Critiquing vs. Coaching: The Secret to Building High-Performance Teams

Critiquing vs. Coaching: The Secret to Building High-Performance Teams

You know the feeling. You walk out of a meeting, and instead of feeling energized and ready to tackle the next big thing, you’re left drained, frustrated, and stuck. You just spent an hour dissecting past mistakes, but no one talked about how to move forward.

The truth? That time could’ve been better spent setting the stage for success, not dwelling on what’s already happened.

As a C-suite coach, I’ve seen it time and time again—meetings that waste time, teams that struggle to execute, and leaders who get trapped in a cycle of endless feedback without actionable results. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Critiquing vs. Coaching: The Key Difference

Most teams drown in critique—endlessly picking apart performance with little room for action, growth, or strategy. But real value comes from preparing for what’s next, not just analyzing what went wrong.

Great leaders know the key is coaching—before game day even begins. One of my early mentors embodied this philosophy. He never tore into us after a bad performance or misstep. Instead, he focused on setting the stage for what was ahead.

His coaching sessions weren’t about rehashing mistakes. They were about equipping us for the next play. It helped that he also knew exactly what kind of players he needed on the field to execute his vision. That way, he made sure every player understood their role, their strengths, and how to leverage them to perform better—every single time.

His philosophy was simple: Every play should be the best one ever—yet the worst one moving forward because the next will be even better. No performance was ever “perfect.” But with each step forward, we gained the confidence, strategy, and accountability to raise the bar.

The results spoke for themselves. High achievement wasn’t an accident—it was a byproduct of preparation, execution, and continuous improvement.

That same principle applies today in every coaching session I lead. Leverage time, talent, and strategy to build better results—that’s what real coaching does. It prepares. It sets up the win before the game begins.

Why Critiquing Alone Will Hold You Back

Feedback matters. But overemphasizing critique is like watching game footage on repeat without ever preparing for the next match. The best coaches don’t just analyze—they build momentum.

Here’s the problem: Critique doesn’t work if the opportunity hasn’t been earned by first setting the stage. When the stage isn’t set for success, the feedback becomes about what went wrong instead of what can be improved moving forward. 

This is why coaching, done right, must come before critique. If you don’t prepare your team first, the critique becomes meaningless and only serves to frustrate, rather than build momentum.

In fact, research backs this up:

• Teams that receive regular, forward-focused coaching are more engaged, more productive, and perform better than teams that stay stuck in constant past-performance analysis (Harvard Business Review, The Feedback Fallacy).

• Employees who have ongoing coaching conversations with their managers are three times more engaged and 12.5% more productive than those who don’t (Gallup).

Bottomline: Critiquing doesn’t create momentum. Coaching does. Coaching ensures that every person knows how to think ahead, solve problems proactively, and contribute to the bigger picture.

Symptoms of Wasted Time and Stagnation

1. Unfocused Meetings – Too much talk, no clear action plan or direction.
2. Constant Feedback, No Strategy – A cycle of critiquing past mistakes but no real plan for moving forward.
3. Lack of Ownership – Team members don’t fully understand their role or how they contribute to the bigger goal.

If any of these sound familiar, your team is stuck in a feedback loop instead of a forward-moving strategy.

This Week’s Challenge:

1. Set the Stage, Don’t Look Back – In your next meeting, focus only on what’s next. Make sure every person knows their role and what’s expected moving forward.
2. Turn Feedback into Action – Stop overloading on critique. Keep it brief, actionable, and solution-oriented so your team knows exactly how to improve.
3. Coach with a Clear Outcome in Mind – Make sure every conversation, meeting, and task ties back to the bigger goal. Hold yourself accountable for helping your team see how their work matters and directly impacts the overall success.

Coaching isn’t about looking back—it’s about preparing yourself and your team to perform at their highest level. When you set the stage for success and help people leverage their strengths, you’ll see better results, faster.