CELC Building the Coaching Agreement 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under ICF ethics guidelines, which scenario would require a coach to breach confidentiality in an executive coaching agreement?
- The coachee discloses they are considering switching employers
- The coachee reveals credible plans to harm themselves or others (Correct answer)
- The coachee shares that they disagreed with a board decision
- The sponsor requests a progress report outside normal check-ins
Correct answer: The coachee reveals credible plans to harm themselves or others
Imminent risk of serious harm to self or others is the primary ethical exception that overrides coaching confidentiality obligations.
Question 2: Which approach BEST protects both coach and coachee when the sponsoring organization requests detailed session notes?
- Provide full session transcripts to maintain organizational transparency
- Refuse all reporting because confidentiality is absolute in coaching
- Reference the pre-agreed confidentiality clause and share only the summary metrics defined in the agreement (Correct answer)
- Let the coachee decide in the moment without any prior agreement framework
Correct answer: Reference the pre-agreed confidentiality clause and share only the summary metrics defined in the agreement
The pre-established confidentiality clause defines exactly what aggregate or summary information the sponsor may receive, protecting detailed disclosures.
Question 3: An executive coach discovers that the coachee is also receiving coaching from a colleague in the same firm. The FIRST step should be:
- Immediately terminate the engagement to avoid liability
- Raise the situation transparently with the coachee and clarify how parallel coaching relationships will be managed (Correct answer)
- Contact the colleague coach to coordinate without telling the coachee
- Report the situation to the sponsoring organization
Correct answer: Raise the situation transparently with the coachee and clarify how parallel coaching relationships will be managed
Transparency with the coachee about parallel coaching arrangements allows the agreement to be updated to address potential confusion or conflicting guidance.
Question 4: Which boundary issue should be proactively addressed in the coaching agreement to prevent role confusion?
- The coach's personal investment portfolio
- Whether the coach can also serve as the coachee's business consultant or mentor (Correct answer)
- The coachee's internal performance review schedule
- Details of the coachee's previous coaches
Correct answer: Whether the coach can also serve as the coachee's business consultant or mentor
Dual relationships — such as also consulting or mentoring the same client — should be addressed in the agreement to prevent scope creep and role ambiguity.
Question 5: A coaching agreement's 'termination clause' should specify:
- The reasons the coach may terminate the coachee's employment
- Conditions under which either party may end the engagement and required notice periods (Correct answer)
- A mandatory cooling-off period before beginning any future coaching relationship
- The coachee's right to publish session content after termination
Correct answer: Conditions under which either party may end the engagement and required notice periods
A well-drafted termination clause outlines mutual rights to end the engagement, required notice, and how final sessions or handoffs will be handled.
Question 6: When a new sponsor replaces the original one mid-engagement, the coach's BEST action is to:
- Continue unchanged because the coachee's agreement is unaffected
- Initiate a revised three-way agreement with the new sponsor, coachee, and coach (Correct answer)
- Immediately pause all sessions until the organizational change stabilizes
- Transfer all confidential session notes to the new sponsor to bring them up to speed
Correct answer: Initiate a revised three-way agreement with the new sponsor, coachee, and coach
A sponsor change materially affects the engagement context, requiring a fresh three-way agreement that ensures the new sponsor understands and accepts existing confidentiality terms.
Question 7: Which practice BEST demonstrates ethical transparency during the contracting phase of executive coaching?
- Withholding the coach's fee structure until after the first session
- Disclosing the coach's methods, limitations, and any potential conflicts of interest before finalizing the agreement (Correct answer)
- Letting the sponsor dictate coaching goals without informing the coachee
- Promising specific performance outcomes to secure the engagement
Correct answer: Disclosing the coach's methods, limitations, and any potential conflicts of interest before finalizing the agreement
Ethical transparency requires coaches to disclose their approach, constraints, and any conflicts before the coachee commits to the engagement.
CELC Building the Coaching Agreement 3
Under ICF ethics guidelines, which scenario would require a coach to breach confidentiality in an executive coaching agreement?