The fourth quality Joe found in every great coach was constant wonder — and he is careful to distinguish it from both knowing and even curiosity. They weren’t in a knowing state, and they weren’t quite curious either, because curiosity implies you’re looking for the answer.
“They weren’t even in curiosity because curiosity seems like you’re looking for the answer, but they were in awe. It was just that wonder of curiosity without needing to know the answer.”
That phrase — “the wonder of curiosity without needing to know the answer” — captures the distinction. Curiosity reaches forward toward a conclusion; wonder rests in awe of what’s already present. The great coaches probably knew what was going to happen, having done it for so long, yet they still held this place of wonder with every person they sat across from.
Holding wonder rather than knowing keeps the conversation alive and open. The moment you settle into knowing the answer, you stop actually seeing the person in front of you. Wonder keeps the coach (and anyone in conversation) genuinely with what’s emerging instead of racing ahead to a solution.
Related Concepts
- Every great coach shares four qualities: vulnerability, impartiality, empathy, and wonder
- Cultivating wonder is an undoing not a doing
- Impartiality means trusting the other person’s wisdom
- View is a mindset, not a technique
- Being in the question is more powerful than finding the answer
- Wonder is curiosity without needing an answer