Working as a coach leads to paying more attention to contracts than in everyday situations. Which immediately leads to paying more attention to the relationship.

It may seem as if the objective is the main element of the contract. But I’d argue that it is mainly there to decide if one can and wants to engage in the relationship. It’s probably the main difference between a professional and a personal relationship.

Everyday situations constantly lead to a variety of relationships with no defined objective or end. These relationships come and go depending on the situation and one’s investment.

Professional relationships result from an objective creating the opportunity for such a relationship. It’s true for coaches too. Once the relationship has been installed, the objective becomes the guide for the work done within the relationship. However, as the relationship develops it needs to be cared for. The relationship is the space within which the work happens and needs to continue. But the boundaries of the relationship and its possibilities are rarely known from the start. This might be especially true for coaching. Coaching is unique to the individuals participating in the coaching. The participants must thus explore what the relationship enables them to do and what type of process they are willing to engage in.

Caring for the relationship means remaining attentive to the process and verifying as well as possible how it is accessible for those involved. This may sometimes seem to bring the work to a halt, but that is usually temporary and in service of the work. It only brings the work to a halt if one loses sight of what the work aims for and how those involved assess their ability to be part of it.

Caring for the relationship thus becomes the regular moments within which an element of the contract between those involved is revisited and adjusted by those partnering in the relationship.