Pull coach rank when the room needs it.

technique — attributed to Kathy 'Coach' Kemper

A coach can tell a president to move his feet. The same coach, as a salon host, can keep a conversation on time, redirect a senator who is monopolizing the table, and tell a CEO to dumb down a tech briefing for the lay people in the room. The coaching role gives Kemper a category of authority no other convener in Washington possesses. She uses it sparingly and visibly. The technique generalizes: hosts who have a prior relationship of authority with their guests can wield it inside the gathering in ways unfamiliar hosts cannot. The previous role becomes operational equipment.

For conveners whose hosting role builds on a prior teaching, coaching, or advisory relationship. The technique is not transferable to hosts who are meeting their guests for the first time.

authority, coach-rank, facilitation, moderation