Ted Lasso is a Business Story: When Ego Eats the Team

Episode 1: “The Game Is Bigger Than You”

We’re kicking off Season 2 with a truth bomb: if your brand becomes more about you than the people you serve, you’ve lost the plot. Inspired by Nate’s arc in Ted Lasso, this episode takes a hard look at ego-driven leadership, performative personal brands, and the cult of personality that’s eating entrepreneurship alive.

We’ll talk about how legacy leaders like Roy Kent and Coach Beard show us a different path—and how I’ve had to reckon with my own Nate moments during my business evolution.

This one’s spicy. It’s real. And it’s a wake-up call we all need.

👀 Want more clarity like this every week?
 Subscribe to my weekly media digest at sensiblewoo.com/subscribe for behind-the-scenes insights, readings, and updates you won’t get anywhere else.

Transcript

0:00

There's a moment in Ted Lasso where Nate, once a soft spoken kitman becomes head coach. On paper it's a win. But emotionally, he's a grenade with a pin pulled. All ego, no foundation. And that's what we're talking about today. When business becomes more about you than the team, the mission, the people. It happens fast, especially in entrepreneurship. Especially online. And especially when nobody's brave enough to call bullshit. Let's get into it. Hey, hey, it's Mary Williams and this is the School of Moxie podcast where we use your favorite TV shows to talk about real business, real leadership, and real damn life. This season, it's Ted Lasso time. We are unpacking everything from toxic guru culture to emotional intelligence through the lens of the world's most lovable football team. Don't forget to subscribe for updates and behind the scenes woo at sensiblewoo.com/subscribe. Let's talk about ego because every single one of us has to wrestle with it. In Ted Lasso, Nate's transformation is hard to watch, not because he suddenly gains confidence, but because he forgets what made him trustworthy in the first place. He starts seeking applause instead of connection, and that happens in business all the time. I guarantee you've seen someone else do this. You've probably also done it yourself, or are listening now and realize that you are currently chasing applause at the expense of connection. It happens when we chase the cult of personality instead of building clarity through purpose. It happens when we put our face, our feed, our hot takes ahead of real service, real skill, and real self-reflection. You are going to hear me repeat this multiple times in this episode. I've done it too. We all have. I've been in coaching communities both as a participant as well as a coach on staff, where members would see me more often than the brand owner. These were places where people built brands faster than they built businesses with legitimate cash flow. Where a viral moment turned into a strategy, whether they were ready for it or not. I've seen the pressure to perform. I've felt it. And, I've watched people I once masterminded with go big and then go quiet. They repackage old offers. They call it a return to their roots, but we both know it's a regroup. And there's no shame in that unless you pretend you never suffered from the same problems everyone else did because you managed to capitalize on your cult of personality. We've reached another evolution in the cycle of changes, and it always feels like a weird era of online entrepreneurship. The market has changed. Again. This time around, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that audiences are smarter. The hustle aesthetic doesn't land the same, and you can't pull in new eyeballs with yet another shitty PDF lead magnet. But it's fascinating to me that for so many, the temptation is still there to reach for a rebrand instead of building something real. Some of you who have been with me a long time might remember this. During Covid, I was coaching inside a huge online community. Hundreds of people, cameras on, everyone showing up to see me teach. It felt amazing. But eventually I realized I was staying for the applause, not the alignment. And my body paid for it with chronic health conditions that I am still treating and healing. My creativity paid for it with a level of burnout I wouldn't wish on anyone. So I stepped away because what I really want became apparent and cut through all that noise. After all these years, it was so obvious that the reason people showed up to see and hear me on a Zoom call is because I help people find their voice and own their work, not copy someone else's success story. This is where I want to lovingly call us in, not out, because I know many of you listening have probably felt this too. The pressure to slap a trending title on yourself like "fractional COO" or"brand strategist" without knowing what it really means and you're not alone. These titles are everywhere now. There are baseless certification programs that will have you believing another certification will legitimize your title so you can justify charging more money. But building a business isn't about collecting impressive words. It's about knowing how to back them up. It's okay if you're still learning, you'll always be learning new things. What matters is being honest with yourself. Am I doing this because I want the transformation or because I want the attention? Am I offering something I've lived and practiced or something I think might sell faster? These are hard questions, but they're necessary ones. And here's the good news. Your audience isn't looking for perfect. They're looking for real. They're looking for grounded, curious, accountable leadership, and we can all be that. If you've lost your way, it's okay. If you chased clout instead of clarity, it's okay. What matters is what you do now. This isn't a call out, it's a hand reached back. For those of us who build long-term sustainable cash flow, we get real about what's happening because what matters is that we don't stay stuck in the hype machine. So if this episode hits close to home, I want you to ask yourself, what would it look like to lead from substance instead of status? To be known for your follow through, not your feed? We don't need more gurus. We need more grounded, gutsy, honest leaders. You're not too late and you don't need to be a genius to make a difference. You just need to show up, be clear, and stay in the work. Let's build that version of business to together. This episode is brought to you by my membership newsletter, the Woo Crew. But before you commit to another subscription, did you know you can get a free reading every Saturday delivered right to your inbox? Yep. It's totally free and designed just for entrepreneurs. Head over to sensiblewoo.com/subscribe to sign up. You'll get a weekly tarot reading to help you make aligned business decisions. None of that fluffy relationship stuff mixed in with your business readings, plus a peek at whether I am the right reader for you. No pressure, no sales funnel trap. It's your taste test, the ethical way. You'll also receive weekly updates about my online and in-person workshops and events. It's not just a newsletter, it's a weekly media magazine digest for intuitive entrepreneurs who want clarity, strategy and just the right amount of magic. Here's the thing about Nate's story. It wasn't over when he turned bitter, his redemption arc mattered. He had to confront his ego, his insecurities, and the ways he hurt people. But he came back. He chose humility, he chose integrity, and that's the invitation of this whole season. To come back to yourself. We are going to look at all kinds of leadership moments throughout Ted Lasso from Rebecca's evolution as a woman in power, to Keeley's journey from influencer to agency founder, to Roy Kent's example of evolving without selling out. But we had to start here with Nate because the "underdog becomes the leader" story is everywhere in entrepreneurship. It's one of the most heavily used tropes in online marketing, and it works. Until it doesn't. When you build a business on the energy of proving yourself to others, eventually you'll either burn out or become unrecognizable to yourself. I've been creating content since 2010. Back when I was writing a sewing blog and navigating early social media. My friends call me a dinosaur in internet ears, and honestly, they're not wrong. I've seen trends come and go. I've seen markets tighten and platforms change. This moment we are in, yeah, it's weird, but it's not new. And I've also seen what lasts, not shortcuts, not aesthetic branding, not performative vulnerability, but honest, consistent work that evolves over time. Every business owner I've known who took the shortcuts, whether it was by copying, faking authority, or skipping the hard learning, has either had to scale way back and return to their roots, or they don't exist anymore. So if you are here listening, feeling like maybe you've gone off course, I want you to know you are not alone and you are not too late. This season is for us. The ones still in the game, still doing the work, still believing that business can be better than the cult of personality. Thanks for listening to the School of Moxie podcast. I'm Mary Williams. This season is inspired by Ted Lasso, which is available to watch on Apple TV Plus. This podcast is written, produced, and edited through my media company, Moxie Studios in Vancouver, Washington. Make sure to subscribe to the School of Moxie podcast on your favorite podcast app and also on YouTube. Leaving a five star review helps other listeners find the show and it's always deeply appreciated. And hey, if you're feeling inspired by this episode, share it with your biz bestie. Take a moment to check your own brand alignment and know this, you can always get back on track. The industry needs more real ones. Let's be them. I'll see you next episode.