Ted Lasso and the Decisions That Protect a Reputation

After three years away, Ted Lasso returned for a fourth season on Apple TV. As a fan, I was thrilled. The show gives us so much to appreciate about friendship, hope, resilience and the responsibility of leading other people.

Its return also reminded me of a very different story involving Jason Sudeikis.

In 2022, Newsweek asked me, as a brand strategist, to assess whether highly publicized allegations involving Sudeikis and his former partner, Olivia Wilde, would damage their careers. At the time, I thought their decision to issue a joint statement was smart. They disputed the allegations together and emphasized their children and family.

I also predicted that their careers would continue to rise.

Four years later, Sudeikis has returned to Ted Lasso. Wilde directed and starred in The Invite, which has surpassed $60 million at the worldwide box office.

Their continued success gives me reason to revisit a lesson that can be difficult to remember during a reputational crisis: an overwhelming news cycle does not determine everything that follows.

Assess the damage before assuming the outcome

When a negative story takes over, the attention can feel permanent. Headlines multiply. Social posts repeat the same claims. People inside an organization begin to wonder whether the company will ever be associated with anything else.

Leaders need to assess what is happening beyond the volume of coverage. Are customers changing their behavior? Are employees worried about something the company has failed to explain? Have partners raised concerns? Does the story reveal conduct that requires investigation or correction?

Those answers help determine the response. A factual error requires correction. A failure requires accountability and a plan to address it. A disputed allegation requires careful verification and a response grounded in what can be supported.

Treating every difficult headline as an existential threat can lead to rushed statements and unnecessary escalation. Underestimating a serious failure can create lasting damage. Judgment begins with understanding the situation well enough to tell the difference.

Give the response a clear priority

What I appreciated about Sudeikis and Wilde’s joint statement was the coordination. Two people whose personal relationship had ended spoke together about allegations involving their family. They made their position clear and emphasized protecting their children.

That is an assessment of their communications decision. It does not establish the truth of the disputed claims, and their later professional success cannot do that either.

For companies, the practical lesson is to agree on the facts, the people who need information and the priority the response must serve. Employees, customers and business partners may need direct communication before a public statement answers their concerns.

Without that agreement, a company can produce conflicting explanations or make promises it cannot fulfill. A coordinated response gives people a clearer account of what is known and what will happen next.

Let behavior support the message

A statement has limits. It can clarify a position, acknowledge harm or explain an immediate action. What follows gives people evidence to assess whether the words were credible.

If a company promises to fix a problem, customers need to see the fix. If leaders commit to providing updates, those updates need to arrive. If an investigation reveals mistakes, the organization needs to address them.

Existing credibility can help people remain open to an explanation. Leaders still have to give them reasons to continue that confidence.

Sudeikis and Wilde’s careers have continued beyond the story that dominated attention in 2022. We cannot attribute that outcome to one statement. Their professional achievements do show that the coverage did not become the entirety of their public identities.

Keep a longer view

Resilience requires enough patience to keep making sound decisions after the first statement has been issued. It requires responding to new facts, meeting commitments and continuing to serve the people who depend on the organization.

Ted Lasso’s return brought me back to a show I love. It also reminded me to leave room for what comes after a difficult chapter. A reputation develops across many decisions. Leaders influence its future through the decisions they make today.