The Coaching Echo Chamber

Why the loudest voices in leadership might be missing the point...

There’s a strange feeling I get when I scroll through LinkedIn.

A chorus of self-proclaimed leaders, coaches, and strategists, all repeating the same mantras. A constant loop of advice dressed up as revelation: Start with why. Inspire your team. Be vulnerable. Build trust. They post, they speak, they mentor. Often without ever having led anything beyond their own brand.

It’s not that the message is wrong. It’s that the volume is turned up so high that no one notices the silence underneath.

We are mistaking repetition for wisdom.

And in doing so, we’re missing the quiet, more uncomfortable truths about modern leadership.

Are we coaching the symptoms?

I’ve worked across startups, global corporations, public institutions. I’ve seen outdated top-down leadership that drains motivation, and I’ve seen modern “empowered” teams that still fail to collaborate in practice. The problem isn’t just about old vs new. It’s about surface vs substance.

Much of today’s leadership advice is treating symptoms, not causes.

• Culture workshops are offered to teams with no structural autonomy.

• Motivation sessions are delivered in rooms where salaries are unequal and voices go unheard.

• “Authenticity” is celebrated, as long as it’s polished and on-brand.

We’re told to be empathetic, while bonuses still reward the opposite behavior.

The real problem isn’t that leaders don’t know what to say. It’s that organizations are not built to support what they say:

• The Execution Gap: We preach values but operate on incentives. Leaders say people matter, but the only metric tracked is hours billed or tasks closed. Until we align performance systems with human values, no coach can fix what the system punishes.

• The Reality Gap: We teach ideals in rooms that ignore reality. In every team, there are quiet power games, mismatched motivations, and people pretending to align just enough to stay safe. These aren’t flaws, they’re human. But very few frameworks acknowledge them.

It’s easy to host a morning circle where everyone chants motivation slogans together. 

But what happens when the meeting ends?

We don’t talk enough about:

• The people who feel forced to “belong” but don’t

• The top performers who quietly resent being “motivated” by someone who’s never done their job

• The broken systems that turn collaboration into politics

• The fact that in many teams, people don’t collaborate because the rewards don’t match the rhetoric

Inclusion without nuance is just another mask.

But what can we do instead?

Not everything needs to be burned down. But we do need to stop pretending a keynote or a LinkedIn post can change culture on its own.

Here are a few shifts worth making:

• Start with questions, not slogans. Ask your team what actually motivates them. You might be surprised how rarely anyone has asked.

• Align the invisible systems. If you reward speed but preach thoughtfulness, people will always choose speed. Build systems that reflect what you say matters.

• Normalize human messiness. Not everyone wants to be “empowered.” Some want clarity. Some need direction. Some are just tired. That’s okay.

• Bring in outside voices with real scars. If you’re hiring a coach or consultant, ask them about the last time they failed. If they can’t answer, think twice.

Questions for You (and Me)

Let’s turn the camera back to ourselves.

• Are you saying what people want to hear, or what needs to be said?

• Do your team rituals bring energy, or just perform it?

• Are your values reflected in your calendar, your budget, your metrics?

You don’t have to answer out loud. But if you never ask, you’ll keep repeating what everyone else says. And eventually, people stop listening.