Why a Coach Who Isn't in the Arena Can't Truly Teach the Game
There's a uncomfortable truth in the world of Business Coaching and consulting: if your Coach isn't actively doing Business themselves, they're teaching theory, not reality.
Imagine hiring a swimming instructor who's never been in the water. They've read every book about swimming, watched countless videos, and can recite perfect technique. But they've never felt the panic of water in their lungs, never experienced the exhaustion of fighting a current, never discovered that small adjustment that suddenly makes everything click.
This is the State of much Business Coaching today.
The Knowledge Gap
Business moves at lightning speed. What worked eighteen months ago might be obsolete today. Algorithm changes, market shifts, consumer behavior evolution, new technologies—these aren't just buzzwords. They're daily realities that fundamentally alter how Business operates.
A Coach who isn't actively running campaigns, closing deals, building funnels, or managing teams is working from outdated maps. They're teaching what should work based on principles that used to work, not what actually works right now, in this moment, in this market.
Theory Versus Battle Scars
The most valuable lessons in Business aren't found in frameworks or methodologies. They're discovered in the trenches:
The moment you realize your "perfect" sales pitch falls flat with real customers. The panic of cash flow problems that teach you financial discipline no spreadsheet ever could. The humbling experience of a product launch that nobody cares about. The unexpected breakthrough that came from breaking your own rules.
These lessons can't be taught secondhand. They must be lived.
The Credibility Problem
When a Coach faces difficult questions—"What would you do in my situation?" or "How did you handle this when it happened to you?"—their answer reveals everything.
If they pivot to generic advice or lean on case studies from clients, they're admitting something crucial: they don't actually know. They haven't been there. They're guessing, however educated that guess might be.
The Empathy Deficit
Running a Business is terrifying. The sleepless nights. The self-doubt. The financial pressure. The weight of people depending on you. The constant risk of failure.
A Coach who isn't experiencing this themselves cannot truly understand what their clients are going through. They can sympathize, but they cannot empathize. And that gap in understanding creates a gap in effective guidance.
Who Should You Learn From?
This doesn't mean all Coaches are useless. But it suggests a different standard:
Learn from people who are actively doing what you want to do. The entrepreneur who's building Businesses while teaching others to build Businesses. The marketer who's running their own successful campaigns while consulting. The leader who's managing their own team while Coaching other leaders.
These people bring fresh insights, current tactics, and hard-won wisdom that comes from recent failures and victories. They understand today's challenges because they're facing them right now.
The Exception
There is one valid exception: the retired practitioner who achieved significant success and stepped back recently enough that their knowledge remains relevant. But even here, there's a shelf life. A five-year retirement is very different from a twenty-year one.
The Bottom Line
Business isn't an academic subject. It's a contact sport. You wouldn't hire a football Coach who's never played football, never called plays under pressure, never felt the impact of a tackle.
The same principle applies here.
Before you invest your time, money, and trust in a Business Coach, ask yourself: Are they still in the game? Do they have skin in it? Are they risking their own resources on the same strategies they're selling you?
If the answer is no, you're not getting Coaching. You're getting consulting from someone reading the manual while you're trying to fly the plane.
Choose your guides wisely. Learn from those who are walking the path alongside you, not just drawing maps from a safe distance.
The best teachers are those who are still students of the game—still learning, still failing, still growing, still doing.
Shrishty Sharma
Group HR Head/ Author
Asiatic International Corp
Shrishty@Flying-Crews.com
Shrishty@Air-aviator.com
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