The
contracting session is possibly the most important meeting that you will have
with your Coach. Within it,
the boundaries in which the Coaching relationship operates will be established
and the mutual expectations under which both Coach and Coachee will operate
will be set. As
importantly, but perhaps more intangibly, it will set the ‘tone’ for future
meetings and the professional basis on which future meetings will be held. The contracting
session does not need to be exhaustive, nor does it need to cover every
possible eventuality, but it does need clarify a series of issues:
- The Objectives of the Coaching Programme
- The Psychological Contract between the Coach and
Coachee
- The Logistics and Process under which Coaching will
take place
The Contracting session should be managed by the coach.
The Objectives of the Coaching Programme
The Objectives of the Coaching Programme
It is of fundamental importance to ensure that there is clear mutual
understanding of the goals and objectives for the Coaching engagement. The identification of these goals will on
occasion form the basis of future Coaching sessions, but an initial guide as to
what these are can guide the future course and success of any Coaching
intervention. This contracting phase
will also explain that these goals remain ‘private’ and completely confidential
between the Coach and the Coachee.
Coaches should also be aware that a significant amount of work may need
to be undertaken to identify what ‘success’ in the future will look like for
the Coachee and the ‘milestones’ that will give both the Coach and the Coachee
some indication of how they are progressing towards their objectives.
While the above process can be reasonably straightforward if the Coachee
is also the ‘client’ or the person paying for the programme, a new dimension of
the contracting phase arises when the Coaching is being paid for by an
organisation for which the Coachee works. In such a situation, the Coachee and the Client are in fact two different entities.
In this case, it is important for the organisation to identify an
internal ‘Sponsor’ for the Coaching programme. The Sponsor – is most appropriately the organisational representative
who can clearly articulate to the Coachee the reasons that the organisation
wants to invest in them in providing Coaching support, while explaining how the
organisation will measure the success of the Coaching programme. The Coach will often facilitate a three way
‘triangular contracting’ discussion where the goals that the organisation want
to see from the Coaching intervention will be discussed and agreed to by all
parties. These goals, while not openly
discussed – are seen as ‘public’ goals.
A high level of transparency and openness is required from the Sponsor
of the programme and the Coachee at this stage. It is essential that the Coachee is clear on what is being asked of them
by the organisation and that there is not sense of a ‘hidden agenda' or of
being forced into a position where they feel they must ‘undergo Coaching’. Such unexplored feelings may jeopardise the
integrity of the Coaching relationship between Coach and Coachee – and the
Coachee’s ability to actively engage in a process of reflection and change.
In the course of the Coaching sessions however, ‘private’ goals may
emerge for the Coachee in terms of how they want to address and respond to the
‘public’ goals. These private goals must
remain strictly confidential between the Coach and Coachee if a feeling of
trust and rapport is to be maintained – though there is a need for the Coach to
be aware of when such goals might stray from the aims of the Coaching
intervention.
The Psychological Contract
The Psychological Contract
The
‘psychological’ contract can be thought of as the expectations and sense of
engagement that both Coach and Coachee ‘expect’ from the other person in
entering into a Coaching relationship.
The term
'psychological contract' is normally associated with employer and employee
contracts. Over and above the explicit
expectations outlined with formal written contract – the psychological contract
is more implicit and frames the perceptions of two parties as to what their
mutual obligations are towards each other. It is the psychological contract
that effectively tells employees what they are required to do in order to meet
their obligations in working for the organisation, and what they can expect
from their job. It may not – and most usually will not - be strictly
enforceable, though legally there are implications in the manner that the psychological contract pertains
to the underlying relationship between employer and employee.
It is informative
to a Coaching relationship in that it looks at the reality of the situation as
perceived by the Coach and the Coachee as the two engaging parties. It may be more influential than any formal
contract in affecting how the relationship between Coach and Coachee is
established, develops and opening up a conversation that will enable rapport
and trust to grow.
Logistics and Process
Logistics and Process
Finally, there is a need to examine and explain the logistics, under which
the Coaching programme will operate, from the number of sessions to their
duration and spacing.
In the case of working with an individual within an organisation, there
will often be a requirement to have appropriate conversations with both the
Coachee and the organisational ‘sponsor’, in the terms of contractual
obligations, payment terms (if applicable) and how the process actually works. Where the Coaching client is also the Coachee
– such conversations will be combined.