by Mandy Green, Busy Coach
I worked with a coach — let’s call him Coach Smith — who prided himself on his tireless work ethic. He handled everything: 95% of the recruiting, team management & logistics, practice planning, and more. He rarely delegated because he believed no one else could do things as well as he could.
The result?
Coach Smith came to me burned out, frustrated, and stuck. His program was stagnant, his assistant coaches felt undervalued, and the team wasn’t performing to its potential.
When we dug into his challenges, we uncovered the root of the problem: his mindset. Coach Smith was holding onto beliefs that kept him in chaos and prevented him from leading his staff effectively. Once he addressed these mindset blocks and started empowering his assistant coaches, everything changed. His staff stepped up and started performing better, and he finally had time to focus on the big-picture activities that moved his program forward.
Is Your Mindset Holding You Back?
Like Coach Smith, you might unknowingly have mindsets that are keeping you from reaching your full potential as a leader. Here are three common ones and how they might be holding you back:
- “No one can do it as well as I can.”
This is the hallmark of a control vs. trust mindset. Many head coaches hesitate to delegate because they fear their assistant coaches won’t meet their standards. While this might be true at first, refusing to delegate keeps you trapped in the details and denies your staff the opportunity to develop.
How It Holds You Back:
- You become the bottleneck for your program, slowing everything down.
- Your assistants feel undervalued and unmotivated, leading to low morale and missed opportunities for them to step up.
Shift Your Mindset:
Trust that with clear direction and the right training, your assistants can take ownership of tasks — I often found they ended up doing them better than I would have. This frees you up to focus on what only you can do: leading the program to success.
- “I have to be busy to be effective.”
This is a symptom of the busy vs. effective mindset. Coaches often equate being constantly busy with being productive, but busyness often means you’re focused on low-value tasks rather than high-impact activities.
How It Holds You Back:
- You waste time on tasks that could be automated or delegated.
- You have less time and energy for big-picture thinking and strategic decisions.
Shift Your Mindset:
Focus on effectiveness. Ask yourself, “Is this task the best use of my time, or could someone else handle it?” Prioritize tasks that only you can do and hand off the rest.
- “If it didn’t work before, it won’t work now.”
This is the failure as setback vs. failure as feedback mindset. Coaches sometimes avoid revisiting strategies or ideas that didn’t work in the past, assuming they’ll fail again. But circumstances change, and so do you and your staff.
How It Holds You Back:
- You miss out on opportunities to improve because you’re unwilling to try again.
- You stay stuck in outdated methods that no longer serve your program.
Shift Your Mindset:
Approach challenges with curiosity. Instead of saying, “This didn’t work,” ask, “What can we learn and adjust to make it work this time?” View failure as a stepping stone to success.
Lead Better, Work Less, Achieve More
The key to building a high-performing program isn’t about working more hours — it’s about leading smarter. Your assistant coaches are an untapped resource, but you need to lead them effectively for them to reach their potential and for you to free up your time.
You don’t have to stay stuck in overwhelm and chaos. With the right mindset shifts and strategies, you can become the confident, proactive leader your program needs
If you are ready to make the shift take a look at Mandy’s Assistant Coach Accelerator program and take the first step toward leading smarter, not harder. Or email Mandy and you can set up a call to talk through your situation: Mandy@busy.coach.