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How-To

Coaching Your AI Team

Your AI team is only as good as your coaching. Here's how to teach your specialists what great looks like—so they can deliver it every time.

January 10, 2026•6 min read

You've got your AI team—MAYA for marketing, CLARA for content, SAGE for strategy. But the outputs feel... generic. Competent, but not you. The word choices are safe. The tone is off. The style is missing your edge.

The fix isn't a better AI. It's better coaching. Your specialists don't know your preferences yet—they're working from defaults, not from you.

Here's how to change that.

Think Onboarding, Not Prompting

When you hire a new team member, you don't just hand them tasks. You share examples of great work. You explain your standards. You give feedback on their first drafts. Over time, they learn your style.

Your AI specialists work the same way.

The Key Insight

The difference between "meh" AI output and output that sounds like you? Time invested teaching. Every correction, every example, every piece of feedback makes your team smarter about what you want.

Skip the coaching, and you'll spend your time editing and rewriting. Invest in coaching, and your specialists start getting it right the first time.

Show What Great Looks Like

Your specialists can't hit a target they can't see. The most powerful thing you can do is show them examples of your best work.

Example: Coaching CLARA on Your Writing Voice

Share 3-5 pieces you're proud of—blog posts, episode scripts, newsletters. Tell CLARA what makes each one work:

  • "This opening hooks without being clickbaity"
  • "The transitions here flow naturally"
  • "This is my voice—direct, a little irreverent, no fluff"

Now CLARA has a north star. When she drafts content, she's aiming for something specific, not generic "good writing."

Do the same for each specialist:

  • MAYA (Marketing): Share campaigns you loved, social posts that performed, ad copy that converted.
  • SAGE (Strategy): Share research briefs that helped you make decisions, competitive analyses that surfaced insights.
  • OTTO (Operations): Share your ideal workflows, scheduling patterns, the way you like projects organized.
  • ALEX (Ambassador): Share customer conversations that went well, community posts that resonated.

Set Clear Standards

"Make it better" isn't useful feedback. "Cut adverbs by half, shorten paragraphs to 3 sentences max, match the energy of the opening throughout"—that's something your specialist can act on.

1

Define 'Done'

What does a finished draft look like? Be specific. For CLARA: "No passive voice unless intentional. Every section has a clear hook. Conclusions should call back to the opening."
2

Create Your 'Never' List

What should your specialists never do? "Never use 'utilize' when 'use' works. Never start with 'In today's world.' Never include placeholder text." This prevents the obvious mistakes.
3

Document Your Preferences

Put it in writing. Style guides, templates, brand voice specs. Your specialists can reference these every time they work. Include your terminology, banned phrases, and formatting preferences.

Pro Tip

Start small. You don't need a 50-page style guide on day one. Begin with 5 "always" rules and 5 "never" rules. Add more as you notice patterns in what you're correcting.

Give Feedback That Sticks

Your specialists learn from corrections. But not all feedback is equal. The key is to explain the "why" behind changes.

Feedback That Works vs. Feedback That Doesn't

Weak:"This isn't quite right."
Strong:"This opening is too formal for our audience. We're talking to founders, not academics. Start with the problem they're feeling, not a definition."
Weak:"Make it shorter."
Strong:"Cut the second paragraph—it repeats what we said in the first. Every sentence should add new information or we lose readers."

When your specialist nails it, reinforce that too. "This headline is perfect—punchy, clear, creates urgency without being clickbait. More like this."

The Payoff: Less Editing, More Creating

Coaching takes time upfront. But the returns compound fast.

Less Rewriting

Well-coached specialists produce drafts that need polish, not rewrites. Your editing time drops.

Consistent Voice

Every output—episodes, posts, emails—sounds like you because every specialist learned from the same examples.

Proactive Suggestions

Your specialists start anticipating your needs. They suggest improvements aligned with your vision.

Faster New Projects

Starting something new? Your team already knows your standards. Ramp-up time shrinks dramatically.

Think of coaching as compound interest. Early sessions feel effortful—you're explaining, correcting, defining. But each session reduces future friction. By month two, you're guiding more than correcting. By month three, you're collaborating with specialists who genuinely get you.

Start Today

You don't need to do everything at once. Start with one specialist and one project:

  • Pick your most-used specialist (probably CLARA or MAYA)
  • Share 3 examples of work you love
  • Write down 5 "always" and 5 "never" rules
  • Give specific feedback on the first output
  • Repeat

Your AI team reflects your investment. Put in the coaching, and they'll deliver work that sounds like you—not like a generic AI.

Ready to Start Coaching?

Build your AI team and begin teaching them what great looks like. Start with one specialist, one project, and grow from there.

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