Battling mental health, anxiety and a crisis of confidence are some of the things that we all face within our professional and personal lives, yet sometimes we all need a timely reminder that there is a reason we do what we chose to do – and remember that word choose.
On September 12th 1962 then president of the United States of America, John F Kennedy, just a year into his presidency and against a public backlash for the US space programme gave the “We choose to go to the Moon", address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort, in it he said,
“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone.”
In short, if the end goal justifies the sacrifices we make and we see a greater good for those around us by striving to achieve that goal then there is a reason to try.
Sometimes adversity means that task at hand means the odds are stacked against us and truth be told the easy option is to put it into the “too hard” tray and hope some other fool will pick up the ‘suicide mission’ instead.
In short, our lives are defined by the decisions we make and the influence those decisions have upon others, and sometimes those decisions require huge resilience - or in my man's world 'sticking to our guns'.
So What does this have to do with a fictional character on a tv show on Apple TV?
Ted Lasso: You either immediately know who this is, or you’re wondering, “Who in the world is Ted Lasso?”
In order to explain this I need to probably give you a little of the back story to Ted Lasso, both the programme and the character.
Ted was a fictional character, dreamed up by the genius that is Jason Sudeckis, an American second division NFL coach who finds himself suddenly propelled into the world of premier league management with AFC Richmond – completely out of his depth. To do this Ted relocated from the states to the UK with a team of rag tag coaches many of whom had untapped and unrealised talent yet also a remarkable perception and belief in value and positivity of thought.
Ted was a man out of his comfort zone, who sacrificed a marriage and child, suffered relegation in his first season and who could have quite easily jumped back on a plane and headed back stateside to lick his wounds.
But he didn’t, he showed resilience to comeback, fight and do a job which he chose to do, “not because it is easy, but because it’s hard.”
In season 2 his mental health and anxiety came to the fore as his side battled against the challenges of his own personal anxiety due to the suicide of his father against a backlash of “you don’t belong here” aka imposter syndrome kicked in.
At the end of the series he finally triumphed with promotion back to the premier league, a team written off by many, with a mantra of “believe” delivering on a vision but doing it the hard way through never giving up and keeping going until the last minute.
Despite the challenges and the personal sacrifices Ted maintained a vision, held true to his beliefs and “never gave up” – a true story of human resilience.
So … What are the lessons and what can we take from our friend Ted?
Football, Construction, Highways or Rail we all work in a results driven business.
We are defined by our own proverbial “3 points” which for Ted came at 4.45pm on a Saturday afternoon. While Ted had to face the press after a game we have to deal with, and mitigate the small failings within our own work.
But just because we suffer one setback, do we quit? Do we take that easy option or do we travel along the pathway we know is going to have speedbumps and cause us to plunge into moments of self doubt? Do we simply take the easy path or do we display the maximum resilience we can muster to deliver a vision and a goal we personally believe in, no matter what the sacrifice.
We will all face betrayal, those who seek personal gain from association and many other challenges, but should that really be the factors which define us and force us, through peer pressure, to turn away from the things we truly believe in, things we know will make a difference to those around us in a positive way.
As Dani Rojas (a character from the programme) said,
“Football is Life.”
To many thousands it is, and their own mood is affected by what happens in 90 minutes on a Saturday.
The same can be said for what we do.
As leaders we employ, influence and have the ability to affect positive change through our actions of those we put to work, to influence the mood they go home in or what they choose to do with their spare time.
Stamp it Out and Richmond … Two underdogs worth fighting for
Before starting down a journey as to the similarities between incursions and abuse and a fictional football team, my ask is you remember the phrase “Too Hard Tray.”
Richmond were a club in crisis, owners fighting with each other and a coach many thought was out of his depth. Players and manager facing abuse on a weekly basis yet still having to turn up and do their job.
Now lets look at roadworker abuse, a taboo subject for a lot of years many placed in the too hard tray.
We have a disenfranchised workforce, 50% of whom face abuse, by their own admission, on a weekly basis, yet still have to turn up and do their job on a weekly basis.
We face a massive looming skills shortage with an industry seen as very unattractive to those who are choosing careers – a bit like deciding to go and play for a relegation threatened football club.
And yet … whilst football managers come and go when they fail we find ourselves facing the challenges of picking up our people weekly, they may not come to us ‘managers’ but they talk amongst themselves just as footballers do.
We ask them to be resilient, to show empathy and to face down adversity and get the job completed, yet the only way they will do this is with strong leadership and a vision that together we can ‘believe’ and make things better.
But sometimes the biggest challenge is to tackle the elephant in the room and not shy away from adversity, striking out may be unpopular at the outset but in the long term if we show resilience we have a much better chance of effecting change, as managers and leaders we need to demonstrate resilience, no matter how hard the task may be.
At the end of season 1 Ted could have easily licked his wounds and crawled back to the States but he faced his demons and adversity, showed resilience and became a true leader.
When we formed Stamp it Out the issue of roadworker abuse was rife, the client was disenfranchised from the subject and the sheep were following the mass, just like a successful football team.
But by sticking at it, week in, week out and never losing sight of the values around changing the perception of our industry – despite significant challenge - we have begun to pick up the odd 3 points on a Saturday.
We have had our ‘relegations’ and the fans turning against us but when results go your way you hope the fans come back, as they do in football.
Last year after being ‘top of the league’ this year I faced my own relegation battle and that’s when resilience really comes to the fore.
I am glad to say I came out at the end of the season in lower mid table having lost a few of my star players, but we survived and have rebuilt.
During those challenges the one value that really stuck with me was to “be more Ted” try and take the positives from the challenges and never let yourself become a victim to adversity, do what you believe is right and ultimately stick to your guns because if you and those around you believe others will too … eventually.
Through both Stamp it Out and Ted Lasso a small group of individuals believed in and stuck to their principals and in times of adversity positively challenged for the greater good of the masses.
So in short
Ted Lasso is a fictional character who faces multiple personal and professional challenges in his life, so do we, be that you, me or those we put to work every day but only by learning from others digging deep into our personal resilience and leaning on our peers (just as Ted does) can we achieve our vision.
Never loose the belief in what you are trying to do because it is too hard and understand that, in life, sometimes, the short term sacrifice is worth the long term gains and the difference we can make to other peoples lives.
Written By: Kevin Robinson
CEO
Safer Highways
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