When working as a coach or facilitator I always ‘contract’ with people before we start work together: we agree boundaries, expectations and ways of working.
‘Contracting’ is the technical term for these conversations, but I prefer to think of it as ‘setting things up for success’ and it typically involves:
- agreeing honestly and as clearly as possible what is expected from one another
- the purpose and boundaries for the work
- identifying what behaviours will enable you both to perform at your best and anything that would be unhelpful, and,
- how you’ll review how it’s going so you can adjust accordingly.
We contract before we start work together, but also check-in how things are going periodically.
Before we start…
The kinds of questions we might use at the start of a project or assignment include:
- What do we want to achieve?
- How will we know we have been successful?
- What are our respective roles? What can we offer and for what do we accept responsibility?
- What requests do we have of one another in terms of how we work?
- How will we know whether things are on track?
- How do we want to handle things if it’s not working well for either of us?
- What obstacles might get in the way of us working together? How can we avoid this happening?
Are we still on track?
Review questions can be as simple as:
- What do we notice about how we are working together?
- What is working and what is not working?
- Is there anything you want more or less of from me?
- What do we want to change to make this relationship have more impact?
Taking 5-10 minutes to include some of these questions in our meetings with others can help ensure we get off to the most productive start with new projects, or review and realign those already underway.
