Believe in Yourself

​Last night I watched the most recent episode of Ted Lasso (Apple TV series about an American coach of an English Premier League soccer team) and got choked up by a speech he made to his team after another devastating loss. The team not only lost their 8th straight game but lost their star player. The team was in a tailspin and his speech hit the core of what matters most in any sport – believing in yourself that you can make an impact in helping the team win.

The team thought that after acquiring the best player in the league earlier in the season, they would automatically rise to the top of the standings. They soon realized that this was not the case. The star player did his part, but the rest of the players became complacent and too reliant on their star to help them win. The opposing teams soon learned that they only needed to shut down the star player to beat them. This is a classic scenario that we often see in other team sports where the star cannot guarantee success alone. He or she needs support from their teammates. Everyone needs to step up and perform at their best for them to win. 

​Last night I watched the most recent episode of Ted Lasso (Apple TV series about an American coach of an English Premier League soccer team) and got choked up by a speech he made to his team after another devastating loss. The team not only lost their 8th straight game but lost their star player. The team was in a tailspin and his speech hit the core of what matters most in any sport – believing in yourself that you can make an impact in helping the team win.

The team thought that after acquiring the best player in the league earlier in the season, they would automatically rise to the top of the standings. They soon realized that this was not the case. The star player did his part, but the rest of the players became complacent and too reliant on their star to help them win. The opposing teams soon learned that they only needed to shut down the star player to beat them. This is a classic scenario that we often see in other team sports where the star cannot guarantee success alone. He or she needs support from their teammates. Everyone needs to step up and perform at their best for them to win. 

Professional services firms face the same challenge in today’s market. In the past, they might have been able to get by with a few rainmakers bringing in most of the work. The problem with that model in the long term is that the supporting “players” get complacent and too reliant on being fed by their star colleagues. As competition grows, it becomes harder for the rainmakers to carry the firm on their backs.

Over the past several years, we are seeing most firms asking all their partners to step up their game and generate revenue. If they don’t, the firm could fall into a tailspin like Ted Lasso’s team.

In Ted’s pep talk to his team, he told them that losing their star player was a good thing. He went on to say that he only wanted players on the team who wanted to be there. He reinforced the point that they could win with everyone in that room. They just needed to believe in themselves and eliminate doubt, shame, and uncertainty. They needed to remove all the “junk” that was going through them and believe with their minds, heart, and gut.

I coach so many talented professionals who are more than capable of building their own book of business, yet just need to believe that they can do it. Overcoming this mental barrier can open the gates to so many new relationships and opportunities. It doesn’t always happen overnight, but over time, patience, and hard work, they can make it happen. 

I already look forward to seeing what happens in the next Ted Lasso episode. I can’t say for sure, but I suspect that the team is going to pull out of its tailspin and quickly rise to the top of the leaderboard.