It’s very easy to jump right into a coaching conversation, and often clients are eager to get started. However, investing time in contracting (at the start of the relationship and at the start of each session) has a number of benefits:

• Better chemistry – a good contracting conversation means that both parties get to know each other better, establishing rapport and exploring the practicalities of working together
• Increases the chance to establish and build trust. The book The Trusted Advisor (Maister, Green & Galford) introduces ‘the Trust Equation’, describing Trustworthiness as:

Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy divided by Self-Orientation

Contracting conversations can help to explore each of these elements, but particularly that of ‘intimacy’ which the authors describe as ‘the safety or security that we feel when entrusting someone with something’.

• Better chance of reaching goals – adults show significantly better commitment to their development when they feel a sense of control over that development
• Establishes ownership with the client – they own the process, set the agenda and decide where they are going to take action
• Potential areas of conflict can be explored and considered before they happen – when we explore and seek to understand how someone prefers to work, to communicate and what they expect we reduce the chance of encountering frustrations and potential disconnections. It can also be helpful to explore and agree how frustrations are managed between you before they show themselves. Most contracts are ‘broken’ out of neglect rather than intention.

There are three aspects to a contracting conversation:

1. Administrative – logistics and process

2. Professional – objectives, roles and responsibilities

3. Psychological – expectations, often left as ‘implicit’ and often the easiest to ignore during the contracting conversation

It might be helpful to have a prepared list of areas that you feel it is important to cover, which could include:

• Time – how often will sessions take place?; How long will they last?
• Location – this is more than ‘where’ coaching will take place. What do you each need/expect in terms of being able to speak freely?; How will you manage distractions?; What makes for a stimulating environment for each of you?
• Roles and responsibilities – who is responsible for what?
• Potential barriers – what might get in the way (either of progress or of the sessions themselves?)?
• Notes/actions – who is responsible for keeping notes, and for what purposes?
• Checking in/feedback – how often will you check in about how you are working together?; Who will prompt this conversation?
• Confidentiality – What will be shared if anything? Who will share anything, and with whom? This is also a good place to discuss your privacy and data protection policies and processes
• Cancellations/postponements – What do each of you expect if a planned session can’t go ahead?
• Stakeholders – Who is a stakeholder in the coaching process? How will they be involved in the coaching? Who and what will be communicating with them?
• Evaluation – How will you evaluate progress? Who is responsible for this evaluation?
• Fees – in addition to the costs of coaching itself, what other fees might need to be considered (for example, travel expenses, costs for psychometrics etc)?
• Re-contracting – this can happen at any stage of the coaching process
• Boundaries  – what don’t you include in coaching? When would you refer or suggest a referral to another professional (e.g. a counsellor)?

Some coaches separate the contracting conversation from the first coaching session, others choose to combine them. If you choose to combine them, it’s worth signposting that this first session may feel a bit less balanced as you’ll potentially be doing more of the talking – it’s not a ‘normal’ conversation and it won’t feel like one.