“If you think coaching is a last resort when things go wrong—you’re already too late.”
That’s the myth most people carry about coaching. That it’s for the underperformer, the leader in crisis, the professional who “needs fixing.”
The truth? Coaching isn’t a band-aid. It’s a compass. A mirror. A forward-looking accelerator that sharpens people at every stage of their career.
At Build My Story, we often remind clients: Coaching isn’t for the broken. It’s for the ambitious.
Let’s break that down—through the lens of how challenges shift at different stages of a career, and why coaching shows up differently for each.
The Individual Contributor: The Artist Under Deadline
Metaphor: The artist painting a canvas with a clock ticking above them.
Individual contributors are often like artists. They care deeply about the work itself—the craft, the detail, the originality. But in organizations, brilliance alone isn’t enough.
- How do you deliver not just what feels perfect, but what’s needed, on time?
- How do you make sure your work isn’t invisible, but noticed and valued?
- How do you balance the pride of creation with the discipline of delivery?
For individual contributors, coaching is about turning creative chaos into professional rhythm. Helping the artist keep the art alive—while ensuring it lands, on time, in ways that matter.
The Team Leader: The Class Monitor
Metaphor: The class monitor balancing between teachers and classmates.
Middle management is often the hardest seat in the house. You’re not the visionary at the top. You’re not the focused individual contributor. You’re the bridge.
Like a class monitor, team leaders must:
- Represent their team’s needs to leadership without being brushed off as complainers.
- Deliver leadership’s expectations without alienating their people.
- Hold deadlines firmly while also protecting their team from burnout.
Coaching here builds influence. Not just delivering numbers, but creating teams that believe in why those numbers matter.
The CXO: The Captain in the Storm
Metaphor: The ship captain—steering but not rowing, powerful yet powerless.
At the top of the mountain, leaders are often alone. Everyone nods. Few question. And in that silence, the weight of responsibility becomes paradoxical.
You’re powerful—you set vision, strategy and culture.
You’re powerless—you don’t execute directly, yet the final accountability always rests with you.
This is the captain’s paradox: immense responsibility, but no oar in hand.
That’s why CXOs need a space outside the echo chamber. A place to ask:
- “What am I not seeing?”
- “Where am I overestimating myself?”
- “How do I carry my vision so others buy in?”
Here, coaching isn’t remedial—it’s reflective. It’s the mirror that breaks the echo chamber, helping leaders sharpen presence, align stakeholders and steer through storms with clarity.
The Entrepreneur: The Whole Orchestra
Metaphor: The entrepreneur is the entire orchestra—sometimes the violinist, sometimes the conductor, sometimes the composer.
Entrepreneurs don’t live in just one role. They live all of them—often simultaneously.
- In the early days, they’re the individual contributor—the artist coding, designing, selling.
- Soon, they become the team leader—the class monitor holding together a scrappy group.
- As they grow, they step into the captain’s seat—navigating investors, customers, storms of scale.
It’s why coaching for entrepreneurs is not a luxury. It’s a lifeline. It offers perspective, structure and a way to prioritize when everything feels urgent. Coaching helps them orchestrate without losing the melody—the original story that inspired the venture in the first place.
Red Flags That Signal You Need Coaching Now
If you’re experiencing any of these, coaching isn’t optional. It’s urgent:
- You’re working harder but the impact feels smaller.
- Your team hears you but doesn’t follow with action.
- You’re constantly “busy” but unclear on progress.
- You have ideas but struggle to articulate them in ways that move people.
- You’re hitting milestones but not feeling fulfilled.
These aren’t signs of weakness. They’re signals you’re running on execution without alignment. Coaching is where you slow down just enough to recalibrate, so you can speed up again—with purpose.
Coaching as a Career-Long Accelerator
The myth says coaching is reactive. The reality? Coaching is proactive future-building.
- The artist learns discipline without losing creativity.
- The class monitor learns influence without losing trust.
- The captain learns humility without losing vision.
- The entrepreneur learns to orchestrate without burning out.
At Build My Story, we believe coaching isn’t about “fixing.” It’s about forward motion.
Wherever you are in your career, the question isn’t whether you need coaching. The question is: What kind of coaching do you need right now?
👉 If you’re at a turning point, let’s talk.