I’d love to have Joe Biden as my coach.
It’s nothing to do with the politics of the man, nor the politics he rejects. It’s the personal qualities he radiates. Personal qualities which scream…wrong verb…whisper, coach.
Joe Biden possesses the golden triangle of characteristics which all great coaches have. Let’s take a look.
- Empathy: Biden’s compassion is clearly authentic. There is nothing of the constructed public image about the care for his fellow humans he shows. Even on television, his ability to truly listen to the many people he engages with, is clear for all to see. If Biden was my coach, I would have every faith that he would be in the moment in every session, listening between my words and gently probing to take my thinking forward
- Logic: Coaches need wisdom and a logical mind, as much as they need an ability to empathise. Coaching is about the head as well as the heart. Biden’s calm, rational capacity to analyse is exactly what great coaches draw on when guiding conversations and deciding when and if the moment is right to offer advice.
- Intuition: The tone and content of Biden’s inauguration speech was just right. Sombre, determined, forward looking, not seeking to allocate blame, relentless in its message of unity. Biden just got it right. Of course the speech will have had many people involved in its crafting; however Biden’s delivery alone was enough to demonstrate his ability to intuit the right message at the right time: the quality of kairos, as the Ancient Greeks called it. Again, all great coaches have intuition, a characteristic difficult to quantify but very easy to recognise.
So, that’s Joe Biden, the coach. Now, let’s talk about Kamala Harris, the coach…
