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8 Leadership Lessons from Roy Kent
“He’s here, he’s there, he’s every-f***ing-where, Roy Kent, Roy Kent!” If you’re a fan of Ted Lasso, it’s hard to not have a soft spot for the teddy bear with the gruff exterior played by Brett Goldstein– who was originally hired as a writer for the show, but fell in love with the character and emailed a self-taped audition for the part.
Roy has shed some of his gruff exterior over the 1 1/2 seasons of Ted Lasso so far, and along the way, Roy has managed to deliver some great leadership lessons (note: some spoilers if you haven’t seen it, but Oi! What are you doing with your life if you haven’t?). ***LANGUAGE WARNING in the video clips***
Mentor the next generation
One of the first relationships we see for Roy is with his niece, Phoebe, a well-spoken primary school soccer (sorry, *football*) whiz, who Roy babysits, reads to, and coaches. We see Phoebe scold Roy for swearing, but Roy protects and guides Phoebe throughout the show. He even goes above and beyond to safeguard her self esteem when she’s teased at school for having bad breath, reassuring her and then tenaciously seeking out a dentist to promptly resolve the issue. Great leaders know that supporting and mentoring the next generation is one of the most important things a leader can do.
You are not your job
This isn’t a lesson that Roy managed to learn on his own. In fact, it was greatly supported by his young mentee, Phoebe. Keeley asks her to close her eyes and describe her Uncle Roy. Phoebe obliges, describing Roy: “Well, he’s my uncle. His beard is scratchy. He buys me ice cream. He swears a lot. He’s really funny. And I love him.” Keeley, wisely, turns back to Roy and points out, “See? I didn’t hear anything about being a footballer.” A good leader knows that they are more than the role they play at work, and can separate who they are as a person from their work identity. This is a critical lesson every leader needs to master to maintain their sense of self-worth, especially when things aren’t going well at work.
Have a succession plan
While it’s hard for Roy to come to terms with the end of his lengthy career as a footballer, he is thoughtful about who to choose as his successor. Like any good leader would, he watches the team to identify who is well-respected and has the right energy to take over as captain to lead the team. He then gracefully turns over the duties of captain to his successor.
Know your worth
When Roy and Keeley go out to dinner with the team owner Rebecca and her date, Rebecca asks them afterwards what they thought of her date. Keeley politely demures and says he’s fine, but Roy emphatically reminds Rebecca that she’s worth so much more than “fine”– “You deserve someone who makes you feel like you’ve been struck by f***ing lightning!” A good leader knows that they (and their team) need to stand tall and know their worth, and demand the very best. Roy acknowledges “most people are fine” but “don’t you dare settle for fine.” And good leaders never settle for fine.
Remember your playful side
Ted brings the new team captain, Isaac, to be mentored by Roy, who takes Isaac to the pitch where he played for fun, and encourages Isaac to remember that before it was a job, football was a game, that you play for fun. It’s easy for us to sometimes get so wrapped up in the job that we’re doing that we forget to have fun doing it– and we can usually do our best work when we’re able to have some f***ing fun with it.
Appreciate the people who support you
In one of the more NSFW (and yet somehow touching) scenes, Roy recognizes how his girlfriend Keeley’s nudging to become a sports pundit was just what he needed, despite his vehement claims to the contrary. He sits her down on the couch and sweetly tells her, “You helped me to help myself. Again. So I wanted to thank you properly.” And…. he does. While the way Roy thanks Keeley is decidedly NOT work-appropriate, a good leader knows that expressing proper gratitude to your team is critical, particularly in situations where your team had to work extra hard… I mean go to great lengths… I mean… never mind.
Don’t stay in a job that isn’t right for you
Roy takes a job in season 2 as a pundit on a sports show– with the honesty (and swear words) you would expect from him. However, he realizes in episode 5 that it’s not actually a good fit for him at all, and doesn’t play to his strengths. Rather than continuing to do a job that he didn’t enjoy, and that didn’t allow him to be his best self, he realized he was better off leaving.
Be the boss
In the last scene of episode 5, Roy returns to Richmond to join the team– this time as a coach, and is joyously welcomed as the boss he truly is by the entire stadium. A good reminder to all of us to own our power, and show up as our best selves. We’ll be joyously welcomed for it.