"Two founders sat across from me, exhausted. They'd already worked with three coaches. Nothing changed. "We keep having good conversations," one told me, "but we're still stuck in the same place." This wasn't about effort; both founders were smart, committed, and willing to do the work. The problem was simpler and more frustrating: None of their previous coaches could actually address what was broken."
"I see this constantly in my practice. Founding teams invest serious time and money in professional support, follow the advice diligently, and end up exactly where they started, just more articulate about their dysfunction. The issue is a training mismatch. The coach they hired-however credentialed and experienced-simply wasn't equipped to fix their specific problem. After years working with founding teams at every stage, from bootstrapped two-person operations to late-stage companies with hundreds of employees,"
Founding teams often invest significant time and money in professional support yet remain stuck because hired coaches lack the specific skills to fix core problems. Coaches can make teams more articulate about dysfunction without resolving underlying issues. The root cause is a training mismatch between practitioner capabilities and team needs. Three distinct practitioner types exist, each with particular strengths and predictable blind spots. One type is the business veteran turned practitioner, who offers contextual understanding from operating experience. Coaching credentials and depth vary widely, with some former operators pursuing serious psychological education while others complete brief certifications. Matching practitioner training to the team's problem saves time.
Read at Psychology Today
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