Judgment vs Curiosity
Ted Lasso’s Conscious Leadership Lesson
I recently discovered the Apple TV+ program Ted Lasso. It’s a heart-warming comedy show about a U.S. college football coach who moves to England to coach a Premier League football (soccer) team. Lasso is a folksy Midwesterner who doesn’t understand the ways of the British, so many jokes highlight the cultural differences between the two countries.
In one scene, Lasso humbles a rather snobbish Brit who is attempting to humiliate Lasso during a darts pub competition. In his wise, measured way, Lasso shares how he is often underestimated by others and didn’t understand why until one day he saw a quote that said, “Be curious, not judgmental.”
That quote changed Lasso’s understanding of why he was underestimated or belittled. He realized many people are busy being judgmental about others instead of being genuinely curious. One is a very closed view of the world; the other opens it up to all sorts of possibilities.
The snobbish Brit is then put in his place because he judged Lasso to be a bumbling idiot American, when in fact Lasso is far wiser and capable than he appears. If the Brit had been curious instead of judgmental, he would have understood.
Being curious instead of judgmental is actually harder than we think. It’s one of the cardinal principles of professional coaching. But during my coaching training, I personally experienced and witnessed how challenging it is for humans to shift from judgement to curiosity.
Newbie coaches, like most humans, want to immediately label a person or a situation. They default to finding a “solution” for a client’s problem. But how do you know that your solution will be the right answer for another person? You don’t. Unless you think all humans see things the same way or want the same outcomes. And by immediately judging a situation or person, you miss out on a wealth of possibilities and genuine growth that come from curiosity.
As a conscious leader, replacing judgement with curiosity will be one of your most valuable skills. Lean into curiosity every opportunity possible.
Have a problem that needs to be solved? Get curious about its source and be open to all sorts of potential solutions—and ideas from any person on your team.
Working with a team member who is struggling? Don’t just label them or try to solve their issue. Get curious and ask empowering questions to help them explore what’s really going on. Help them get curious about themselves without judgement.
Want to expand your business? Leverage your curiosity to explore all sort of opportunities, then apply the facts and figures necessary to make a wise decision. The curiosity could open your eyes to opportunities you’d never entertain with a judgmental mindset.
By setting aside judgement and embracing curiosity, you’ll be amazed by how the world will present incredible possibilities for growth, connection, and success.
Work happy. Live happy. BE happy.
Meredith
The way we work and build teams is rapidly changing. Leaders often feel unprepared to navigate the transition. As a conscious leadership coach, consultant and communicator, Meredith helps leaders and their teams create new ways of working and relating so they can prepare for the future by consciously co-creating it.
Contact her to develop your conscious leadership and transform your organization into the workplace of the future.
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