Pop culture is key to effective teaching

How a management and entrepreneurship professor uses Ted Lasso and other pop-culture touchstones to bring leadership lessons to life.

Ted Lasso is full of one-liners and memorable gags in today's pop culture stratosphere.

But ASU professor Christopher Neck is using the zany entertainment to get — and keep — the attention of his students.

Neck, a professor of management and entrepreneurship, uses scenes from Ted Lasso to teach his classes about authentic and servant leadership.

The leadership concepts focus on people rather than power and prioritize the growth of others over personal gain — essential tools in today's workplace climate.

Neck, together with his son, Christopher Bryton Neck, an assistant professor of Management at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, co-authored a research article titled, “The Leadership Lessons of Ted Lasso: Enhancing the Discussion of Influence in Learning Environments,” published in the journal Administrative Sciences. Their work highlights how effective leadership is fundamentally rooted in love and authenticity.

"I have always believed that students learn best when theory meets something real and recognizable, so I often bring in popular culture," Neck says. "Students light up when they see leadership lessons in characters they already admire. In fact, there is not one lecture where I don't use some form of pop culture to help apply the class concepts to a student's life or company processes."

Putting the two leadership concepts together creates leaders who inspire trust and purpose, Neck says. Authentic and servant leadership are styles that bring out empathy, humility, and ethical behavior.

A proven approach

The professor's teaching method is backed by experience. Neck has taught more than 80,000 students throughout his career, and his textbooks are used by over 1,000 colleges and universities worldwide.

In the past, he has used scenes from The Devil Wears Prada to discuss toxic leadership and Remember the Titans to illustrate teamwork and resilience.

"I've spent much of my career studying how authenticity and service are the cornerstones of effective influence," Neck says. "A leader who genuinely listens, supports others, and stays true to their values can transform not just a workplace but the lives of those they lead."

Why it works

Pop culture connects emotion to understanding, Neck says.

"It turns abstract theories into vivid stories students can feel," says Neck. "When students see leadership principles played out in a show like Ted Lasso, it becomes memorable. They don't just hear about empathy or resilience; they watch it in action. That emotional engagement opens the door to deeper reflection and long-term learning."

Danielle McNamara, an ASU psychology professor, says that merging pop culture with leadership concepts allows students to "engage more and make connections" with the content, as most can already relate to something they've heard of.

"You are starting on some common ground to build knowledge," McNamara says.

Leadership beyond the classroom

Leadership skills are "vital" in "nearly every" workplace today, Neck says.

He points to well-known examples: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Rose Marcario, former CEO of Patagonia, both helped drive workplace performance and culture by showing compassion and authenticity to employees.

Leadership "flourishes" across various sectors — from nonprofit work and health care to education and entrepreneurship — helping people connect, inspire, and empower others, he adds.

"Leadership is the invisible thread that binds people to purpose," Neck says. "It holds organizations together in times of uncertainty and motivates people to persevere through adversity. Unfortunately, the importance of leadership is sometimes overlooked

until a crisis arises. But great leadership, like great character, shows itself most clearly when things are difficult."

Lasting impact on students

Isabella Cotti (BS Marketing '24) said taking Neck's leadership class paid dividends.

She said it taught her about where she wanted to work after she graduated.

"He spoke a lot about company culture and how that really affects people's experiences in their job," Cotti explains. "This was super important to me, and I've now realized how lucky I am to be aware of how important that truly is."

George Heiler (BS Computer Information Systems/Finance/Supply Chain Management '19) took Neck's class in 2017 and said it "was the highest energy class of any" he attended.

Neck loves the material he teaches and "truly believes it impacts individual lives" of his students, Heiler says.

The professor advised Heiler to start a consulting company in advanced technology right out of college, the former student says.

Earlier in 2025, a large private equity firm acquired the company, which had 80 employees and customers including Roku, Kimberly-Clark, Amazon, and Publix, he says.

"Without Professor Neck, literally none of that would have happened. Not only am I a believer that he is the single most amazing, interesting, and effective professor there is. He also personally changed my life forever in massively important ways."

Tristan Gaynor (BS Finance/Management/Supply Chain Management '19) heard from a former student that Neck was "by far the top professor" at ASU before enrolling in this leadership class.

"Practical concepts give my peers and me something to work with and test out in our day-to-day," Gaynor says. "We are undergraduate business students — we work with teams every day, and people really are central to everything we do. It's the perfect training ground."