3 Key Steps to Creating a Champion’s Mindset

High Performance Coaching for Attorneys

Every outstanding attorney I work with (and believe me, they are all outstanding attorneys) is challenged by one basic thing: their mindset. That’s the value of a coach; I don’t get bogged down in the story my clients tell but, instead, am able to empower them to achieve their full potential by distilling the story they tell to its essence and getting to work on shifting their mindset as they work towards a solution. A recent coaching session is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. 

Most of Us Experience Too Many Highs and Lows

When we “win” (whatever that means in the moment) we feel really great. When we “lose” (again, whatever that means in the moment), we feel bad. As human beings, we experience highs and lows. It’s natural. It’s normal. It’s a problem.

Please do not misunderstand. I am all about celebrating wins, In my experience, high-achievers don’t invest the time to do so and, instead, are on to the next goal. This too can be a problem. That’s why I begin every single coaching session with having my clients identify a recent win.

Conversely, it is also important to learn from experiences which don’t necessarily go as planned. That’s how growth occurs. That’s how we learned, very quickly, not to touch a hot stove. 

Recognizing and celebrating wins and learning from when we fall short are necessary activities. It’s when we allow either to affect us inordinately, when the amplitude of the victory or perceived defeat is out of proportion or we swing too much between the highs of wining and the lows of losing that our performance actually suffers. 

A Champion’s Mindset - Modeling the Greatest Tennis Player of All Time.

In response to a question, my client mentioned the highs and lows and how he “had to” be better at not letting the lows through him off his game. That kicked off our coaching session.

We discussed how failures (no such thing), losses (the wrong word/concept), and falling short affected him. He listed 3 ways: distracting him from the present moment; creating self-doubt; and inhibiting his ability to accurately perform an after-action review which included positive aspects of the activity.

I brought the concept of a “Champion’s Mindset.” Into the session. My client loves to play tennis. I’ve known that about him since we first began our coaching journey. Naturally, I brought up the Greatest Of All Time (“GOAT”)  Roger Federer. 

In a commencement speech Roger gave at Dartmouth in June 2024, he shared an unsurprising statistic: he won 80% of his matches. Makes total sense for the GOAT. He shared something else, though, that people don’t necessarily equate with being the greatest tennis player ever: Roger won only 54% of the total points he has played as a professional. That means he “failed” 46% of the time.

Here’s what Roger said:

“When you lose every second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot.” 

In order to continue playing at an elite level, Federer could not and, indeed would not, allow himself to feel too good when he hit a winner nor too bad when his opponent made a better shot or, worse yet, he made an unforced error or  *gasp *double faulted. He simply moved on to the next point. 

After a match, though, he was able to perform an after-action review of what went well and where he could improve. In the moment though, he would not allow himself to get too high or too low.

3 Key Steps to Crafting a Champion’s Mindset

After a spirited discussion that clearly resonated with my client, it was time to go from hypothetical to practical. How would he go about becoming more like RF? Here are three actions steps my client agreed to undertake:

• Focus on the Process:  Because the our process is all we control, by focusing on it and not the outcome, we do not get too high or too low.

• Emotional Control: Develop the habit of having a measured response when things go well and not-so-well.

• Build Resilience:  Seeing challenges as opportunities for personal and professional growth. 

Is my client perfect at any of these steps yet? Of course not. Is he steadily moving forward, you bet. Is he comfortable. No way. Working with me as your coach isn’t comfortable. It’s not meant to be. Comfort is for those satisfied with the status quo, for those content to be “good enough” or “average.” Growth comes when we, as human beings, move through the discomfort.

My clients are the best attorneys in their field. They are the managing partners and law firm CEOs who understand the benefit of a champion’s mindset in their practices and lives. They increase revenue, master their time and focus, and improve performance while enjoying more free time and suffering less burnout. You can too. Schedule a complimentary 30-minute discovery session with me here, or send me an email.

Case Study: How One Law Firm CEO Broke Through Limiting Beliefs With Executive Coaching.

“When you challenged my thinking by asking why I was thinking so small, it hurt.” Is this statement positive or negative? 

One of the many reasons to work with me as your executive coach is to gain a fresh perspective—a perspective that challenges you to see when you’re holding yourself back from reaching your full potential. The saying goes: You can’t read the ingredients on the cereal box from the inside. In other words, you often can’t recognize the limits of your mindset when you’re “in it.” A recent coaching session with a law firm CEO offered a vivid reminder of this truth.

To tell this client’s story, a bit of background is needed. My client is the CEO of a successful personal injury law firm in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. He and I began working together a few years ago when he was at a pivotal point in his business journey—stepping into his role as CEO and building his team. After some time, he “graduated” from coaching. All coaching relationships have a beginning, middle, and end. He had reached a point where he was ready to execute his new CEO mindset independently. Watching clients “take off” is a proud moment for them and for me.

Once you’re a client, you’re always part of the team. As is my habit, I stayed in touch with him. During one of our check-ins, he mentioned he was ready to reengage with executive coaching; he’d maxed out his mindset at his then-current level and wanted to evolve further. My first step was to see if he was thinking big enough to make our coaching sessions impactful. Without that, the investment of time and money wouldn’t be worthwhile.

I asked him where he saw his next level of growth. A straightforward way to measure this is by gross revenue—a metric that, for many attorneys and law firm leaders, is linked to personal growth and mindset transformation. When he shared his revenue goal for the end of our 12-month coaching engagement, the number struck me as uninspiring. It would require no real personal evolution—just increased business efficiencies. So I asked, “Why are you thinking so small?”

He was taken aback. “John, that’s not small!” I told him that if that was the goal, it wouldn’t be worth his time or money to work with me. He and his team could grind harder and get there without executive coaching. I let the silence linger; he was clearly thinking. As a law firm CEO, few people challenged him like this.

I repeated, “Why are you thinking so small?” This time, I added, “What if you couldn’t fail? What would the number be then?” He then shared a figure ten times higher than his initial goal. I asked, “What shifted to make you believe that level of revenue is achievable?” His response was pure gold: “If I couldn’t fail, I’d be a lot more confident in going big.”

My next question was, “Who would you need to become to achieve that goal?” His answer was equally profound: “I’d have to be someone entirely different than I am today. My leadership, communication, and performance would all have to evolve.” With this new goal and an understanding that personal growth would be essential, we agreed to move forward together.

Flash forward six months.

In a recent coaching session, we discussed a crucial leadership skill all managing partners and law firm owners must master: saying no to a thousand things. He paused and revisited the initial conversation, saying, “When you challenged my thinking by asking why I was thinking so small, it hurt.” I asked why. He replied, “It hurt because I’ve never thought of myself as someone who thinks small. I was trapped in my own thinking, and without you challenging me, I would never have realized it.”

Working with me as your executive coach isn’t comfortable—and it’s not meant to be. Comfort is for those who are satisfied with the status quo, content with “good enough.” Growth occurs when we move through discomfort.

My clients are the best attorneys in their fields. They’re managing partners and law firm CEOs who are comfortable with being uncomfortable, who think big to keep their firms thriving. They increase revenue, master their time and focus, improve performance, and ultimately enjoy more freedom with less burnout. You can too. Schedule a complimentary 30-minute discovery session with me here, or send me an email.