🎤 Quotable quotes: “Men do love a song with an instruction, right?"
— Keeley Jones
Roy Kent and Jamie Tartt are dancing.
We could probably stop right there.
In Season 4, Episode 6 of Ted Lasso, the two former rivals find themselves enthusiastically dancing to House of Pain's Jump Around. As Rebecca and Keeley watch this display, Keeley offers an observation that made us laugh:
“Men do love a song with an instruction, right?”
She's not wrong.
Jump Around. Shake It Off. Walk This Way. Stand by Me. Even Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go comes with fairly specific expectations.
Maybe we all appreciate knowing exactly what we're supposed to do.
And that got us curious.
🎵 Sometimes We Just Need to Know the Next Move
Think about how much information comes at us every day. Emails, Slack messages, presentations, meetings, texts, dashboards, notifications, goals, priorities, strategies, and a text thread gone mad.
We're swimming in information.
But information and direction aren't the same thing.
We've all left a meeting where a lot was discussed but nobody was quite sure what was supposed to happen next. We've received the three-paragraph email that required another email asking, “So... what do you need from me?” We've seen the strategic plan with six priorities, 14 objectives, 37 initiatives, and absolutely no clue what anyone should do differently on Monday morning.
Sometimes what we really need is our own version of Jump Around.
A clear instruction.
🪧 Ted Was Pretty Good at This
Ted certainly wasn't afraid of a speech, but some of his most memorable messages were remarkably simple.
Be curious, not judgmental.
Believe.
Be a goldfish.
They're memorable because they're simple enough to carry with you. You don't need to pull up the PowerPoint later to remember what Ted was trying to say.
And importantly, simple doesn't mean simplistic.
“Be curious, not judgmental” can change how you approach a difficult conversation. “Be a goldfish” gives you something to do after you've made a mistake. And a crooked yellow BELIEVE sign gave an entire locker room a reminder of how Ted wanted them to approach what came next.
Great direction doesn't always require more words.
Sometimes it requires better ones.
🧭 What's the Instruction?
There's a leadership challenge in Keeley's joke.
If you're responsible for a team, a family, a classroom, or even just yourself, ask this:
Is it clear what we're supposed to do next?
We spend a lot of time explaining the why, and we should. People deserve context. They should understand the bigger picture and how their work connects to it.
But eventually someone has to know what to do.
Call the customer. Ask the question. Finish the proposal. Put the phone away. Have the conversation. Take the walk. Apply for the job. Make the introduction.
Clarity creates movement.
Apparently so does a catchy beat.
💃 There's Another Side to This
Of course, there's something else happening while Roy and Jamie are jumping around.
They're having fun.
These are two guys who spent a good portion of their relationship competing, fighting, insulting each other, and generally being Roy and Jamie. Now they're dancing together.
Maybe not every moment needs a leadership framework.
Sometimes the instruction really can be:
Jump around.
We can spend so much time optimizing, planning, improving, measuring, and figuring out what comes next that we forget we're allowed to enjoy where we are.
Put on the song. Be ridiculous. Laugh with your people.
Roy Kent dancing is optional.
But highly encouraged.
🏁 Final Thought
Leadership can be complicated. Life certainly is.
But the next step doesn't always have to be.
One of the kindest things we can do for the people around us is provide a little clarity. Cut through the noise. Make the important thing easy to understand and the next move easy to see.
And every once in a while, maybe Keeley has the right idea.
Don't overthink it.
Jump around.
— Nick & Marnie
Your tea sipping, instruction following, occasionally dancing friends
More leadership musings
🍪 Biscuits with the Boss:
Here's your question for the week:
If your team had an instructional theme song right now, what would it be?
Don't Stop Believin'?
Shake It Off?
Workin' for a Livin'?
Or perhaps things aren't going particularly well and you've landed on Help!
Bonus points if you actually play it.
🌎 This week in Here - There - Every F’ing where
One of Ted's superpowers is figuring out everyone else's superpowers. That is exactly what Blue does. Marnie worked with a group of seniors at SMMHS as they worked in Blue to help figure out their story.
Apparently this is an activity she can do with her eyes shut ;)
Believe!
Nick & Marnie
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