The Emmy-winning Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso (2020–) has not only taught us that football is life; it reminds us that leadership can make a significant difference in sport and in life. The coaching approach by Ted (Jason Sudeikis) transcends the soccer pitch, offering a leadership philosophy rooted in humility, emotional intelligence, and shared success. These same values can be applied to hiring practices within higher education.
Beyond the Credential Factory: Why Higher Education Must Shift from Management to Flourishing
For decades, higher education leadership has obsessed over “student success” as a purely operational metric. We track retention and graduation rates and postgraduation outcomes with the same linear precision that
Yoshitaka Iwasaki
August 3, 2026
