Pop! On Leadership

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. 

Zava shows up and assumes a leadership position on the team. Some folks are happy and eager to follow. But Jamie doesn't buy the whole hero / savior narrative, and worries the team is forgetting their own strengths. We discuss what it looks like to add a "super star" to an already healthy and trusting team. We go on a tiny tangent about childhood crushes (Jared Leto). And we compare Rebecca's experience at the psychic to the experience we had with a roadside psychic in North Carolina.  Notes: Virginia embarrasses herself by referring to the classic 1995 film "Now and Then" as "Then and Now". If you haven't seen "Now and Then" please do so. She usually records at 7am, so probably didn't have enough coffee. The Japanese art of mending broken things with gold is called Kintsugi.

This episode has a lot of interesting introductions and re-introductions. In this episode we discuss what it looks like to dim your own light, or dim the light of others. And alternatively, what it looks like when you are able to *shine a light* on others (for better or worse). Keeley identifies potential in an old friend and makes her first hire, the team is adapting to the addition of Zava the Superstar, and Trent takes accountability for his hurtful criticism of Roy many years ago. We talk about it all and ramble into many other areas. 

We're back and ready to talk about Season 3 of Ted Lasso. It's obvious Ted is feeling out of sorts, and we contemplate whether he's contemplating how much longer he wants to stay at this job. We gush about Rebecca's personal and professional growth to date (swoon). And we provide "audible eye-rolls" at how the show decided to launch Keeley's entrepreneurial journey by making her seem naive and helpless. 

We love when our listeners reach out and recommend shows for us to talk about. And for the most part, we enjoy the shows themselves. But that doesn't mean they lend themselves to great conversations about leadership development and/or organizational design. So this three part series is dedicated to the shows you want us to talk about, but we can't really talk about. Episode 3 of 3 covers Emily in Paris

We love when our listeners reach out and recommend shows for us to talk about. And for the most part, we enjoy the shows themselves. But that doesn't mean they lend themselves to great conversations about leadership development and/or organizational design. So this three part series is dedicated to the shows you want us to talk about, but we can't really talk about. Episode 1 of 3 covers Severance and The Office

We love when our listeners reach out and recommend shows for us to talk about. And for the most part, we enjoy the shows themselves. But that doesn't mean they lend themselves to great conversations about leadership development and/or organizational design. So this three part series is dedicated to the shows you want us to talk about, but we can't really talk about. Episode 2 of 3 covers Succession and Yellowstone

We're not sure everyone realizes that we met over Instagram during the pandemic, and had never met in real life. That is... not until Virginia flew out to North Carolina to surprise Kara for the Ted Lasso Season 3 premier party she was hosting. Of course, Virginia traveled with her microphone. And also of course, Kara booked them an appointment with a local psychic to hear what the future has in store for the podcast. 

Thanks to social media, there is no shortage of hashtags relating to being a boss. And... also thanks to social media, there is no shortage to backlash to those hashtags and the various flavors of boss-culture they represent. In this episode we explore themes of becoming a boss and/or stepping into one's boss-like qualities. Which we would describe as: embracing the responsibilities of leadership with the right amount of self-confidence On March 15th, Kara will be hosting a watch party for the Season 3 Premier of Ted Lasso. If you are in the Cary, NC area please join! You can find more info and RSVP here

Well... we finally wrap up our Nate-related rants just in time for the Season 3 premier. We close out Season 2 of Pop! On Leadership imagining what the character journeys may look like in the upcoming final season of Ted Lasso.For Season 3 of Ted Lasso, we will be posting brief weekly-ish reflections via social media. Make sure to follow us on Instagram. We're planning some fun bonus episode content for you all. Once Season 3 is over, we'll get back to our regular format. Thank you to everyone for your support! 

When Rebecca's father passes away, we get a glimpse into how others deal with the topic of death. Everyone seems to be thinking about loved ones they've lost, how they want to spend their short time on earth, and what it means to say good bye. In this podcast episode we discuss how the sad, scary, and disappointing experiences of our childhood inform who we become as adults -- especially with those challenging moments feel as if they were unacknowledged or unresolved. 

"Beard After Hours" has Ted Lasso fans divided because it's a big shift in both format and tone. We love it, because we love Coach Beard. Surprisingly, we were able to find a couple of Org and Leadership Development topics to talk about, but for the most part we got weird. You could say this was a shift for us, too! Hopefully our fans are less divided.

S2E8 Takes us to Wembley Stadium for a big game, and we get into some big feelings._______________________This episode is dedicated to Virginia's friend, Sarah Debbink Langenkamp, who died in a biking accident in August 2022. Sarah's nickname was "Super Sarah". Her energy, optimism, and work ethic knew no bounds. Everything she did was indeed super, from her friendships to career to motherhood. You can learn more about Sarah's story here and here 

We named this podcast episode after the TV episode, because it is aptly named "headspace". When we feel unsafe or threatened, our brain shifts us into survival mode. Also known as fight or flight. We all need headspace, the ability to think rationally and creatively, and this requires a sense of safety. 

Rebecca's mom shows up unannounced, and we discuss how our parents can influence the ways in which we seek out validation from others. Nate continues to test out his new power move, but we wonder if these short lived positive results are only going to reinforce negative behaviors.

When we compare ourselves to teammates, we tend to lose sight of our purpose and the things we actually enjoy in our work. Constantly comparing ourselves to others can strip us of passion, and we see this play out with Nate and Isaac in this episode. We also talk about the fact that it is really difficult (perhaps impossible) to talk your way through change. Actions will always speak louder than words, and instead of giving Isaac a pep talk or lecture, Roy created an experience for him so he could feel the change for himself. And forgive us for only coming up with Christmas related Romcoms, we had just finished debriefing the Ted Lasso Christmas episode and we were in that frame of mind. Trust us... we like non Christmas RomComs too. 

In this episode we discuss the Ted Lasso Christmas episode, "Carol of the Bells". We talk about our relationship to traditions, and the tension that exists with wanting to maintain the values and "magic" we are used to, while allowing yourself to adapt and evolve traditions to ensure others feel included and celebrated. The dinner that Higgins hosts is a perfect example. 

Season 2 of Ted Lasso opens with a traumatic event that forces Dani Rojas to rethink his identity, which to date has been entirely intertwined with his career. We are also introduced to the new team psychiatrist, Dr. Sharon, and get the sense that Season 2 is going to explore themes around mental health and emotions in the workplace. Nate starts to display some bad behaviors that are typical of folks newly promoted (who are still unsure of themselves).

We meet Led Tasso, and see an apologetic Jamie Tartt. Do our eyes and ears deceive us? Can you really expect teammates to take you seriously if your actions lack sincerity? Also, why does our ego want to double down on defending our "good intentions" when we should be taking accountability for our "negative impact"? Speaking of negative impact, why does it feel so good to rally around a common enemy? Clearly, we have many questions to unpack in this episode.

Jamie Tartt -- that toxic teammate no one wants to work with -- wants to come back to the team.  Sometimes what's good for business is not good for morale, and leaders are forced to make tough decisions and tradeoffs. For leaders who are conflict avoidant, and/or prioritize team harmony above all else, these tough decisions are even tougher!

We take on the entire first season of The Bear in this bonus episode! The Bear was very popular this past summer. Many of our listeners reached out recommending it and asked us to breakdown the team dynamics and leadership styles. We were happy to oblige. 

In this bonus episode of Pop! On Leadership, we take our second deep dive into a topic discussed throughout season 1- influencing positive change at work. We learn from experts Cheri Torres and Jackie Stavros, who have written numerous best-selling books, coached, taught, and led organizations with a positive organizational development approach called Appreciative Inquiry. Also, we talked Jackie into binge-watching Ted Lasso, and she's now such a fan that she bought goldfish for the university football team where she teaches, Lawrence Technological University. Here are some helpful links :Conversations Worth Having - https://conversationsworthhaving.today/Cheri Torres -https://www.linkedin.com/in/cbtorres/Jackie Stavros - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackie-stavros-0b45824/

In this Bonus Episode of Pop! On Leadership we take a deep dive into the Enneagram framework with special guest Sandhya Sudhakar. Sandhya is a certified executive coach and Enneagram practitioner, and recently started her own practice called Self at Work. This episode format is a little different than what you might be used to, but we intentionally wanted to provide our audience with an expert's perspective on one of our favorite frameworks.  Don't worry we talk about Ted Lasso and other TV shows, as well. Here are some helpful links --Sandhya Sudhakar / Self at Work: https://www.yourselfatwork.com/Enneagram Institute website: https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/Description of the nine Enneagram types: https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions

In this episode we talk about how to reframe challenges from a new angle to allow for creative ideas to emerge. As Rebecca tells Ted: “Sometimes your disadvantage is actually your biggest advantage”. We also go on a tangent about MLMs.

In this episode, we talk about taking accountability in service of moving on and growing. This includes taking responsibility for making the tough decisions that need to be made (even when it means potentially upsetting others).We reference Dr. William Sparks' Actualized Leadership Framework in this episode, and you can learn more here: https://alpfree.com/

In this episode we explore the formation of Ted's Diamond Dogs and talk about making friends at work. We walk through the benefits (as well as the risks) of venting to friends at work.

In this episode we pull out a bunch of frameworks – Timothy Clark's 4 Stages of Inclusion and Innovation, Kim Scott's Radical Candor, Patrick Lencioni's 5 Dysfunctions of a Team as we talk about how the team bonds after getting some overdue (and tough) feedback from Nate. We also offer up some tips on how to pick a good karaoke song. 

In this episode we explore creating and participating in rituals at work to bring people together and mark important moments. And we also briefly touch on Enneagram types. https://tests.enneagraminstitute.com/

Connect with us at @popon_leadership over on Instagram or on our website www.poponleadership.com. 

Connect with us at @popon_leadership over at Instagram or on our website www.poponleadership.com.In this episode we talk about moving past the passive aggressive moments, and dealing with conflict head on to clear the air and release tension on a team. And unpack why we often experience intergenerational tensions on teams.Links related to topics we discussed in this episode: Hanlon's Razor theory is when we excuse our own mistakes because of good intentions, but struggle to excuse the mistakes of others because we assume bad intentions. https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/philosophy/hanlons-razor

This episode is all about what it means to show up as team members, and display leadership qualities by finding your voice, and inviting the voices of others. We also discuss sharing ideas openly with others, with an eye on building trust among team members.

This episode is all about how to identify the barriers and challenges at work often brought on by people's insecurities… including our own. As well as how to spot self-awareness and empathy in candidates and coworkers.

In this episode we talk about everything from first day jitters, what organizations get right and wrong about onboarding, and navigating relationships and challenges in a new workplace.