The psychology of coaching our current presidential candidates is not for the faint of heart. Our two main candidates, with apologies to Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, are the most unpopular candidates to oppose each other in the history of the United States. It’s the usual rhetoric and personal attacks, combined with downright contempt from the American electorate.

But someone has to win! It’s going to be Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.

Psychology Coaching

5 Factors Determining the Psychology of Coaching

When merging psychology with coaching there are a few factors which can contribute to coaching session success. These factors include:

• Coachability
• Desire
• Goals
• Trust
• Workable action plan

Of course, psychology involves the brain and the brain is a highly complex – there are plenty of other factors that come into play with the psychology of coaching, but we’ll stick to these few for a brief discussion of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as it relates to the psychology of coach practice and skills.

Coaching the Candidates – Trump and Clinton

Coachability

I would not want to coach either of these two – they both seem to have enormous egos and most likely want mostly “yes me” or “yes women” around them. A coach is not a friend or someone who just agrees with everything their client says! A client must be coachable and before you can begin to even try to help either one of these clients, you have to assess their coachability levels. Let’s assume they pass the test, and that is a giant leap of faith, but we can move to the next factor.

Desire

Desire consists of drive and determination. Both of these candidates have achieved far more than the average person, and it would most likely be easy to work with clients who have their levels of drive and determination. They pass the test with flying colors on this one!

Goals

Another factor for which both presidential candidates pass the tests. Each must have had clear goals to have reached their levels of financial and public success. No one can succeed without clearly identified goals. There isn’t a more important factor that identifying and clarifying goals – whether your client is seeking public office or just wants to improve their quality of life.

Trust

Can a client be truly honest if they don’t trust you? Probably not. Establishing trust and intimacy with a client is one of the core competencies identified by the International Coach Federation (ICF). You must learn a client’s fears and failures, as well as their goals and dreams. This might be difficult with Trump, as he seems to never admit failure, but it’s part of what builds trust in a coach/client relationship. It’s a crucial component of the psychology of coaching.

Workable Action Plan

This might be difficult with either client – both seem to have a few fatal flaws in what they say or do. But, you would have to create an action plan to get from Point A (candidate) to Point B (President). The action plan is the culmination of all other factors in the psychology of coaching. It’s the part of the process where results are measurable and noticeable. Though Trump and Clinton would be difficult clients at best, and impossible ones, at worst, the process is similar for each and every client!

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Fred Philips
Business Coach
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