S3 / E8 - Cutting through the Return to Work Propaganda

Kara's friend, Chris Cook, joins the podcast to tell us about his experience as an Assistant Director working with stars like Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, and Jason Sudeikis. He takes us behind the scenes of Ted Lasso and other productions. 

We reach the final episode of the Ted Lasso. Unpacking all the good, bad, and beautiful examples of leadership in this television series has brought us so much joy. This final episode delivered, and had us in our feelings.

In Season 1 Ted said he loves meeting people's moms, because "it is like reading an instruction manual as to why they're nuts". Now, in the second to last episode of the series we finally get to meet Ted's mom, and yep... it explains a lot! But Ted is doing his best to break generational cycles of trauma and harm. We draw parallels to how the younger generations are actively breaking the cycles of trauma and harm in the work place.

Many of us have an uncomfortable relationship with the idea of "quitting" anything -- a relationship, a project, a hobby, a job, etc. We are quick to assume that we weren't good enough. In this episode we talk about how to reframe and navigate the moments when you are thinking of moving on from a situation.

Rebecca gives him some extra-tough-love feedback when he skips a press conference, reminding him that there is only so much wiggle room a person can get for their personality if they fail to meet the requirements of their role. We discuss when are the moments that call for toughness, when all other forms of communication fail.

The Ted Lasso episode we unpack touches on the tension between wanting information from others while also wanting privacy from others. We also discuss the conundrum most companies are facing: How to get people to come back to the office, for even 1-2 days a week.

We depart from our typical format in this episode for a couple of good reasons. We added a guest interview with Jen Casimiro -- a Systems Designer with a focus on Equity -- at the end of the episode to take a deeper dive into one of our topics. Additionally, since we recorded this episode right after a two month summer break, we spend some time up front catching up on all the TV episodes we have watched and plan to watch. 

For this very special episode of Ted Lasso (S3, E6 Sunflowers), we invited a very special guest. Our friend Alexis Gonzales-Black is a Partner at August Public and is an expert in empowered decision making. She helps us break down what's happening in the scene when Isaac, the captain, is trying to get the team to make a collective decision about their evening plans. Of course we also talk about Rebecca and her gezellig experience in Amsterdam.Learn more about Alexis and August Public here: https://www.aug.co/

Shandy has proven to be a liability to her employer, and Keeley needs to now fire her. We unpack both sides of that conversation and share our thoughts on the "compliment sandwich" approach to feedback.

Coach Beard and Roy tried to rally the team around a "common enemy" as a way to motivate them on winning. But, the players went deep into their feelings of anger, lost focus, and the plan backfired. We discuss the pros and cons of using anger as a motivator.