#133 Contracting, contracting, contracting (5 top tips)

Question: What do they say you should pay most attention to when buying a house?

Answer: Location, location, location.

Question: What do I say you should pay most attention to when coaching?

I just reviewed my notes from around 500 individual and group supervision sessions I have had with my supervisees over the past five years. ‘Contracting’ has come up 90 times. I believe competence in contracting and re-contracting creates the foundation for successful coaching outcomes. I have seen research that claims 50-80% of coaching problems stem from poor contracting.

I am talking here about the verbal contracting we do with our clients, although it is best practice to follow that up in writing. Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

I use a simple model for contracting, covering Outcomes, Process and Relationship.

Outcomes

You should explicitly agree on the outcomes sought from coaching. Well, duh? However, I all too often experience coaches coming to supervision who have not done this effectively. Yes, they do it at the outset of the coaching programme, but not in each session. Some say they operate more emergently, so to discuss outcomes desired from the session at its outset doesn’t work. Fair enough, however, at some point during the session, you need to stop and contract or re-contract for what you are trying to achieve. Otherwise, what is the point of the session?

Tip: When a prospective client talks about their challenges and you believe you can help them, the last thing they want to hear is, ‘Ah, yes, I’ve seen this before, it is a common issue. I can help.’ Remember: Their challenges are unique to them in their world. Acknowledge their uniqueness, even if you believe they are ‘uniquely the same’ as others you have helped.

Process

I like to think of the coaching process in three parts: Time, Territory, and Task.

Time: You should agree on the logistics of time per session and number of sessions, the location where the sessions are held, and, if appropriate, the fees to be paid and other administrative matters, such as what happens if either of you needs to postpone.

Territory: This is best done by discussing the boundaries of coaching. Coaching is not management, counselling/therapy, or mentoring (unless it is). Another boundary question is to ask who the client is: the coachee, the coachee and their paying sponsor, the coachee’s team, the organisation, …? This can impact several things, such as psychological closeness between coach, coachee and sponsor, and inform the contract concerning confidentiality.

Tip: Breaking boundaries leads to coaching errors.

Task: Whose responsibility is it to do what? Coaching should be a 50:50 responsibility. Each party enters with their own free will and with internal commitment to the process. If you don’t have this, you may as well not bother. Your responsibility is to believe in yourself and your process. You do this to build your client’s belief in themselves, raise their awareness, and increase their choices to effect change and achieve the agreed-upon outcomes.

Tip: Building self-belief in others starts with believing in yourself

Relationship

Were you to review descriptions of relationship-building skills in coaching, you would find guidance on confidentiality and building rapport. These are the foundations of the relationship you seek with your client. Trust is the overarching principle here. Put any distrust your client may be feeling into words, such as how confidential your conversations will be (see Territory: who the client is above), how you will show up without judgment, and even the efficacy of coaching as a developmental intervention. Your job is to show up authentically: to put into words what you are experiencing with your client as you coach them, and non-judgmentally: to reward their vulnerability, so that they will share their authentic feelings with you.

Tip: Feelings are data; your feelings and theirs. You need valid data to coach effectively.

Evaluation

Once you have put in place an effective, authentic contract with your client, it is imperative to check in on how each of you is fulfilling it. This can happen at any time, and, just like the contact itself, is best done conversationally rather than with more formal evaluation forms.

Tip: Pay attention to the Outcomes, Process and Relationship when evaluating your coaching.

Tip summary

·         Acknowledge the uniqueness of your client’s challenges when agreeing on coaching Outcomes.

·         Breaking boundaries leads to coaching errors.

·         Building self-belief in others starts with believing in yourself.

·         Feelings are data (your feelings and theirs). You need valid data to coach effectively.

·         Pay attention to the Outcomes, Process and Relationship when evaluating your coaching.