Establishing the Coaching Agreement

by Seth Sinclair

In previous posts, we’ve discussed the qualifications of coaches and explained how to find a coach that’s right for you and for your organization.  Once you’ve found your coach, it’s time for one of the most important parts of the entire coaching process—establishing a coaching agreement.

The coaching agreement is basically the process through which the relationship between a coach and client is designed and planned.  According to Mary Beth O’Neill, author of “Executive Coaching With Backbone and Heart,” the conversation that precedes drawing up such an agreement allows coaches and clients to “establish the goals and parameters for the coaching relationship and set expectations that drive the remaining phases.”

Working through a coaching agreement offers an opportunity to set a foundation for success by addressing several critical factors early in the relationship:

·      Goals – This conversation is an initial opportunity to lay out personal, professional, and organizational goals for the coaching engagement.  The goals may be focused on specific leadership competencies or behaviors as well as organizational outcomes.  While the goals can be dynamic and may be further refined through assessments or subsequent development plans, it is important to start with a baseline from which to work and measure.

·      Process – If the client is new to coaching, the coach should provide an overview of how coaching works, what to expect in coaching sessions, and the ways they client can anticipate learning from the experience.  This is also an opportunity to identify and agree upon what will remain outside of the coaching relationship.   Finally, the coach can describe any assessments or evaluations included in the scope of the engagement.

·      Ownership and Commitment – Building on the discussion about the coaching process, this is an opportunity to further expand upon into the roles in the coaching relationship.  More specifically, it is important for the coachee to acknowledge that he or she is ultimately responsible for staying engaged with the program; taking responsibility for follow-up, and testing new behaviors.  In other words, the client has to be willing to do the hard work that may be needed to accomplish his or her goals with the coach serving as a trusted partner.  O’Neill describes this as the client’s ability “to own his part of the issue,” and the ability of a client to understand that he or she may be part of the problem is critical to the success of any coaching program. 

·      Trust and Confidentiality – At this stage, important building blocks for the entire coaching process begin to take shape, such as establishing trust, communicating effectively, and the ability to speak plainly to each other.  The agreement conversation can accelerate this by address expectations regarding confidentiality (link to post on Trust) and other communication norms for the engagement. 

·      Logistics – This is also an opportunity to address the way in which coaching sessions will be conducted (face-to-face, by phone, or in other ways); the number of coaching sessions that will be accomplished, and the intervals between each session; the availability of the coach to the client in between scheduled sessions, and agreed to procedures for rescheduling. 

Some coaching agreements are for larger groups, or even for entire organizations: if this is the case, the contract should spell out what the organization hopes to accomplish, and what senior leadership will do to support the coaching process.  It is also important to note that the agreement may be supplemented with a separate coaching contract to address fees for services and assessments as well as any other terms for review and acknowledgement.

Whether the agreement is for an individual or group, it should explain the process that will be followed, and what the coach will focus on in working with the client or clients.  Some coaches even put their philosophy of coaching in the document.  Agreements built in this manner will increase the probability of success for the coaching relationship.