Ted’s relationship with the media is a cornerstone of the show. Perhaps no media personality gets more attention than Trent Crimm from the Independent Newspaper (as he always introduces himself). As part of her efforts to embarrass and undermine Ted, Rebecca sets up an exclusive one-to-one interview between Trent and Ted with the intention that Trent will write a negative profile about him. Ted, not realizing what is happening, gladly accepts and even looks forward to the time with Trent.
As the episode unfolds Trent and Ted are talking about a number of issues. Then Ted comes out with his objective for the team. He explains it this way, "For me, success is not about the wins and losses. It's about helping these young fellas be the best versions of themselves, on and off the field." Trent is very skeptical about this – on top of the fact that he witnesses Ted letting Nate (the assistant kitman) devise a strategy for the upcoming game. But Trent follows Ted throughout the day and conducts the interview with this as the backdrop.
A pivotal scene in this episode is the final one when Ted and Trent are eating at a restaurant where the food is very spicy. The two ended up at this restaurant because Ted promised a man he met he would come eat there and had to keep his promise...no matter how spicy the food got (and it WAS very spicy). As Ted’s mouth is on fire, Trent sees the type of commitment Ted makes – in this case to a man he just met -- and how he sticks to his word no matter the consequences. Ted reiterates his perspective on his goal and that his objective is sincerely not about winning. Still in disbelief, Trent states “You really believe that, don’t you?” Ted wholeheartedly confirms his overarching purpose.
In the end, Trent writes a very favorable story about Ted, his approach, and his clear and committed leadership strategy. Rebecca is amazed, frustrated, and beginning to see the leadership approach Ted is bringing and how it is slowly but surely working. While disappointed, we begin to see cracks in Rebecca’s undermining strategy that will keep fraying as Ted’s servant style leadership continues to win the team and others over.
There are two core leadership lessons here. The first is the value of having a clear goal you are deeply committed to as a leader and one that may not be the norm or so obvious to everyone else. That goal becomes your north star when things get difficult and it must be as unwavering as Ted’s perspective on what he was doing at AFC Richmond despite pushback from many places.
The second is what underpins Ted leadership approach – the concept of autonomy. A recent article by Inc. Magazine explains how valuable autonomy and empowering others is as a leader. As they stated, “A recent review published in Psychological Bulletin examined 139 separate studies on different leadership styles and came to a straightforward conclusion. If you want to provide a framework in which humans flourish, you need to help the people under you find their own intrinsic motivation and then give them the freedom to decide how exactly to work towards those goals. Autonomy is the secret sauce of all great leadership. ‘We found that consistently connecting people to the why of their actions, providing choices in how tasks get done, and giving meaningful feedback results in people being more likely to share ideas and to be more collegiate,’ explained senior author James Donald of the University of Sydney Business School. ‘Managing people with controlling, carrot and stick strategies led to people being less likely to share, cooperate, or help others.’” When Ted talks about helping these “young fellas be the best versions of themselves, on and off the field" his underlying purpose is to help them find their why. As the show unfolds we see how different characters – from Roy to Nate to Jaime to Sam to Keely, and even to Rebecca – slowly find their why with Ted’s help and become better versions of themselves.
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