Your Coaching Practice Needs Your Leadership, Too - Jaime Mann

Let’s be honest: most coaches don’t get into coaching because they’re wildly excited about sales funnels, content calendars, pricing strategy, or checking their bookkeeping software like it’s a fun little emotional adventure.

Most coaches get into coaching because they care about people.

They want to help. They want to support growth. They want to ask powerful questions, create meaningful change, and do work that feels aligned with who they are.

And then, at some point, reality taps them on the shoulder and says:

“Cute. Also, you have to run a business.”

Rude, frankly.

Because being a good coach and being a business owner are connected — but they are not the same thing.

And for a lot of coaches, that’s where things get messy.

The Real Barrier Isn’t Always Strategy

When coaches talk about growing their practice, the conversation often goes straight to strategy.

What should I post?
Where should I network?
How do I find clients?
What should my offer be?
How do I explain what I do?
How much should I charge?

All good questions.

But here’s the uncomfortable little goblin hiding under the desk: many coaches already know the next right step.

They know they should follow up.
They know they should be more visible.
They know they should talk about their work more clearly.
They know they should make the invitation.
They know they should stop rewriting the same LinkedIn post for six days like it’s a hostage negotiation.

The issue usually isn’t knowing.

It’s doing.

And that’s where self-leadership comes in.

Because often, what gets in the way of business growth isn’t a lack of information. It’s the internal stuff: doubt, avoidance, imposter feelings, emotional reasoning, perfectionism, unclear identity, and the very human desire to wait until we magically feel ready.

Spoiler: “ready” is a slippery little liar.

Doubt Doesn’t Mean You’re Doing It Wrong

One of the things I want to normalize right away is that doubt is not a sign you’re broken, unqualified, or secretly terrible at business.

Doubt is just part of doing work that matters.

I speak on stages for a living, and before I get up there, I can still have a tiny, annoying thought whispering:

“What if they hate me?”

Not just “what if they dislike the session?”

No. My brain likes to make it dramatic.

“What if they hate me, like, as a human?”

Or:

“What if someone stands up in the middle of the keynote and yells, ‘YOU SUCK’?”

Has this ever happened?

No.

Is it likely to happen?

Also no.

Does my brain occasionally offer it up like it’s a helpful pre-performance strategy?

Absolutely.

Brains are weird little raccoons. They mean well, but sometimes they’re just knocking over garbage cans in the alley of your confidence.

The point is not to eliminate doubt. The point is to stop letting doubt make your business decisions.

Coach Mode VS Business Mode

One of the biggest shifts for coaches is learning how to move between two important identities: coach and business owner.

Coach mode is often calm, reflective, generous, thoughtful, and focused on serving others.

Beautiful. Necessary. Great.

But business owner mode asks something different of us.

It asks us to be visible.
Clear.
Strategic.
Decisive.
Boundaried.
Willing to say, “Here is what I do, here is who I help, and here is how you can work with me.”

For many coaches, that can feel deeply uncomfortable.

Not because they don’t believe in their work.

But because business-building tasks can trigger all kinds of identity questions:

Who am I to say this?
Am I being too much?
Do I sound salesy?
Is this clear enough?
Am I even a “real” business owner?

And that last one is sneaky.

I’ve had those thoughts too.

I’m a business partner in a commercial construction company with my husband, and there have been plenty of moments where I’ve wondered, “Who am I here? What do I actually bring to the table?”

And in my own coaching and speaking business, I’ve had versions of the same thought:

Am I a real business owner?
Am I supposed to have staff before I count?
Do I need a giant team, a fancy office, and a mysterious person named Brenda who manages my calendar before this is legitimate?

No. But try telling that to a brain that has decided legitimacy comes with a payroll department and matching mugs.

This is why it matters to understand your strengths, your value, and your unique contribution. Because most of us are shockingly bad at seeing what we bring to the table.

We assume what comes naturally to us must not be valuable.

But often, the thing you do with ease is exactly the thing someone else is desperate for.

Why Self-Leadership Matters in Business Growth

Self-leadership is the ability to notice what is happening inside you and choose your next action with intention.

That matters because business growth will keep asking you to do uncomfortable things.

Be visible before you feel fully confident.
Talk about your work before it sounds perfect.
Make offers before everyone has physically understood your brilliance.
Set boundaries.
Follow-up.
Review your numbers.
Ask for the sale.
Say the thing clearly.

None of this means becoming pushy, fake, or weirdly aggressive online.

Please don’t become the person sending “Hey girlie!” messages to strangers. Society has suffered enough.

It means learning how to lead yourself through the normal discomfort of building something.

Because the coaches who grow are not the ones who never feel doubt.

They are the ones who learn how to move with doubt in the passenger seat — without letting it touch the steering wheel.

Your coaching practice doesn’t grow because you care deeply (and I know you do!)

Your practice grows when you lead yourself into the actions your business needs from you

About Jaime Mann

Jaime Mann is a leadership strategist, certified coach, speaker, and founder of The Amaryllis Project. With a background in psychology and more than two decades of real-world leadership experience, Jaime helps people lead themselves with greater clarity, courage, and confidence so they can show up more effectively in their work and business. Known for blending research, real talk, and practical tools, Jaime brings an engaging, honest, and human approach to leadership development.

Organization / Role: The Amaryllis Project & EWC Ltd. Email: jaime@ewcltd.ca‍ ‍Phone: 2044710694 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theamaryllisproject/

Website: https://jaimemann.com/‍ ‍