Contracting is a critical part of any coaching engagement, but often gets cut short as the coach and client are keen to get started on the actual coaching.  By taking the time at the start to explore what the client is looking for from the session,  it is possible to create a coaching “container” which focusses the conversation and enables forward movement.

Contracting, done well, creates :

Focus.   Clients rarely have nice and tidy topics with a clear outcome.  There may be several topics, or a large topic with multiple dimensions.  Or, it may not be clear what topic there is at all, just a feeling that there is something that they want to explore.  There is a risk that the discussion can turn into a long history of what has happened and who did what to who.   One helpful analogy is to think of the possible topics as being a lake – which is a large expanse with many aspects.   The contracting tries to define a stream that would flow from the lake, with clearly defined boundaries and a direction.  It is also moving – giving a sense of progress toward some objective.

The first question is often “what did you want to discuss today”,  and perhaps “what else ?” the next question starts to focus this by asking “which part of that would be useful for us to focus on ?”  This recognises that there are possibly many parts to the topic and encourages the client to pick one to start with.

Outcomes.   Having chosen an area to explore, the next question would around the outcome – “what would you like to be different at the end of the session ?”   This is a very open question – allowing the client to think about what they want out of the conversation and whether their desired outcome is an action or a change in how they feel about an issue.  It may be helpful to explore this further – “how would you know that this conversation has been useful ?” As a coach, this may not be what you were expecting as the client may have a different measure of what they see as success.

Process.  The coach’s role is to own the process – the client to own the content,  but the process must be agreed with the client. A further useful question is “what role would you like me to play ?”  This can often be a surprise to clients to be asked this, but having them think about what they actually want from the coach – in the context of the agreed coaching topic and outcome – helps to further define the coaching “container”.    A key part of the process is for the coach to ensure that the conversation stays within the “container”  and if that starts to change, for the client to be asked if they want to change the focus or the outcomes.   Regularly checking with the client throughout the session that the they feel that they are making progress, also ensures that the sense of forward movement is recognised – or if not, that both parties can explore what needs to change in the conversation.

Partnership.   A coaching session is a partnership between two people created by both the coach and the client to enable the latter to “find their own wisdom”.   Every aspect of the contracting is done in agreement with the client – from choosing the topic to defining the outcomes.   A final question for the contracting phase is “where should we start ?”,  again recognising that the client may want to begin in a different place to that assumed by the coach.   This sense of partnership is key to a successful coaching relationship, and is maintained by the process followed by the coach of regularly checking in with the client.

Future Facing.    Coaching is not therapy, and the focus needs to be on what the client could do going forward without getting bogged down in history.  The analogy of the stream is helpful again, with it flowing out of the lake in a particular direction.    Rather than looking back at the expanse of lake with the client can visualise water flowing through a stream with clearly defined banks.  The sense of movement is important as well, there doesn’t need to be a huge change but creating a sense of forward movement can help reinforce the value that can come from the conversation.  The outcomes and how they can be measured as defined earlier are also part of the focus on the future and what the client wants to be different.

A distinct phase.     A big challenge in contracting is getting it mixed up with coaching.   The client is often keen to get started and the coach can default into a coaching question.   The coaching has started – without a clear agreement as to why the parties are there and what the desired outcome is.   The coach needs to be aware of this and to ensure that the agreement is place by asking the right questions,  despite the temptation to dive in and start coaching…

A simple set of questions – perhaps with a mnemonic to help remember them can make it easier to ensure that a clear coaching agreement is put in place.   I use a mnemonic that came from my ICF training -  STOK(e)RS 

S:  subject :  what would you like to talk about / think about today ?

T:  time  :   which part of that would you like to focus on in the time we have available ?

O:  outcome : what would you like to be different at the end of our conversation?

K:   know  :  how would you know that our conversation has been useful ?

R :   role  :    what role would you like me to play ?

S:    start  :    where should we start ?

 Every coaching session is different and there are many ways in which a coach can help a client to think about their topics.   There are some basic rules though, one of which is ensuring a clear coaching agreement – which has been created by both parties working in partnership – is put in place before the coaching begins.  A simple set of structured questions such as STOK(e)RS  will create clarity and direction for the coaching and a clear sense of what outcome the client is looking for.