{"id":823,"date":"2020-05-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/normalising-mental-skills-4-key-principles-that-will-enable-the-mental-skills-coach-to-do-the-job-they-were-hired-to-do\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:18","slug":"normalising-mental-skills-4-key-principles-that-will-enable-the-mental-skills-coach-to-do-the-job-they-were-hired-to-do","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/normalising-mental-skills-4-key-principles-that-will-enable-the-mental-skills-coach-to-do-the-job-they-were-hired-to-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Normalising Mental Skills: 4 Key Principles That Will Enable the Mental Skills Coach to Do the Job they Were Hired to Do"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n May 14, 2020 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Normalising Mental Skills: 4 Key Principles That Will Enable the Mental Skills Coach to Do the Job they Were Hired to Do<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Category<\/div>\n Human Performance<\/a> <\/div>\n
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https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/normalising-mental-skills-4-key-principles-that-will-enable-the-mental-skills-coach-to-do-the-job-they-were-hired-to-do\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n
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In the second of a three-part series, Aaron Walsh, the Mental Skills Coach at Chiefs Rugby, explains what they must consider once they have joined an organisation.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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Last week, I began a three-part series dedicated to the role of mental skills within teams. My goal has been to help normalise both the concept and practice of mental skills.<\/h4>\n
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By Aaron Walsh<\/h6>\n

Part I<\/a> saw me lay out three non-negotiables that mental skills coaches should consider before taking a new role.<\/p>\n

The positive response to the article both surprised me, as well as confirmed my suspicion that this area of high performance is woefully under resourced. This under resourcing is not necessarily seen in the academic field, where one can find many outstanding publications dedicated to the brain and how it\u00a0responds to pressure.<\/p>\n

What has become apparent is we haven\u2019t done a great job of taking that tremendous and relevant knowledge and help teams integrate it into programs and individuals apply it to their performance. The feedback I received was that there is a great need for clear and practical guidance as to how we might do a better job of this.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an important discussion, we don\u2019t want mental skills relegated to a peripheral subject and athletes left devoid of education, tools and support that they will require to fulfil their potential.<\/p>\n

In this article I am going to shift the focus away from the programme side of things and concentrate on what the providers need to do once they are a part of a team to maximise their impact. Though the focus is specific to the role of mental skills, I do believe it is helpful to anyone who is part of a support staff with a team. If you are a coach, then what I am going to present will have some relevancy.<\/p>\n

So, you get the job you have been hoping for, and now it comes time to get to work. What can you do to integrate well into the team, grow trust with athletes and coaches so you can do the job you hired to do?<\/p>\n

I am going to present four key principles that I see as being central to having success.\u00a0These we not learned by reading a book on the subject; I found them out the hard way. Each of these principles were discovered by making mistakes, some of which cost me influence while others cost me my role. I hope my experience will prevent others from going down the same path. As I introduce these principles, I want a guiding thought to undergird all of this.<\/p>\n

That being\u00a0said, we all have to be tradesmen and not just philosophers in order to have influence. Our teams need clear, practical and applicable skills that can be accessed every time they are train and compete. Good ideas may connect people to the possibility of growth, but actions allow the growth to occur.<\/p>\n

Principl<\/b><\/strong>e<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0#1: Get your hands dirty<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

When I first started in the role as a mental skills coach, I took up the unfortunate posture of sitting on the sidelines or in the back of the room, notebook in hand, imagining that I had to be some sort of guru that observed, and then gave precise and life-changing insights from afar. I still feel a deep internal \u2018cringe\u2019\u00a0when I write this as I reflect on some of my past approaches related to this. I don\u2019t know what I was thinking, but the nature of being the guy in charge of the\u00a0\u2018mind\u2019\u00a0meant that I felt I had to sit slightly distant from the group to stay objective and profound. Sadly, I have watched too many mental skills coaches self-isolate but not integrate into the team.<\/p>\n

When you are working with people in helping them to overcome quite daunting and personal issues, the most valuable currency you possess is trust. You won\u2019t build trust from an ivory tower. You only build trust by getting your hands dirty. If you are only engaging with athletes outside of training and games, then your impact will be limited. Endless coffees can\u2019t replace being on the field or court as the athletes you are trying to help are placed under pressure. You will learn what makes then tick, what they are good at and where they need to grow. Grab a tackling bag, catch balls, put out cones etc. Engage with the athletes when it\u2019s appropriate, so they see you as part of the team and therefore a valued resource in their pursuit of high performance. They won\u2019t engage, begin to trust you and use your expertise if you stay distant, ethereal and unapproachable.<\/p>\n

Sitting in the shadows and having nothing to contribute instils no confidence to the players and the other staff that you are there to bring value and to help move the team forward. Be proactive, get involved and integrate into the environment you find yourself in.<\/p>\n

Principl<\/b><\/strong>e<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0#2: Feed the <\/b><\/strong>h<\/b><\/strong>ungry<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

One of most challenging aspects of coaching is trying to help athletes who don\u2019t appear to want the help you are offering. I use the word \u2018appear\u2019\u00a0as there are genuinely those who do want the help but lack the courage or confidence to ask for it. They may feel that in asking for help that are portraying some sort of weakness that may be held against them. This is becoming less common as most of our athletes have been taught and encouraged to seek out help when they require it. However, with mental skills there are still a number of barriers that don\u2019t traditionally apply to other aspects of performance. There is an acutely personal nature to talking about what you might fear, what evokes anxiety or admitting you are struggling with lack of belief. Unfortunately, in some settings, there is still a stigma when it comes to discussing these things.<\/p>\n

One mistake for a mental skills coach is to try to force your work on those who don\u2019t want to engage. In doing this, you can come across as desperate and insecure. The guiding principle that has most helped me is that of \u2018feeding the hungry\u2019. What that practically means is my primary focus is on helping, supporting and engaging with those who want to grow. I have seen little or no success trying to force my work down the throat of an athlete that may feel at that time they don\u2019t need my help. All we can do is continue to build relationship with the person, finding common points on interest and,\u00a0as trust grows, they may or may not open up. From time to time we can check in and reinforce our availability but do this with no expectation.<\/p>\n

The final thing I would add is that if we find no\u00a0one engaging or limited \u2018hunger\u2019, then we might need to adjust our message and approach,\u00a0as it is likely we are not connecting with the needs of the athletes or we have made it so complicated that engaging seems a waste of time.<\/p>\n

Principl<\/b><\/strong>e<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0#3: Stay in your lane<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the interesting feedback points I have received from head coaches when discussing mental skills has been the common observation that quite a few of the providers come across as insecure and at times high maintenance. In part I understand this; almost everyone else in the environment has quite clear roles and clear reporting structures.<\/p>\n

Often the mental skills coach feels a bit isolated and disconnected from the other staff. At times they may struggle to see the value they are bringing. What this can cause is a real insecurity as to whether they belong. A number of mental skills coaches I have related to have all have felt this at some point.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, as these feeling present themselves, many coaches begin to stray out of their lane in order to project value. This may sound a bit of an oxymoron considering my encouragement to integrate, but you also need to stay in your lane. Unless clearly communicated and defined, your job is not to analyse every part of the environment and contribute to every aspect of high performance. Chances are you were brought into a programme\u00a0because a number of athletes are underperforming, and the teams needs some help. This is not the ideal model as we have discussed, but the solution is not over-projecting your knowledge and, out of insecurity, demanding that you have more influence. Stay in your lane, do your job well as you prove your worth, and everyone in the environment will see this.<\/p>\n

As the profound Maori proverbs says: \u2018K\u0101ore te k\u016bmara e k\u014drero m\u014d t\u014dna ake reka\u2019, translated to English, this states that \u2018the Kumera (sweet potato) never speaks of its own sweetness\u2019.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let your ego get in the way of delivering the important work you have been engaged to deliver.<\/p>\n

Principl<\/b><\/strong>e<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0#4: Build a program<\/b><\/strong>me<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

The final principle may be the most important. If we want to change how the role is perceived, and therefore enhance its impact, we need to present it much differently than we currently are. A deficit model where only the troubled are engaged, that is void of structure and has limited focus on on-field performance can quickly morph into a counselling service. It\u2019s not to say that counselling doesn\u2019t have a place in high performance sport. It is critical for any athletes who are attempting to overcome mental and emotional issues in their life, and it is valuable to get access to someone with expertise who can guide them in different areas of their life.<\/p>\n

I am not talking about that when I am talking about a mental skills coach in a team context. There is a massive need for a focus on personal wellbeing and life away from sport, but that can\u2019t be replace the need for a simple and practical approach to the performance demands that are placed on athletes.<\/p>\n

We need to build a programme\u00a0that allows athletes to approach the mental side of performance as a skill that can be grown. That means we take the traditional approach to skill development that is found in the other aspects of performance. Assess where the athletes are at in their mental proficiency, give them tools and a programme\u00a0to improve and monitor their progress regularly. In the teams where I have seen the mental skills grow, we have had mind gyms, have given programmes with practices they can do every day, and then have regularly discussed what was working and what wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

In closing, it is becoming more and more vital for teams to have access to mental skills providers who are able to work within their athletes and coaches. There are still a few barriers to overcome,\u00a0as a stigma still exists in some circles. We don\u2019t want to further confirm this narrative by becoming isolated from your team, constantly trying to convince people you have value and not staying in your lane. Build a programme\u00a0that is relevant, get your hands dirty and engage with those who want to grow.<\/p>\n

In the final article, I will address how leaders in the environment (head coach and performance director) can best utilise the expertise of the mental skills resource you have engaged with.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Could you and your team be making better use of your performance metrics?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If so, then the latest Leaders Performance Institute Special Report, Analyse This: Managing Your Metrics<\/em>, will be right up your street. It features a variety of sports organisations, from the San Antonio Spurs<\/strong> and England Netball<\/strong>, to the Wests Tigers<\/strong> and Tennis Australia<\/strong>, via British Skeleton<\/strong>. Download it now.<\/p>\n