The Cosmic Coach

Skills for stellar coaching

The debate began where all deep discussions generally do -- in a bar. And, like all great coaching discoveries, it began with a powerful question. Sitting around a table with my coaching colleagues, someone asked: “Who is the greatest coach of all time?”
 
Preferring revelry to reflection, one member of the cohort immediately dismissed the question as unanswerable. A second soon followed suit; bowing out, saying the list of coaches was too plentiful to select a single candidate. Another tossed out the names of several contemporary coaches and noted authors. We collectively considered the list. All impressive, but as the group soon decided, none so important as to warrant this honor.
 

Growing bolder and going broader, the next speaker reached into antiquity, nominating the Greek philosopher Socrates for the distinction.  Socrates, he contended, was not only the father of powerful questions but also the source of the beginner’s mind. To support these points, he cited Socrates’s sagacious advice “Wisdom begins with wonder” and “The only true wisdom is in the knowing you know nothing.”
 
The outcry from across the table was immediate and passionate. “Oh no, you don’t!” the speaker exclaimed as she jumped to her feet in protest. Appalled by the obvious Western-orientation of the nomination, she adamantly argued Gautama Buddha, the Indian sage, was a far better choice. The Buddha, she declared, preceded Socrates by hundreds of years and exceeded him in impact a hundredfold. “He personifies coaching perfection, and his guidance is essential to coaching philosophy,” she said.  In evidence, she recited some of his most insightful instruction: “The mind is everything. What you think you become.” “Dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” And, “No one saves us but ourselves.”  With that said she sat down, downed her drink, and stared, daring anyone to challenge her assertion.
 
Realizing I was the only member who’d yet to speak, all eyes turned toward me. “Well,” they insisted, “Who do you think is the greatest coach?”  Passions high; pressure on; pulse pounding, I searched for an answer.  I knew the safe response did not reside among current practitioners or ancient philosophers.  But, where then?  Glancing at the television above the bar, I discovered my answer “in a galaxy far, far away.” I found my ideal coach and my voice simultaneously, and audaciously announced, “Yoda is the greatest coach of all time!”
 
Light laughter and loud groans erupted around the table. “Wait, wait,” I pleaded, “Like you, I can prove it through his words.” Deciding to suspend their judgment of my idiocy until they’d heard my evidence, my colleagues settled into their chairs to listen.

First I explained Yoda was the oldest and most powerful Jedi Master in the Star Wars¹ universe. Although just 30 inches tall, he was revered for his legendary wisdom, mastery of the Force, and skills in lightsaber combat. As the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, he trained Jedi for over 800 years before dying and becoming one with the Force.
 
Next, to support Yoda’s standing as the consummate coach in the cosmos, I enumerated seven of his most memorable maxims.
 

1. “Clear your mind must be if you are to discover the real villains in this plot.”  
Yoda’s first point is as applicable to the coach as it is to the coachee. It highlights the need to clear the mind before commencing the session. Both participants in this collaborative process must empty their minds of the doubt and distractions which cloud perception and prevent them from being fully present. Only then can they become aware of the “real villains” -- the saboteurs -- who reiterate our deepest fears and restrict our ability to change.   

2. “The dark side clouds everything.  Impossible to see, the future is.”  

Delving deeper, Yoda’s next point expands on the first. He explains how dark clouds of self-doubt and deception restrict a coachee’s vision of the future and reduce their perception of viable options.  Seeing only black-and-white, either/or options, the coachee remains stuck in place, fearful of moving forward toward an unseen and uncertain fate. Impossible to perceive, a better future is thus impossible to achieve.

3. “If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will.”  

The Grand Master next recognizes how unseen saboteurs can derail destiny by stealing the coachee’s time, attention, and energies. If not put into proper perspective, a toxic person or a tough problem can escalate into a personal “Death Star,” an omnipresent force looming over all other aspects of life. Heeding Yoda’s warning, coaches attempt to dislodge entrenched coachees by asking: “How much time do you spend consumed by this issue? In doing so, what have you lost and is it worth the cost?”    
 

A master lightsaber swordsman², Yoda innately understands the coach’s role in combating darkness with light. Through powerful questioning and personal modeling, the coach first helps the coachee find, ignite, or fuel their inner light. Second, the coach supports the coachee in focusing this light on previously unexplored aspects of their life in the hopes of gaining new knowledge about the present and new options for the future. With the light of knowledge scattering the shadows and illuminating the path ahead, the coachee can advance more confidently toward their desired goal.     
 

Yoda’s next axiom acknowledges that before a belief or behavior can be changed, the underlying emotion holding it in place must be identified and addressed.  Again, this adage applies equally to the coach and coachee. Consequently, a coach must possess situational awareness and self-awareness to recognize the emotions emanating from both sides of the coaching conversation. The coach must have the courage to not only champion but also challenge their coachee’s story to expose the fears hidden beneath. This may also require the coach to model the way by calling out the emotions underlying their own story.   Only from this point of compassionate curiosity can the coach and coachee collaborate to better understand themselves, their relationship and their mutual objectives.     
 

Refrains of Yoda’s sixth statement echo in the words of every coach who has ever warned: “what got you here will not get you where you want to go.” To reach a different future, coachees may need to relinquish parts of their past. First, they must become aware other perspectives exist and alternate futures are achievable. Then they can test the ties – the beliefs, biases, and behaviors – which tether them to their current condition. Through experimentation and observation, the coachee can determine the validity of such ties and decide whether to accept, reject, or alter them accordingly.   

7. “To be Jedi is to face the truth and choose.”  

Yoda’s final maxim is also his most important.  In one simple statement, he unmasks two coaching truisms. The first truth is that, no matter how proficient the coach, coaching is about the coachee, just as Jedi training is about the Padawan³ the learner; not the powerful Master. In a coaching relationship, the power remains with the coachee who controls conversation and the changes. The second truth is that coaching is ultimately about examining truths and exposing options. It is a force for choice and growth, focused on improving the person, not resolving their problems. The coaches’ role is to listen without judgment and speak truth without hesitation, thus aiding the coachee to perceive new options to achieve their goals.
 
Concluding my comments, I leaned back; satisfied I’d successfully defended Yoda’s status as the galaxy’s greatest coach. Nonetheless, I braced for the onslaught of ridicule to come. Instead, my colleagues sat in stunned silence. Capitalizing on the unexpected calm, I chose to make my escape. Heading toward the door, I couldn’t resist pausing for a final quip, “Remember Yoda’s most important dictate: ‘Always pass on what you have learned.’ Oh, yeah, and may the Force be with you!”
 
The views and opinions presented herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of OPM or the Federal Government.
 
¹ Star Wars is an American science-fiction film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series, entitled Star Wars, was released on May 25, 1975 by 20th Century Fox. The fictional character Yoda made his first film appearance in The Empire Strikes Back in 1980.
² Amazingly Yoda prowess as a lightsaber swordsman is a topic of great debate amongst Star War’s fans as evidenced by the ongoing dialog on blog sites such as http://nightly.net/topic/2883-who-is-the-best-lightsaber-swordsmen-jedi-or-sith.
³ In the Star Wars lexicon “padawan” refers to a Force-sensitive adolescent who is undergoing training in the Jedi Order to become a Jedi Knight. The term is derived from Sanskrit where it refers to a “learner.”
 

Michael F. Belcher is an executive-level educator and coach with over 35-years of experience in the public and private sectors. Currently, he is on the faculty of the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, VA, where he teaches leadership, organizational development, change management, and inter-organizational collaboration. During his 28-year military career he rose to the rank of Colonel and retired as the Director of the Marine Corps War College in Quantico, VA. Connect Michael Belcher