Tag: collaboration

creativity

The Ted Lasso Way: Rebuilding How We Show Up for Each Other

Christa Avampato
Ted Lasso. Image from Apple TV.

With the premiere of the 4th season of Ted Lasso launching today on Apple TV, millions of us are tuning back in for a dose of something that feels increasingly rare in the real world: unbridled optimism, radical empathy, and a deep commitment to collective care.

At first glance, a show about an American football coach running an English soccer team feels like pure entertainment. But at its heart, Ted Lasso is a masterclass in human connection. When we talk about building resilient cities, adapting to a changing world, rewilding, or strengthening our neighborhoods and ecosystems, we often focus on physical and tactile systems we can see. But none of those matter if we don’t have the trust and love that form the foundational connections to hold us together in both joyful and difficult times.

Ted and the Richmond crew give us a living playbook for how to care for our communities and each other. Here is a look at the show’s wisdom on leadership, cooperation, mental health, friendship, and why work must be about more than trading hours for a paycheck.

1. Leadership: Be Curious, Not Judgmental

“Guys have underestimated me my entire life… and it used to really bother me. Then one day, I was driving my son to school, and I saw this quote by Walt Whitman, and it was painted on the wall there. It said, ‘Be curious, not judgmental.’ I like that.” — Ted Lasso, Season 1, Episode 8 “The Diamond Dogs”

Ted’s famous dart-game ethos is the ultimate lesson for navigating complex times. When faced with opposition or someone we just don’t understand, our knee-jerk reaction is often to either dismiss their point-of-view or try to win the argument.

True leaders lead with inquiry instead of authority. Whether you’re managing a team at work or organizing a community event or collaborative creative project, leading with curiosity lowers defenses and opens the door to genuine connection. You can’t build a strong community if you’ve already decided who someone is before listening to their story.

2. Cooperation: Build for the Team, Not the Ego

“For me, success is not about the wins and losses. It’s about helping these young fellas be the best versions of themselves on and off the pitch.” — Ted Lasso, Season 1, Episode 3 “Trent Crimm: The Independent”

Richmond doesn’t succeed because one star player carries the team; they succeed when every person—from the star striker to the kit man to the back office team members—recognizes their worth and supports the collective whole.

In community life, ego breaks things apart. Real cooperation requires psychological safety: creating an environment where people feel safe to make mistakes, speak up, and bring their full selves to the table. When Jamie Tartt learns to pass the ball instead of hogging the spotlight, the entire team rises. When everyone feels ownership over the group’s wellbeing, the whole neighborhood thrives. (This is also the leadership mindset of Jalen Brunson as the captain of the Championship New York Knicks basketball team – more on that in a forthcoming post!)

3. Work as Purpose: Life Is Too Short to Stay Miserable

Ted: “Why the heck weren’t you at the press conference?”
Trent: “Because I am no longer a reporter. I was fired when they found out I revealed an anonymous source.”
Ted: “Oh, snap. I… I didn’t say anything, I promise.”
Trent: “No, I know, Ted. I did. I’m looking for something different. Deeper.”
Season 2, Episode 12 “Inverting the Pyramid of Success”

A heartbreaking reminder crossed my inbox: a long-time colleague at work who retired in 2019 passed away this week. He got just seven years in retirement. None of us know how much time we have on this planet, and trading our most precious, non-renewable resource—time—for a job that drains our soul is not only a shame, but wasteful. We deserve so much better. We deserve work that fills us up.

Every central character on Ted Lasso reaches a moment where staying in a toxic, comfortable, or soul-crushing situation threatens their spirit, forcing them to make a terrifying leap:

  • Rebecca Welton transforms AFC Richmond from a weapon of revenge against her ex-husband into a sanctuary of collective joy, choosing vulnerability and genuine leadership over bitterness and anger.
  • Keeley Jones walks away from being a model to work in PR that ultimately leads to her building her own PR firm from scratch, trusting her innate emotional intelligence.
  • Nate Shelley has to confront his desperate desire for status and unlearn the belief that title equals worth before finding his way back to honest connection. It’s a rocky journey for him, and he makes some difficult and painful turns before learning the deeper lessons.
  • Roy Kent has to retire from playing the game that defined his entire identity. He mourns that loss, and discovers who he is and what he’s capable of when the crowd stops cheering.
  • Ted leaves his comfort zone in the U.S. to step into an environment where everyone expects him to fail, prioritizing human growth over safe routine, all while navigating massive changes in his family life and confronting his past and his own mental health challenges.

When a job becomes a source of misery rather than purpose, leaving isn’t just a career move—it’s an act of self-preservation, self-care, and self-love. Work should be a place where we grow, connect, and serve others, not a place where we park our spirits while waiting for life to start.

4. Mental Health: Carrying Heavy Loads Together

“I promise you there is something worse out there than being sad, and that is being alone and being sad. Ain’t nobody in this room alone.” — Ted Lasso, Season 1, Episode 10 “The Hope that Kills You”

Perhaps the most radical move the show ever made was pulling back the curtain on Ted’s signature relentless optimism to reveal his deep pain and the mental health challenges he’s been hiding his whole life. Behind the jokes and baked goods, Ted was carrying the devastating grief of his divorce, the heartbreaking distance from his son Henry back in Kansas, the loss of his father in tragic circumstances, and severe panic attacks that left him incapacitated on the pitch, in his office and locker room, and at home.

Ted’s journey to his therapy sessions with Dr. Sharon Fieldstone teaches us that toxic positivity and denial won’t save us. Real resilience isn’t pretending everything is fine when your world is falling apart; it’s having the courage to say, “I’m not okay, and I need help.”

We cannot build strong, caring communities with exhausted people who feel forced to suffer in silence while wearing a brave face that’s just a mask. Normalizing therapy as a resource to help us speak openly about anxiety and accept care when we’re down to nothing aren’t signs of failure—they are how we survive and stay whole (or become whole again) so we can thrive.

5. Friendship: The Power of the “Diamond Dogs”

“To believe in yourself, to believe in one another. Man, that’s fundamental to being alive.” — Ted Lasso, Season 3, Episode 5 “Signs”

Adult friendship is often treated as a luxury in a world obsessed with professional output. But Ted Lasso shows us that intentional, vulnerable friendship is a vital life-support system.

When Ted, Higgins, Coach Beard, Nate, and Roy gather as the Diamond Dogs, they don’t meet to give unsolicited advice or fix each other’s problems with aggressive solutions. They meet to listen, offer perspective, hold space, and normalize each other’s emotional struggles. (Of course, there’s a big plot twist late in Season 2 that shows what happens when that trust is broken.)

In a world plagued by an epidemic of loneliness, building your own Diamond Dogs—a circle of friends or peers where you can drop the tough exterior and speak honestly—is one of the most revolutionary acts of community care available to us.

6. Being in Community: Belonging Over Fitting In

“I suppose the best brand is just being yourself.” — Ted Lasso, Season 1, Episode 3 “Trent Crimm: The Independent View”

True community isn’t about conformity or changing who you are to be accepted; it’s about creating a space where everyone belongs as their authentic selves. Ted doesn’t try to make Roy Kent act like Keeley, or Sam act like Jamie. He honors their distinct backgrounds, cultures, and personalities while weaving them into a cohesive support system.

Building community in our neighborhoods and workplaces works the exact same way. It isn’t about flattening our differences—it’s about building a big enough table so that everyone’s unique lived experience strengthens the whole.

7. Career Resilience: How to Bounce Back from Difficulty

“You know what the happiest animal on Earth is? It’s a goldfish. You know why? It’s got a 10-second memory. Be a goldfish.” — Ted Lasso, Season 1, Episode 2 “Biscuits”

In our careers and personal growth, we often carry the weight of past missteps, failed projects, or awkward interactions like heavy baggage. Ted’s advice to Sam Obisanya after a tough play is a lesson in professional grace and resilience.

Progress requires letting go of perfectionism. The most fulfilling, impactful careers aren’t built by people who never make mistakes; they’re built by people who process a setback, learn the quick lesson, forgive themselves, and get right back to lifting up the team.

Takeaways

Resilience isn’t just about what we build—it’s about the love, care, courage, and camaraderie we offer each other while building it.

  • Reframe Your Time: Take an honest audit of where you spend your energy this week. If you’re staying in a toxic situation out of habit or fear, start exploring what a leap toward purpose might look like.
  • Practice Radical Curiosity: The next time you encounter a perspective in your workplace or neighborhood that frustrates you, pause before reacting. Channel your inner Ted and ask one genuinely curious question to understand where they are coming from.
  • Form Your Diamond Dogs: Create a safe space with a few trusted friends, neighbors, or colleagues where you can speak openly about your personal challenges without fear of judgment.
  • Normalize the Check-In: Make a practice of reaching out and checking in with friends or colleagues so that if and when difficulties arise for them, they know you are someone they can turn to for support.

Like Ted says, taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse. If you’re comfortable while you’re doing it, you’re probably doing it wrong. Let’s keep leaning into the uncomfortable, beautiful work of caring for one another—and making every moment count.

creativity

The Overview Effect: Solving Earth’s Problems From 250,000 Miles Away

Christa Avampato
Earth setting on April 6, 2026. Taken by the crew of Artemis II. Photo from NASA.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/earthset/

This week, four astronauts aboard the Artemis II Orion spacecraft achieved something humanity has not done in over fifty years. They flew around the far side of the moon, traveling farther from Earth than any humans in history – 252,760 miles. As they passed behind the lunar surface, they turned their cameras back toward home and captured a breathtaking Earthset, watching our bright blue planet sink behind the desolate, cratered edge of the moon. Looking at all of the media coming from the mission gives me chills in the best way.

The Cognitive Shift
When astronauts view our planet from this immense distance, they often experience a profound cognitive shift known as the Overview Effect. From 250,000 miles away, they can’t see political borders, neighborhood disputes, or ideological divides. They see a single, fragile ecosystem. They realize that every being, be they a person, animal, or plant, shares the same life support system and collectively, the same destiny. We all only have one home and it belongs to all of us.

A Floating Laboratory for a Sustainable Earth
People frequently wonder why we invest in space exploration when we face so many massive challenges right here on Earth. The answer is that a deep space capsule is the ultimate testbed for our future. We do not explore space to abandon our home planet; we explore space to discover the exact tools necessary to protect it.

To survive a lunar mission, astronauts cannot waste a single resource and a vast group of people with different talents and experiences must work together as a cohesive team with a singular shared mission – bring them all home safely. They must operate a circular economy. NASA engineers design advanced filters to scrub carbon dioxide directly out of the cabin air—technology that now forms the foundation of direct air capture facilities fighting global warming today. They develop systems to recover and purify every drop of moisture, translating directly to water filtration for drought-stricken communities. They conduct experiments on high-yield indoor agriculture to feed the crew without the benefits of direct sunlight or nutrient-rich soil, helping us understand how we can grow food in harsh environments. Staging this mission also requires the development of stronger, lighter materials that translates into the conservation of valuable resources.

Alongside this climate engineering, the Artemis II crew is conducting experiments that directly advance medical science. They carry microchips containing living human bone marrow tissue to study exactly how deep-space radiation and microgravity affects human cells. They monitor their own biological responses to understand why and how extreme stress alters the human immune system. Solving these medical challenges in space paves the way for individualized cancer treatments, tools to predict and treat chronic conditions, and advanced healthcare innovations that test drugs and vaccines. All of this research means that the astronauts are both scientists and test subjects. What we learn from these missions directly translates to helping all of us build a better healthcare system.

Orchestration on a Massive Scale
The mission also represents the ultimate example of community orchestration. Sending a crew around the moon and safely bringing them back is never the work of one isolated visionary. It requires a massive, synchronized ecosystem of engineers, technicians, and scientists across the globe. Thousands of people must set aside their individual egos and operate with absolute trust in one another to navigate the unknown.

The Takeaway
We do not need to launch into orbit to apply the Overview Effect to our daily lives. When we get stuck in the weeds of local disputes or feel overwhelmed by the friction of community building, we simply need to change our vantage point.

We can actively choose to step back and look at our neighborhoods as unified ecosystems.

  • Change your altitude to change your attitude: When a conflict arises in your community, intentionally zoom out. Ask yourself how this specific disagreement affects the overall health of the neighborhood ecosystem rather than just your immediate block. Then help other people zoom out as well to gain the same benefits of perspective.
  • Acknowledge the shared ship and the shared journey: Remind yourself and your neighbors that you all rely on the same local infrastructure and green spaces, and that collectively you are building your local economy to benefit everyone. You succeed or fail together.
  • Orchestrate across borders: Look for ways to connect your local initiatives with efforts in neighboring communities. A thriving garden in your neighborhood benefits the pollinators across your city and beyond.
  • Translate the research: Take inspiration from the Artemis crew. Look for ways to do small experiments and use the solutions you develop through those experiments to help your community and share with adjacent communities.

Nature requires us to act as a unified whole. We just need the right perspective to see it. Luckily for us, the crew of Artemis II is helping all of us to keep looking up.

creativity

I spent 2025 rebuilding

Christa Avampato
In 2025, I focused on what I could construct. It turns out, community is the strongest foundation. Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash.

Rather than make resolutions, I select a word each year to guide my thoughts and actions. In 2025, I chose “Rebuild.” Looking back at my post from January 1, 2025, I started the year meditating on the Mary Oliver quote: “Listen, are you breathing a little and calling it a life?” I realized I had been waiting for everything—more time, money, clarity, experience, validation—to finally do the things I wanted to do. I was waiting for permission that only I could give to myself.

In a world that often felt fractured and difficult, I wanted to focus on what I could construct. I spent 2025 building community, seeking advice, iterating, and lifting others up as I rose. This year had many days that broke me down, but it turns out that being broken down is just the first step of a remodel. Each time, I got up a little stronger and more intentional.

I worked hard to be the most generous person in the room, the best listener, and a truly collaborative partner. I couldn’t have done this alone, and I am deeply grateful to the mentors, friends, and all of you who sat in the “construction zone” with me.

I launched my Togetherhood weekly nature newsletter to share the solace I find in the outdoors, and teamed up with a wonderful group of creators to restart NYC’s Secrets & Lies. Both projects were born from the same goal: to ignite curiosity, wonder, and a sense of belonging in a world that can sometimes feel lonely. Beyond my own projects, I worked alongside others as a volunteer with Muddy Paws Rescue and City Harvest to provide safety and care for dogs, people, and the planet.

Amidst the busyness, I kept up with foreign language learning, indulged my love for baking and cooking, and looked after my health. I also spent a lot of quiet time honing my storytelling in ways I didn’t expect; I have some good news and lessons learned to share on that front in January.

Going into 2026, I’m excited to take everything I rebuilt this year and carry it further. More on that tomorrow. Wishing you and yours a bright, happy, and healthy new year.

creativity

In the pause: Mr. Trump, let me use my design thinking experience to help with Mexico

Christa Avampato

I wrote this letter to Donald Trump. And then I sent it to every senator and congress person I admire and respect since I don’t have any voting representation as a D.C. resident. I figured it can’t hurt and it might help. I understand that this will likely fall on deaf ears. I write it not for any recognition but because I think we can and must do better than a wall and a 20% tax. Mexico is our dear friend, neighbor, and second largest trading partner. If this relationship falls apart, it could very well be a lynchpin to our economy and society. The consequences are literally painful to me, and I can’t just watch it happen without saying something, without trying to do something right now. I have too many friends living in Mexico and living here in the U.S. who are from Mexican descent. I posted this on Facebook and was roundly criticized for writing this letter by a few people. I stand by the suggestion that design thinking can save this relationship before it’s too late.

“Dear Mr. Trump,
As a fellow Penn alum, I’m hoping that I can help with the U.S. relationship with Mexico. I know that there are people who want you to build a wall, but I have a cheaper, more effective solution. I hope you’ll be open to hearing it.

What we need to do in Mexico, as in many areas of policy, is to discover root causes and treat them. Building a wall on the border with Mexico, while it may look like progress, is not. It is a bandaid that treats the symptom; what we need to do is work with Mexico to treat what’s ailing that nation and its economy.

As a business woman, product developer, and someone who believes and works in the design thinking space, what we need is a discovery process. Why are people from Mexico coming to the U.S. illegally? And then to go a step further, what would it take for them to want to stay in Mexico? That latter question is the difficult one to answer, but I promise you that it holds rich rewards. While we may assume that we know all of the answers to why people come to the U.S. illegally, I have often found that a design thinking project uncovers reasons we never even imagined were possible. The only way to get that learning is to sit down and listen to people. Ask open-ended and high-quality questions, and then let them tell you about their lives and what’s painful for them. Then, heal those pain points through collaborative efforts.

In this case with Mexico, we’d not only save money and develop a better solution, we’d also improve the lives of countless people. And isn’t that what we all want? Don’t we all want a world that’s peaceful and prosperous? Don’t we all want to leave this planet a better place than we found it? Isn’t that the very basis of humanity and the purpose of life? I’d like to think that you share this belief, and that your advisors do as well. I can help.

I’ll make you a deal. I’ll do this project for free. I don’t need a dime. I’ll donate all my time, efforts, and talents. I’ll quit my job tomorrow and do this if given the chance.

Thanks for your consideration,
Christa Avampato”