yeah. Did it with my niece. She loves crafts. Yeah. I love glimpses into your personal life. Is lovely. If you haven't seen the show, this comes at a time when Ted knows he's not very well liked by his new team. To them, he's a random American coaching a sport he knows nothing about. But he still makes it anonymous because he actually wants to know how to improve. Team, even if it means wading through a ton of insulting comments to get there. ******. Let's see what else we got. **** *** ******. I hope you choke on a Big Mac. Good thing these are anonymous. No Roy. Signed that one, Roy. Ohh, here's a good one. Shower pressure is rubbish. Making note of that, Even if you're not currently a leader, this idea of soliciting feedback is one of the most powerful self improvement exercises you can do. For example, you can do a blind spot circle. That's where you sit down with a group of close friends and ask them for honest feedback on what they think your blind spots are. This can be terrifying, it can lead to things you don't want to hear, and it can be an incredible catalyst for making positive change in your life. It works so well because if one person tells you constructive criticism, you probably have the urge to fight it or ignore it. Disagree. But if five close friends all have the same feedback, it's hard not to at least consider it deeply. Just make sure to do this with a group of people who respect you and whose opinions you respect. Another sign of a natural leader is having the empathy to understand the people you lead. Simply put, if you can put yourself in their shoes, you'll know how to get the best out of them. If a leader isn't able to do this, they need to create a Lieutenant who can do it for them. Here's a quick clip from the show to illustrate the point. Notice that Ted's assistant coach is quick to assume a struggling player just doesn't have talent, but Ted's empathy clues him in to that. It might be something else. Maybe the Premiership is too much fun. No, he just needs to get a little more comfy here, that's all. Only turns 20 on Saturday. There we go. Birthday. You know, we'll do something special for him. Nudge that ship in the right direction. Yeah. Different things motivate different people. Some need tough love, Some need positive reinforcement. Some need a mix of both. Some people need to be told exactly what to do, and others excel when given a goal and freedom to achieve it however they see fit. If you want to be a good leader, take the time to understand what motivates someone. If you can empathize with someone. Instead of demonizing them, you'll be better at aligning incentives, rewarding them, motivating them, and predicting what projects they'll succeed at. Once you do empower someone to succeed, the next habit of a good leader comes into play. Celebrate other people's wins. A theme you've probably already noticed is that if you want to be a good leader, you need to get people excited to follow you. Part of that process that many leaders ignore is making people feel appreciated. The show does a good job of highlighting the power of this, albeit with over the top enthusiasm because it is still a TV show. Ted loves to praise and reward people who are helpful. For instance, he celebrates Rebecca for helping the block a bad paparazzi photo. So I spoke to the owner of The Sun. You spoke to God. Now the newspaper ohh. And he has agreed to not run the photo of you and Keely. MVP, MVP. MVP. Left leg. OK, Yes, yes. OK. Thank you, Ted. Sorry. Yeah. Bad leaders actually get their emotional reactions backwards. They react to good work with mild praise, and they save their big emotional reactions for when they're yelling at people because they screwed up. Now that said, as a leader you do need to create an environment where bad actions have consequences, but the key is to do it in a matter of fact way and not become someone who takes joy in punishing other people. This next scene shows it well. For context, if you don't watch the show, Jamie is faking an injury here in protest of being moved to the bench, and he's basically refusing to practice unless he starts. Tell you what, do me a favor when you get out there, said the cones. So the other reserves could do a little passenger. We'll say it's quite nice seeing Jamie putting his place once thrilling evening. No, no, no, no, no. This is the No shot in Freud zone, right? Nine shot in Freud, right? Being able to strike that balance of celebrating when people do well and having consequences for if they do something bad is a sign of strong leadership.