Good contracting is fundamental to our work as agents of change.
Contracting is as important for leaders, funders, and coalition members, as it is for consultants and coaches. I will sometimes refer to the person other than yourself as the “client,” but please mentally substitute the appropriate word for your relationship.
CONTRACTING
Purpose of contracting:
To create beneficial conditions for mutually satisfying and successful relationships by:
* agreeing on the results to be created.
* clarifying roles and responsibilities of each party
* creating a “field” of agreement
- rapport among people
- trust/confidence in competence, intent & process
- alignment around outcomes and process
To state the obvious, when there is less than full agreement as to these expectations, the entire ensuing process is ripe for problems.
Different Contexts; Different Contracts
Contracting may be more or less comprehensive, and more or less formal, depending on the nature of the relationship and engagement.
Contracting will look rather different depending on whether this is:
* the beginning of a new relationship;
or a new arrangement in the context of an existing relationship;
* an arrangement among people working within an organization;
or the hiring of an independent contractor
* a casual coaching conversation;
or an ongoing coaching or supervisory relationship
* a one-time facilitation or training day;
or an ongoing contract
* between people of equal power:
or where there is a marked difference in positional power
In a one-time coaching conversation, contracting may be as simple as asking the “client” a few simple questions such as:
* What would you like to get out of this conversation?
* What would you like from me?
* How long do we have for this conversation?
In a performance conversation, this might be:
* You (the supervisor) clarifying the purpose of the conversation
* Requests you might have of the ‘client’ in the conversation
In an ongoing coaching relationship, this might include:
* Clarifying client’s goals for the coaching
* Any goals you may have
* Expectations around frequency and nature of contact, how
meetings get set up, where, length, cancellations, next steps, etc.
* What the client expects of you
* What you expect of the client
* Financial considerations (if any)
In an ongoing supervisory relationship, this might include:
* agreement on goals
* agreement of measures for success
* setting up formal check-ins and reviews
* supervisor clarifying under what conditions they want to be
checked-in with
* availability of supervisor for help
* needs/desired of person being supervised for support
For a board chair leading a Board of Directors, the contract might include:
* what powers are explicitly granted to the Board chair through the
by-laws
* for what responsibilities are is the Board chair accountable
* how the Board chair will build agendas for meetings
* expectations regarding how the Board Chair will communicate with
Board members
* expectations of how members will be included in important business
between formal Board meetings
For a particular meeting, the contract might include:
* length of meeting
* topics to be covered
* outcomes to be achieved
* pre-work to be completed before meeting
* formal roles within the meeting (facilitator, note-taker, etc.)
* groundrules for behavior
A formal consulting relationship might include any or all of the following:
1. Create clear and compelling positive vision for change
2. Define specific outcomes (results to be produced)
including PRIMO goals
3. Explicitly state the outcomes against which your success
will be measured
4. Outline client’s role and accountability
5. Outline your role and accountability
6. Establish check-ins, milestones and review system to
measure progress
7. Identify likely breakdowns and how these will be handled
8. Establish financial arrangements, if any
9. Test for clear understanding of agreement between both parties
10. Test levels of commitment
11. Record key elements of contract
12. Debrief contracting as way of building trust and partnership.
Getting it Right
Contracting sets the stage for everything that follows, so it’s very important that care be taken.
Be authentic with your reactions and feelings.
Us the contracting as an opportunity to test:
* the “client’s” appetite for the work to be done
* chemistry between you and client
* your own desire/commitment to engage
Things that feel “off” in the contracting usually come back to haunt you.
Take appropriate risks in surfacing concerns.
Your success as a change agent depends on your integrity.
(e.g. don’t allow yourself to be “trapped” by circumstances
into contracts and relationships that don’t feel right.)
Some tips for skillful contracting
Don’t over-promise.
Be realistic and sober in your estimates of how much time/money things
will take. We often have the impulse to “soften” our estimates so as to:
* avoid having to make hard trade-offs
* not make the client (or ourselves) anxious
* avoid disagreement with the other party
You’ve probably all seen what happens later when we fail to deliver.
Plan for the unexpected.
It always takes longer.
Be impeccable. If anything, err on the side of under-promising.
Delight others by delivering more than they hoped for, in less time (and/or money) than they were expecting.
Show up with integrity. Make your word worthy of trust.
Adapted from the practices of Robert Gass.
