Be Curious, Not Judgmental: What Ted Lasso and the World Cup Can Teach Supervisors About Preventing Workplace Claims

As soccer fans prepare for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, I'm reminded of one of the most memorable lines from Ted Lasso:

"Be curious, not judgmental."

It's also one of the most important lessons a supervisor can learn. After all, the best soccer coaches don't simply focus on the score. They study game film, analyze player performance, adjust formations, and look for root causes when things are not working. When a team struggles, great coaches ask questions before making decisions.

Effective supervisors should do the same. Too often, workplace issues become legal issues because supervisors assume they already know what's happening. Or they assume there is only one way to achieve the organization's goals. Like a coach who blames a missed goal without understanding what happened in the midfield, supervisors who jump to conclusions often miss the real problem.

Here are a few lessons from “the beautiful game” that can help supervisors not only comply with workplace laws, but also build stronger and more successful teams.

Curiosity Helps Prevent Discrimination Claims

Many discrimination claims arise not from intentional bias, but from assumptions. It could look like a supervisor who assumes an employee is not interested in advancement, is less committed because of family obligations, or is not ready for a challenging assignment. Those assumptions can limit opportunities and create legal risk.

Great soccer coaches know that talent can emerge from unexpected places. They scout broadly, evaluate performance objectively, and look beyond first impressions. They know that the player who starts the season on the bench may become the star of the tournament.

Curiosity interrupts bias in the same way. Instead of making assumptions, effective supervisors slow down their thinking, ask questions, gather facts, and focus on objective criteria. They give employees the benefit of the doubt and a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate their abilities. After all, the goal is not to pick favorites. The goal is to put the best team on the field.

Curiosity Informs Better Feedback to Maximize Success

World-class coaches don't wait until the end of the season to tell players how they're performing.

They provide feedback during training, make adjustments during the match, and conduct honest reviews afterward. They study game footage to identify what worked, what didn't, and what support players need to improve.

Effective supervisors should approach feedback the same way. A curious supervisor does not assume they know why an employee is struggling. Instead, they seek to understand the obstacles, skill gaps, competing priorities, or misunderstandings that may be affecting performance. This looks like daily counseling, weekly one-on-ones, debrief meetings, and all hands meetings, in addition to traditional annual performance evaluations.

There is nothing more frustrating than a supervisor who has already decided an employee cannot succeed—or one who offers only empty praise while avoiding difficult conversations. Like great coaches, great supervisors set high expectations. But they also provide the coaching, training, resources, and support necessary to help employees meet those expectations.

The best soccer teams improve because coaches remain curious about how to unlock potential. The same is true in the workplace.

Curiosity Is Critical to Accommodations

Every soccer match requires adjustments. A player may need to be substituted because of an injury. Another may need a different position to maximize their effectiveness. Coaches, trainers, and players work together in real time to determine the best path forward. No one assumes they have all the answers from the sidelines.

Similarly, when an employee raises a medical issue or requests workplace flexibility, supervisors should resist the urge to immediately say yes or no. Instead, they should ask: "Help me understand what you're experiencing and what support might help you perform your job."

Accommodation laws are built around an interactive process. Like a coach making tactical adjustments during a match, employers and employees must work together and gather medical and operational information to find solutions that support both individual needs and organizational goals.

Curiosity can transform a complex accommodation request into a successful outcome.

Curiosity Prevents Retaliation

Good coaches want to hear what is happening on the field. If a defender notices a weakness in the formation or a goalkeeper sees a vulnerability in the opponent's attack. Successful teams encourage that information to flow freely.

The same is true in the workplace. Employees who raise concerns should not be dismissed as complainers. They should instead be seen as providing information that allows the organization to address problems before they become crises. When employees report discrimination, harassment, or pay concerns, defensive reactions from supervisors can create retaliation risk.

Curious supervisors ask: "What can I learn from this?" Instead of treating complaints as personal attacks, they treat them as information that can help strengthen the team. Indeed, the most successful organizations, like the most successful soccer clubs, create cultures where people feel safe speaking up.

Curiosity Helps Identify Wage & Hour Problems

Many wage and hour violations stem from workplace practices that supervisors never stop to examine. It could include an employee who regularly answers emails after hours, a team that routinely skips lunch, or overtime that goes unreported.

A curious supervisor asks “Why?” A great soccer coach would never ignore recurring mistakes in match play. If the team continually gives up goals from corner kicks, the coach studies the pattern of their players’ movements and addresses the underlying issue.

Supervisors should approach wage and hour compliance the same way. When timekeeping issues repeatedly arise, curiosity helps uncover whether the real problem is understaffing, unrealistic expectations, inadequate training, or workplace culture. Addressing the root cause is often far more effective than addressing the symptom.

Intent vs. Impact

One of the biggest mistakes supervisors make is focusing on intent rather than impact. Statements like "I didn't mean it that way" or "I was only joking" may explain their intent, but they do not eliminate impact, and they do not solve the problem.

In soccer, a player may not intend to commit a foul. But if the tackle takes down an opponent, the referee still blows the whistle and issues a yellow card. Workplaces operate similarly.

When employees raise concerns, effective supervisors respond with curiosity: "Help me understand how that affected you." The goal is not to prove good intentions. The goal is to understand the employee's experience, the impact on operations, and improve outcomes.

Curious supervisors spend less time defending themselves and more time understanding the effect of their actions.

Building a Better Team

The best World Cup teams are rarely a collection of the most talented players on paper. They are the teams that communicate effectively, trust one another, adapt to changing circumstances, and stay focused on a common goal. On the pitch, players constantly exchange information, make adjustments, and support one another. That communication builds trust. Trust allows teams to respond quickly when conditions change.

The same is true in the workplace. Supervisors who lead with curiosity create environments where concerns are raised earlier, problems are solved faster, and employees have a genuine opportunity to succeed on the merits. They foster accountability without blame, feedback without fear, and high performance without favoritism.

That is good leadership. It is also one of the most effective ways to prevent discrimination, retaliation, accommodation, and wage-and-hour claims.

Ted Lasso’s reminder to “Be curious, not judgmental" should inspire supervisors to change their outlook. For supervisors, this shift in mindset may be one of the most valuable management tools they possess. After all, just as great coaches don't assume why a player missed the goal, great supervisors don't assume why a workplace problem occurred. Both ask questions first, learn what is really happening, and then adjust the game plan for success.

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