COMENSA Behavioural Standard 1 - Contracting

Sample Coach Contracting Script

Let's start with the central idea.

Contracting is the process of negotiating an agreement for a coaching interaction, including the coaching relationship and the process of coaching.

That is the core behavioural standard in the COMENSA contracting framework.

Notice the three elements.

First, the agreement. What are we agreeing to do? What are the expectations, boundaries and practical arrangements?

Second, the relationship. Who are we in relation to one another? What responsibilities do the coach and client have? How will we establish trust, safety and mutual understanding?

Third, the process. How will we work together? What does the client want to explore? How will we recognise whether the coaching is useful? What happens if the agenda changes?

I reviewed the indexed pages of Level123Coaching.co.za and identified 10 pages that discuss coaching contracting, ICF/COMENSA contracting requirements, written coaching agreements, or creating contracts.

The following is the page list of, ranked by relevance, for pages containing information about 

1. Primary contracting and agreement pages

Most relevant

1. Contracting – Coaching Agreement

Open Contracting page

URL: https://www.level123coaching.co.za/curious-to-credentialed/contracting

Discusses:

• Level123 Coaching Agreement.

• Purpose and scope of coaching.

• Roles and responsibilities.

• Confidentiality.

• ICF and COMENSA codes of ethics.

• Session logistics.

• Fees and payment terms.

• Cancellation and rescheduling.

• Termination.

• Agreement and consent.

• Signatures.

2. Coaching Contracts – 20 Things to Include

Open Coaching Contracts page

URL: https://www.level123coaching.co.za/curious-to-credentialed/dates-and-overview/session-2-lesson-plan-contracting/coaching-contracts

Discusses:

• Creating a professional coaching contract.

• Parties to the agreement.

• Scope of engagement.

• Confidentiality clauses.

• ICF and COMENSA ethics.

• POPIA and data protection.

• Liability.

• Recording consent.

• Intellectual property.

• Dispute resolution.

• Referral clauses.

3. Session 2 – Contracting Lesson Plan

Open Session 2 Contracting Lesson

URL: https://www.level123coaching.co.za/curious-to-credentialed/dates-and-overview/session-2-lesson-plan-contracting

Discusses:

• COMENSA contracting requirements.

• Verbal versus written contracts.

• Legally and ethically sound agreements.

• Coaching boundaries.

• Informed consent.

• Confidentiality.

• Micro-contracting.

2. ICF and COMENSA contracting standards

4. COMENSA Contracting – Session 11

Open COMENSA Contracting page

URL: https://www.level123coaching.co.za/curious-to-credentialed/dates-and-overview/session-11-lesson-plan/comensa-contracting

Discusses:

• COMENSA Behavioural Standard 1.

• CCC, CSC and CMC contracting expectations.

• ICF Core Competency 3.

• Establishing and maintaining agreements.

• Macro-contracting.

• Session-level agreements.

• PCC and MCC expectations.

• Contract integrity.

• Evidence and contra-evidence.

5. Appendix A – COMENSA

Open Appendix A COMENSA

URL: https://www.level123coaching.co.za/curious-to-credentialed/dates-and-overview/appendix-a-comensa

Discusses:

• COMENSA Behavioural Standards Framework.

• Contracting requirements.

• Administrative aspects.

• Responsibilities.

• Alignment of expectations.

6. COMENSA Behavioural Competency

Open COMENSA Behavioural Competency

URL: https://www.level123coaching.co.za/curious-to-credentialed/comensa-behavioural-competency

Discusses:

• COMENSA competency framework.

• Contracting at CCC, CSC and CMC levels.

• Coaching relationship agreements.

• Professional and ethical expectations.

3. Supporting pages

7. Course Design – Session 3: Contracting

Open Course Design

URL: https://www.level123coaching.co.za/about/course-design

Discusses:

• Elements of a coaching agreement.

• Coach and client responsibilities.

• Confidentiality.

• Boundaries.

• Goals and outcomes.

• Logistics.

• Example coaching contract flow.

• Contracting checklist.

8. Dates and Overview – Programme Schedule

Open Dates and Overview

URL: https://www.level123coaching.co.za/curious-to-credentialed/dates-and-overview

Discusses:

• COMENSA contracting.

• Clear agreements.

• Informed consent.

• Confidentiality.

• Role clarity.

• Goals and logistics.

• Ethical boundaries.

• Record keeping.

• Sponsors.

9. Competencies

Open Competencies

URL: https://www.level123coaching.co.za/curious-to-credentialed/competencies

Discusses:

• ICF and COMENSA ethics.

• Contracting clearly.

• Informed consent.

• Confidentiality.

• Professional boundaries.

• Scope of practice.

• Data protection.

10. Mentor Coaching – ICF

Open Mentor Coaching ICF

URL: https://www.level123coaching.co.za/about/coaching-courses/mentor-coaching-icf

Discusses:

• Contracting and coaching agreements.

• Session purpose.

• Agreement establishment and review.

• Coach and client responsibilities.

• Session focus.

• Contracting evidence and assessment.

My assessment

There are three distinct areas of content on your website:

Area

Main pages

Actual written coaching contracts

1 and 2

ICF/COMENSA contracting standards

4, 5 and 6

Teaching people how to contract

3, 7, 8, 9 and 10

My recommendation: If you want visitors and coaching students to find everything about contracting, create one central resource page called:

Professional Coaching Contracts, Agreements and Contracting – ICF & COMENSA

Organise it into:

1. What contracting means under ICF.

2. What contracting means under COMENSA.

3. Macro-contracting versus micro-contracting.

4. Creating a professional coaching agreement.

5. Client and coach responsibilities.

6. Corporate and sponsored coaching agreements.

7. Confidentiality, informed consent and POPIA.

8. Fees, cancellation and termination.

9. Contract templates and downloadable examples.

10. Contracting assessment checklist.

This would make the website easier to navigate and give your students one authoritative starting point.

.

COMENSA CMC Level 3 – Professional Contracting Checklist

Purpose: A practical assessment checklist for a COMENSA Certified Master Coach (CMC) demonstrating advanced contracting competence with individual, executive and organisational clients.

This is a study and practice checklist aligned with professional coaching principles and COMENSA-style contracting expectations. It is not an official COMENSA assessment document.

1. Establishing the coaching relationship

• Clearly explain what professional coaching is.

• Explain the distinction between coaching, mentoring, consulting and therapy.

• Establish the purpose of the coaching relationship.

• Clarify the roles of coach, client and any sponsoring organisation.

• Establish mutual expectations from the outset.

• Explain the coach's professional qualifications and scope of practice.

• Confirm that coaching is appropriate for the client's needs.

• Establish that the client retains responsibility for their decisions.

• Explain the voluntary and collaborative nature of coaching.

• Confirm the client's willingness to participate.

2. Establishing the coaching agreement

• Agree on the overall purpose of the engagement.

• Establish measurable or observable outcomes.

• Identify the client's expectations of the process.

• Clarify what success will look like.

• Agree on the anticipated duration of the engagement.

• Establish the number and frequency of sessions.

• Agree on session length.

• Clarify the responsibilities of both parties.

• Agree on how progress will be reviewed.

• Confirm mutual understanding before commencing.

3. Advanced contracting and outcomes

• Explore the client's deeper motivation for coaching.

• Identify underlying assumptions and expectations.

• Explore potential conflicts between stated and actual objectives.

• Establish how the client will recognise meaningful progress.

• Agree on how outcomes will be evaluated.

• Explore the client's readiness for change.

• Identify potential barriers to achieving outcomes.

• Clarify what is within the client's control.

• Establish how changing priorities will be handled.

• Revisit outcomes when circumstances change.

4. Session-level contracting (micro-contracting)

• Establish what the client wants from the current session.

• Clarify the issue or opportunity they want to explore.

• Ask why this topic matters now.

• Establish the desired outcome for the session.

• Agree on what would make the conversation valuable.

• Clarify the client's preferred direction.

• Check whether the topic connects to broader coaching goals.

• Allow the client to change the session focus.

• Recontract when the conversation moves significantly.

• Confirm the client's satisfaction with the session direction.

5. Confidentiality and professional boundaries

• Explain the principle of confidentiality.

• Explain the limits of confidentiality.

• Clarify circumstances requiring disclosure.

• Discuss safeguarding and legal obligations.

• Explain how coaching notes and records are maintained.

• Obtain informed consent for recording sessions.

• Explain data protection responsibilities under POPIA.

• Clarify whether information will be shared with third parties.

• Agree on how confidential information will be protected.

• Maintain appropriate professional boundaries.

6. Corporate and sponsored coaching

• Identify who is paying for the coaching.

• Identify who is receiving the coaching.

• Establish who has authority to approve the engagement.

• Clarify the sponsor's expectations.

• Clarify the client's expectations.

• Identify possible conflicts between sponsor and client objectives.

• Agree on what information may be shared with the sponsor.

• Establish what progress reporting will contain.

• Obtain consent before sharing client-specific information.

• Establish a three-way agreement where appropriate.

7. Ethics, autonomy and responsibility

• Respect the client's autonomy.

• Avoid imposing personal beliefs or values.

• Avoid directing the client towards predetermined decisions.

• Recognise and manage conflicts of interest.

• Disclose relevant professional limitations.

• Recognise when coaching is outside the coach's competence.

• Avoid creating dependency on the coach.

• Recognise power imbalances.

• Maintain appropriate professional integrity.

• Refer the client to another professional when necessary.

8. Fees, cancellation and termination

• Clearly disclose coaching fees.

• Agree on payment terms.

• Clarify invoicing arrangements.

• Establish cancellation requirements.

• Agree on missed-session arrangements.

• Clarify rescheduling procedures.

• Explain early termination arrangements.

• Establish refund conditions where applicable.

• Clarify what happens when either party wishes to discontinue.

• Agree on how the engagement will be formally concluded.

9. Recontracting and managing complexity

• Recognise when the original agreement is no longer appropriate.

• Identify changes in client circumstances.

• Revisit objectives when priorities change.

• Address unmet expectations openly.

• Discuss breakdowns in trust or rapport.

• Clarify misunderstandings about roles and responsibilities.

• Re-establish boundaries when necessary.

• Obtain agreement before changing the coaching arrangement.

• Document material changes to the agreement.

• Confirm continued consent and commitment.

10. Closing the coaching engagement

• Review the original coaching objectives.

• Evaluate progress against agreed outcomes.

• Invite the client to assess the value of coaching.

• Identify behavioural and thinking changes.

• Explore remaining development areas.

• Identify lessons and insights gained.

• Establish an ongoing development plan.

• Discuss any further support required.

• Confirm that the client is ready to conclude.

• Close the relationship professionally and respectfully.

11. CMC Level 3 – Advanced practical assessment

These are particularly important when demonstrating mature contracting competence.

Assessment question

Demonstrated

Can you contract with multiple stakeholders without compromising client confidentiality?

[ ]

Can you identify and manage conflicting expectations?

[ ]

Can you establish clear outcomes without imposing them?

[ ]

Can you recognise when the coaching agreement needs to change?

[ ]

Can you manage an ethical dilemma arising from the agreement?

[ ]

Can you explain the limits of confidentiality?

[ ]

Can you recognise when coaching is no longer appropriate?

[ ]

Can you renegotiate an agreement when circumstances change?

[ ]

Can you maintain client autonomy under organisational pressure?

[ ]

Can you demonstrate that contracting is an ongoing process?

[ ]

12. The 10 questions every CMC should be able to answer

1. What is the difference between macro-contracting and micro-contracting?

2. How do you contract when the person paying for coaching is not the person being coached?

3. What do you do when the sponsor requests confidential information?

4. How do you handle a client who wants advice rather than coaching?

5. What happens when a client changes their objectives halfway through an engagement?

6. How do you contract when a client presents an issue outside your professional competence?

7. What happens when the client and coach disagree about progress?

8. How do you establish informed consent?

9. How do you manage confidentiality when coaching is conducted online or recorded?

10. How do you know when the coaching relationship should end?

The key CMC distinction: Contracting is not simply obtaining a signature at the beginning of an engagement. It is an ongoing process of establishing, checking, maintaining and renegotiating mutual understanding, expectations, boundaries and desired outcomes.

For your Level123 COMENSA training materials, I would teach this as three competencies: establish the agreement, maintain the agreement, and renegotiate the agreement.