Why Mike Vrabel Demands One Mindset Not One Personality
February 4, 2026
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Think back to a time when you grew the most in your career, where you had a visual moment of meaningful progress. Chances are, it didn’t happen in comfort. It happened because someone created tension, asked a hard question, posed an uncomfortable truth, a challenge you weren’t sure you could handle, and you responded. That’s the double bounce.
Matt Chandler said, “Comfort is the God of our generation.” Which is tough to read because, if we are being honest, most of us could say that we define our lives by how comfortable we are. Which makes sense because there is undoubtedly a time and place for being comfortable. However, if progress is your goal, comfort becomes the enemy. Growth and improved performance are born in repeated tension, not ease.
If growth is your goal, comfort becomes the enemy. Improved performance is born in repeated tension, not ease.
This is where coaching comes in. A coach provides the first bounce, the tension that launches you out of comfort. But the second bounce is up to you. It is your response that creates the lift. Without both, progress stalls.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I wanted my kids to get outside on their own. So we bought them a Springfree trampoline. But something interesting happened: every day they asked me to jump with them.
I quickly figured out why: the double bounce. When the heavier jumper lands first (yours truly) it creates an input and tension in the mat. The second jumper responds to that tension and goes higher than they could on their own. The kid then responds to that tension and flies higher than they could on their own.
That’s the double bounce of effective coaching.
If there is no double bounce, there is no growth. A coach can’t lift someone higher on their own. They can’t want it more than the person wants it for themselves. And while someone can improve with effort alone, the vast majority of people grow faster and stronger with the help of coaching.
A coach can’t lift someone higher on their own. They can’t want it more than the person wants it for themselves.
Not every coach provides input in the same way. They have different styles, perspectives, experiences, and have had different examples along the way. However, their coaching style shapes the first bounce, but what matters most is whether the response follows. Here are the three common types of coaches:
Whether you are a manager using your coaching skills or you’re a professional coach, the first bounce can be provided in four ways. They are simple, but that doesn’t mean they are easy.
Regardless of which method you use, what’s most important is that the input or tension prompts new action. Now is the time to ask yourself, What kind of coach am I today? Am I providing my team member with the first bounce they need to improve? Or do I stop at the first bounce and need to ensure the second bounce happens?
Growth and improved performance don’t happen when you’re comfortable. They occur when tension is present. They require a double bounce. A coach can provide the first bounce by using an input. The coachee provides the second bounce with their response. Together, those two bounces create progress.
Like my kids on the trampoline, people go higher when someone jumps with them. Your role is not to do the work for them but to create the bounce that launches them higher. It’s a big-time bonus if they go higher than you ever did.
Because, as I wrote in Building the Best, a leader’s job isn’t to elevate themselves, it’s to elevate others.
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About the Author: John Eades is the CEO of LearnLoft and The Sales Infrastructure. He was named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices. John is also the author of Building the Best: 8 Proven Leadership Principles to Elevate Others to Success. You can follow him on Instagram @johngeades.
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