Mentoring lessons from Lasso and why we all need a mentor

With National Mentoring Day this month, I started thinking about what transformative support looks like. As I reflected on this, my mind kept going straight back to my current favourite TV series, Ted Lasso*.

Who is Ted?

Ted had zero experience in the Premier League football, yet he was hired to manage a London club. He didn't even know the offside rule and had no tactical pedigree whatsoever. He faced cynical scepticism from the players and supporters alike, and yet he delivers an absolute masterclass in mentoring, time after time. He shows us how to face tough transitions and overcome team friction with curiosity, personal calm, and self-belief. 

Here are three mentoring lessons I have taken from Ted and why having a mentor on your side can make so much difference.

Look through the windshield, not the rearview mirror   

No career trajectory is a straight line. We all experience interviews that don't land, projects that stall, or transitions that test our resolve. We can keep going in circles reflecting on all our mishaps, but Ted offers a simple, yet effective metaphor to help us quiet the panic: 

 "There's a reason that the rearview mirror is smaller than the windshield."

The rearview mirror is your past. It matters because it got you here, but it’s only meant for a quick glance to check your blind spots and take the lesson. However, you simply cannot drive forward if you’re fixed on what’s behind you. You will crash!

The windshield is wide because that is where your agency lives. The past gives you context, but the future is what you are driving towards.

When you hit a career stumble, a mentor helps you distinguish between looking back to learn versus looking back to find excuses or spiral into self-doubt.  A great mentor reminds you of the principal goal and turns your eyes towards the windscreen.  

Choose curiosity over judgment

When office politics heat up, when a promotion passes you by, or when a stakeholder seems impossible to work with, our panic turns into defensive judgement: “They're uncooperative. They're difficult. The system is dysfunctional”.

Take Ted’s approach instead: "Be curious, not judgmental."

An external mentor provides the objective lens you lose when emotions and interpersonal tension take over. Instead of feeding your frustration, they approach the situation with curiosity, asking the questions you are too close to see:

• “What unspoken pressure is that manager facing?”
• “Is this a clash of values, resources, or communication styles?”
• “What are the unwritten rules here?”  

In this way the mentor helps you uncover the power dynamics and see the bigger picture more clearly, giving you the strategic distance to respond with a constructive solution rather than a defensive reaction.

Ted says that "Yes" opens the door, "And" lets you walk through

How often have you been asked to take on a new project or support a team and you have said “Yes, but…”  knowing perfectly well it is not something you feel comfortable with, and your hesitation creates a feeling of unease?

Let’s see how changing one tiny word can give you back the agency to shape what happens next!

Ted suggested using “Yes, and…” to Alice, the coach in Season 4.

Whenever life or work throws a curveball, you accept the reality in front of you. That is your “yes” and that opens the door. But the real magic happens in the “and…”!

If "yes" opens the door, "and" is what allows you and the people around you to walk right on through.

This is where a mentor becomes invaluable. When you’re offered a role but unsure how to negotiate equity, benefits, or pay scales, a mentor helps you prepare to say, “Yes, and…”, accepting the opportunity warmly while advocating for your true worth.

In team meetings or collaborative projects, swapping "Yes, but that timeline won't work" for "Yes, and how can we prioritise the core deliverables first?" immediately shifts the room from conflict to co-creation.

True mentorship is about having someone in your corner who reminds you who you are when things get noisy.

A great mentor does what Ted did for his football club, Richmond. They remind you to step back from the edge of burnout. They show you how to open doors with a generous "Yes, and…”, how to keep your eyes fixed on the windshield ahead, and how to approach tricky workplace dynamics with curiosity rather than judgement.

You don't need a crooked, yellow "BELIEVE" sign taped above your desk to build a resilient career. But you do need the humility to recognise that nobody climbs the mountain entirely on their own!

And when you are ready for that, discover how WBS Mentor Boost connects you with experienced alumni who are ready to be your very own Ted Lasso.

* Apologies to those who haven't watched the show yet, there are a few references here, but consider this your official nudge to start watching!