Leadership is often celebrated as a position of power, the one at the front of the pack, calling the shots, setting the direction. But what’s far less talked about is the reality behind the title:
Leadership can be one of the loneliest journeys a person takes.
Whether you’re managing a football club, running a high-performance team, or leading a fast-growing business, the higher up you go, the fewer people you have to truly talk to, and that’s not just a cliché, it’s a common and very human challenge.
At Pro Sport Lab, we work with senior leaders across elite sport and business. They’re ambitious, driven, high-performing, and often quietly struggling with the weight of leadership. Not because they’re weak. But because they’ve been led to believe they need to carry it all alone, but it’s time to change that belief.
The Isolation of the Role
Leadership requires decision-making under pressure, managing complex teams, handling conflict, maintaining vision, and delivering results. It’s demanding, mentally, emotionally, and energetically.
What makes it harder is that the more senior you are, the harder it becomes to be vulnerable.
Most leaders feel they can’t always open up to their team and they may not want to share elements of their personal life with their peers.
Leaders often feel the pressure to “have it all together.” And even in sport, where vulnerability is slowly becoming less taboo, leaders are still expected to be the source of certainty and strength for everyone else.
So, what do many leaders do?
They internalise.
They isolate.
They push through.
Until the pressure builds up.
Confidence dips.
Energy drops.
Focus wavers.
And worst of all, they start to feel like they’re the problem.
But here’s the truth: they’re not the problem, the model is.
Athletes Don’t Go It Alone. Leaders Shouldn’t Either.
In elite sport, there is not a single top performer in the world who works alone. Every athlete has a team behind them, coaches, psychologists, nutritionists, analysts, all supporting the person behind the performance. No elite performer has EVER achieved anything by doing it alone.
So why do we expect leaders to?
A CEO, sporting director, head coach or founder has just as much at stake, and often even more people relying on them. They need to be clear-headed, emotionally intelligent, resilient and future-focused. That’s not something that happens by chance.
It needs to be supported, trained, and nurtured. Which is why one of the most valuable investments any leader can make is having a coach in their corner.
A Coach Isn’t a Crutch. They’re a Catalyst.
When we say “coach,” we don’t mean someone who tells you what to do. We mean someone who listens without judgement, challenges your thinking, helps you reflect, and lifts you when the weight gets heavy. Someone who reminds you that you don’t need to have all the answers, but you do need a space to ask the questions.
This is especially critical when it comes to what the Harvard Business Review calls the three root causes of leadership loneliness:
1. Change in relationships: As you move up, the dynamics shift and often trust can be harder to build.
2. New responsibilities: Your decisions have bigger consequences, and the pressure is higher.
3. Fear of vulnerability: You’re expected to be composed, confident, and in control, always!
A coach becomes the one person who cuts through that noise. Who sees the human behind the title. Who helps you navigate complexity with clarity. And crucially, who celebrates your wins when no one else really gets what it took to earn them.
Sport, Business, and the Power of a Trusted Ally
In sport, we see the loneliness of leadership in head coaches under fire after a few poor results. In business, it’s the founder who can’t sleep because payroll is due and cash flow is tight. In both situations the team leader will question if they’re really cut out for this. It’s at times like this, that a coach provides the vital support and guidance.
The most successful leaders we work with all have something in common: they’ve built support structures around themselves that allow them to lead with energy, courage and conviction, because they’re smart enough to know they can’t do it all.
One of our clients, a senior executive in an elite football organisation, recently said:
“Having a coach has allowed me to create a place where I can think out loud, make mistakes, feel like myself, and leave every session clearer and stronger. It’s changed the way I lead, and live.”
That’s what we want for every leader we work with.
Walking the Leadership Path Together
Leadership will always come with moments of solitude. There are times you’ll have to take a different path. Make the hard call and set the standard. But you don’t have to do that alone.
A great coach walks with you, not in front, not behind, but alongside. They help you tune back into your purpose, protect your energy, and lead with confidence from the inside out.
Because when leaders are well supported, teams thrive.
When leaders are energised, cultures elevate.
And when leaders feel less alone, they lead with more humanity and more power.
If you’re a leader ready to stop carrying the weight alone, let’s talk.
