3 tips for clarifying the goals for a development session

“Agree on the goals when starting the session,” is the golden rule. This sounds so obvious, much like ‘teaching granny to suck eggs’. But it is a vital step in achieving success. Certainly I have hit trouble by wrongly assuming a person - or a group - wants to focus on certain issues. Fortunately it has been possible to recover by going back and making clear contracts about the agenda. The old rule applies when facilitating any coaching, mentoring or other development session – see below. Let’s explore three tips for making this happen.

* You can clarify the person’s – or the team’s – goals for the session.

“Normally I email a mentee one week before a session,” said one person. “I invite them to let me know the kind of topics they want to explore during the meeting. Sometimes they do not get round to replying, so I check their goals at the start of the session.”

“I follow the same process when running a workshop, but in much greater detail. It is absolutely vital to be crystal-clear on the goals ahead of time, otherwise you can get into deep trouble. So I always talk with the key person to ensure everybody wants to achieve the same aims. Agreeing the ‘What’ gives me time to prepare ‘How’ to reach their goals. Obviously I also re-contract at the start of the workshop to make sure everybody is still on the same page.”

You will find your own ways to clarify the goals for a coaching, mentoring or other development session. For example, you may ask the person or leader: “What are the topics that it would be useful to explore? What would you like to take away from the session? What for you would make it a successful session?” It sounds obvious, but ‘knowing your destination is a vital part of the journey’. It’s amazing how often this gets overlooked. Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to make sure that I clarify the
person’s - or the team’s - specific goals for a session are:

*

*

*

* You can communicate what you can & can’t offer to help them to achieve their goals.

This is a vital step in clear contracting. Once the person - or the group - has said what they want, explain what you can and can’t offer. You may say something like:

“I can provide practical tools that will help you to achieve goals a, b & c. Some of the other goals may require more specialist attention. If you would like to go-ahead, it would be good to clarify the respective roles. My responsibility to help you achieve the goals is to … The help I would like from you - or your team - is to … Providing we do these things, I am sure we have a good chance of reaching the goals. Would you like to go ahead?”

You will obviously communicate these messages in your own way. People often find it reassuring to know what you can and can’t offer - rather than you claiming to offer every possible service. Try completing the following sentence.

The things I can do to communicate what I can and can’t offer
to help the person- or the team - to achieve their goals are:

*

*

*

* You can make clear contracts about the goals for the session.

Conclude this part of the discussion by making clear contracts. It is good to recap ‘What’ you aim to achieve and ‘How’ you intend to work together. Bearing in mind what you have covered, you may say something like:

“Let’s just recap on the goals for the session. You want to achieve a, b and c. My role in making this happen is … Your role is …”

You can then embark on the real work in the session. Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to conclude the contracts about
what we will cover and the respective roles in the session are:

*

*

*

Contracting is crucial in any relationship, especially when you are providing a service. It’s vital to take the time to be crystal clear on the goals for a session. This will provide the foundation for achieving success.