In high-performance domains—be it sports, academia, or entrepreneurship—a familiar debate often arises: Can the best performers also be great teachers? A common assumption is that elite performers possess unparalleled insights into their craft, making them ideal mentors. However, the reality is far more complex. Often, individuals without stardom in their field excel as extraordinary mentors or coaches. This post explores the reasons behind this phenomenon and its implications for coaching and teaching in complex and uncertain environments.
Understanding Expertise: Epistemology vs. Pedagogy
A fundamental misconception lies in conflating a field’s epistemology (how experts develop new knowledge) with its pedagogy (how best to teach novices). While high performers are adept at generating knowledge and executing skills, their expertise often resides in procedural memory—a domain of knowledge that is difficult to articulate. Consequently, they may struggle to convey the “how” and “why” of their actions to others. This gap highlights why the best doers aren’t necessarily the best teachers.
Insights from Research: Verbal Overshadowing and Skill Decomposition
Kristin E. Flegal and Michael C. Anderson’s study, Overthinking Skilled Motor Performance: Or Why Those Who Teach Can’t Do, sheds light on this phenomenon. The researchers examined how verbalizing procedural knowledge affects performance, focusing on a golf-putting task:
- Findings: Higher-skilled golfers who described their putting technique performed worse in subsequent trials compared to those who engaged in unrelated verbal tasks. In contrast, lower-skilled golfers experienced minimal disruption and even modest benefits from verbalization.
- Explanation: This disparity arises from the tension between procedural (action-oriented) and declarative (language-based) memory systems. For skilled performers, verbalizing procedural knowledge disrupts their well-honed, automatic processes, akin to “overthinking” during execution.
- Implications: Teaching necessitates breaking down procedural skills into declarative components, a process that can degrade the teacher’s own performance. This dynamic helps explain the adage, “Those who teach, can’t do.”
Coaching and Mentorship in Complexity and Uncertainty
In fields characterized by high complexity and uncertainty—such as entrepreneurship or academia—the ability to teach effectively depends less on mastery of the subject matter and more on empathy, adaptability, and communication skills. Star performers may lack the metacognitive awareness to unpack their intuitive expertise, while coaches with moderate performance experience often excel at:
- Identifying common pitfalls.
- Simplifying complex ideas for beginners.
- Encouraging experimentation and resilience.
For instance, many successful entrepreneurs struggle as mentors because their insights are rooted in unique, non-replicable contexts. In contrast, those with a broader range of moderate successes and failures can offer actionable, generalizable guidance.
The Entrepreneurial and Academic Contexts
Both entrepreneurship coaching and academic teaching tend to select mentors based on personal performance metrics. Yet, the skills required to excel in these roles differ markedly. Great teachers often:
- Embrace cognitive diversity and different learning styles.
- Focus on fostering curiosity and critical thinking.
- Provide frameworks rather than prescriptive answers.
Conversely, emphasizing high individual achievement when selecting mentors can inadvertently sideline those who possess the softer, yet crucial, skills of mentorship.
Rethinking How We Choose Coaches and Teachers
To build better systems for mentoring and teaching, we need to reconsider selection criteria. Rather than prioritizing top performers, we should value:
- Communication skills: The ability to articulate complex ideas simply.
- Empathy: Understanding and addressing learners’ unique challenges.
- Reflective practice: A commitment to learning and improving teaching methods.
Conclusion
The dichotomy of “doing” versus “teaching” is neither absolute nor universal. While star performers bring invaluable insights, they are not inherently better suited to coaching or teaching. Recognizing and leveraging the unique strengths of both groups can enrich learning experiences, particularly in high-performance domains. In an era of growing complexity, fostering these nuanced perspectives will be crucial for developing future generations of learners, thinkers, and innovators.