Leadership Is Human

Matthew Gerrell

Fractional Chief Marketing Officer

Last week, Ted Lasso returned for a new season. And it reminded me of a mug which I use at least once a week for my morning coffee.

It was given to me by one of my direct reports, and on it were the words:

“The Ted Lasso of CEOs.”

I’ve received plenty of gifts throughout my career, but this one has always meant something to me. Not because I think I have Ted Lasso figured out; or because leadership can be reduced to optimism, a mustache, and a “Believe” sign.

It means something because of what I think the comparison represents.

Years ago, another colleague described my leadership in a way that has stuck with me even more. They said I was “authentically human.”

The longer I lead, the more I believe this may be one of the most important things any leader can strive to be.

We spend a lot of time talking about leadership as a mantle. Citing company mission statements and values. Leaders set the vision. Leaders make decisions. Leaders drive results. Leaders hold people accountable.

And all of that is true.

But somewhere along the way, some leaders can forget something incredibly simple:

We are humans leading other humans.

The people on our teams have careers, ambitions, families, fears, bad days, great ideas, insecurities, victories and failures. They will sometimes exceed every expectation we have for them. Sometimes they will make mistakes and things can happen which are completely out of their control.

Leadership shows itself in both moments.

Yes, we should push people. We should challenge them. We should expect excellence and hold people accountable for delivering it.

But when something goes wrong, we shouldn't suddenly disappear and leave someone standing alone to take the full consequences of the situation.

If I was part of the team when we made the decision, then I need to be part of the team when we deal with the consequences.

If one of my people takes a swing and misses, my first instinct shouldn't be to create distance between myself and the failure. It should be to stand beside them, understand what happened, learn from it together and figure out what we do next.

Have your team's back.

That doesn't mean ignoring mistakes or avoiding difficult conversations. In fact, I believe strong relationships allow us to have harder conversations because people know where we stand. Those who've worked with me know I call this, "Cleaning out the Gunk".

They know we will challenge them.

They also know we won't abandon them.

That's an important distinction.

Somewhere along the way, leadership became associated with having all the answers, maintaining a certain distance and projecting certainty at all times.

I don't believe that's leadership.

I believe leadership is sitting beside someone when things are hard.

It's celebrating them when they succeed without needing to take the credit.

It's pushing them when you know they're capable of more.

It's telling them when they got something wrong.

It's admitting when you got something wrong.

It's making sure the people who work for you know that they're not simply resources on an organizational chart. They're people whose careers and lives you have been entrusted to influence.

That's a responsibility I have never taken lightly.

Maybe that's part of what makes Ted Lasso resonate with so many people (especially me). Underneath the humor and soccer, there's a pretty simple leadership philosophy: people matter.

Results matter, too. Accountability matters. Performance matters.

But those things don't have to come at the expense of humanity.

In fact, I've found the opposite to be true.

When people know you genuinely care about them, when they know you'll challenge them but also stand beside them, and when they know their leader is willing to share both the victories and the failures, they tend to give you something a title can never command:

Trust.

So I'll keep the mug.

Not because I need to be the “Ted Lasso of CEOs.”

But because it reminds me of the kind of leader I want to continue trying to be.

Authentically human.

Because before we're executives, managers, directors, CEOs or leaders of any kind, we're humans.

And we're leading humans.

We shouldn't ever forget that.