Doing it for them: a classic coaching mistake

I have spoken with entrepreneurship coaches who had produced certain things on behalf of entrepreneurs (texts, spreadsheets, even parts of strategy…).
It usually starts from a good place: the desire to help.
It is tempting and quite natural.
You tell yourself it will be done better and faster if you take care of it.
By producing on behalf of the person you are supporting, you invest fully and feel you are doing everything possible to help.

Yet this approach is problematic in several ways:

1. Coach over-commitment

This is the first consequence, the most obvious: the coach devotes a lot of time.
If this pattern is repeated from one client to the next, it can become excessive.
The case of a turnkey spreadsheet is particularly tricky, because a "support desk" dynamic can also set in.

2. Ownership and embodiment

It is not for us to carry the project.
It is not for us to master every detail or deliver the outcome.
How many times have I seen an entrepreneur in front of a beautiful Excel forecast who was unable to explain half of the table… of their own project, nonetheless!
Letting the person take ownership can take more time and move away from what you had in mind. But it will match the situation at that moment and can be embodied by the person, and evolve with them.

3. Skill development

There will certainly be some adjustments and new explanations.
But in the end, the person being supported will have gained skills and will be able to reproduce and evolve their work.
That is what coaching support is about!