Coaching Engagement Agreement
This agreement outlines the terms of your coaching engagement with SPARC Executive Development and Consulting. Please read it carefully. You will confirm it in your private SPARC portal before we begin.
1. What Coaching Is
Coaching is a professional relationship focused on the client's goals and development. SPARC coaches follow the ethical standards of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and the Academy of Executive Coaching (AoEC).
Coaching is not therapy, consulting, mentoring, or advising. SPARC coaches do not diagnose, direct decisions, or provide legal or financial guidance. If a client's needs fall outside the scope of coaching, the coach will say so directly and help identify appropriate alternatives.
2. Client Responsibilities
The client agrees to:
- Show up prepared and engaged
- Follow through on agreed actions, or discuss what got in the way
- Communicate promptly if circumstances affecting the engagement change
- Raise concerns about the coaching relationship directly with the coach
3. Coach Responsibilities
The coach agrees to:
- Prepare for sessions and be fully present
- Follow the client's agenda, not their own
- Uphold ICF and AoEC ethical standards
- Pursue ongoing supervision and professional development
- Be honest about the limits of coaching and their own competence
4. Confidentiality
Everything shared in coaching sessions is confidential. SPARC will not disclose coaching content to any third party without the client's written consent, except where required by law or ethical obligation as described below.
Assessment Results
Any assessment administered by SPARC during the engagement — including CliftonStrengths, Leadership Circle Profile, and others — or shared by the client with SPARC is treated as confidential coaching material. Assessment results, interpretations, and related documents are not shared with sponsors, employers, or any third party without the client's specific written permission.
Organizationally Sponsored Engagements
If an employer or institution is funding this engagement, they will receive only two pieces of information: confirmation that sessions are taking place and a count of sessions completed. No coaching content, themes, or disclosures will be shared with the sponsor under any circumstances. If the client chooses to share coaching insights with their sponsor or manager, that is entirely their decision.
Ethical Obligations
If a coaching session surfaces an ethical concern — for example, disclosure of conduct that is unethical or professionally harmful — the coach will address it directly. The coach will give the client the opportunity to act on it themselves first.
In sponsored engagements, ethical concerns may intersect with known policies of the sponsoring organization. If the situation requires disclosure to the sponsor and the client is unwilling to self-report, the coach may have an obligation to disclose — but only after the client has been given the opportunity to act first.
In individual engagements, there is no sponsor and no third-party reporting channel. If a client discloses unethical professional conduct and declines to address it after direct conversation, the coach may determine that continuing the engagement is no longer consistent with their own ethical obligations as a practitioner, and may end the coaching relationship.
Any agreed exception to confidentiality — such as a structured three-way conversation with a sponsor — must be documented in a signed addendum before it occurs.
For more information about how SPARC handles personal data, see our Privacy & Policies.
5. Session Recording and AI Tools
5a. Recording
With the client's permission, SPARC may record sessions via Zoom or similar platforms. Recordings are used for two purposes only:
- Coaching supervision and professional development. Recordings may be reviewed by the coach and, with identifying information removed where possible, used in formal supervision contexts.
- Session documentation. Recordings help the coach accurately capture themes, insights, and commitments to reflect back to the client.
Recordings are not shared with sponsors, employers, or any third party. They are not used to evaluate the client. Recordings are stored securely and deleted within 30 days of the session, except where a recording is required for a coaching credential or accreditation submission, in which case it is retained until the relevant body completes its review and is then deleted. Any recording kept beyond that point for supervision and practice improvement is de-identified. Other engagement records are retained as described in our Privacy Policy.
The client may decline recording at any time — including at the start of any individual session — without affecting the coaching relationship. A verbal request is sufficient.
5b. AI Tools
SPARC's use of AI tools is set out in the SPARC AI Use Policy, Version 1.0, which is incorporated into this agreement by reference as of the date of signature. That policy covers where SPARC uses AI, what SPARC will not use AI for, training-data and provider settings, human review of AI-assisted output, and the client's right to opt out.
Two points specific to this engagement sit alongside that policy. All AI-generated output is reviewed by the coach before it is shared with the client. Client content is not submitted to AI platforms in a way that ties it to the client's identity.
The client may ask SPARC not to use AI tools for their engagement materials. Written notice to the coach is sufficient, and the request will be honored.
6. Session Logistics
- Session length: Determined by mutual agreement at the start of the engagement
- Frequency: Determined by mutual agreement at the start of the engagement
- Platform: Zoom (or as mutually agreed)
- Scheduling: By mutual agreement via online scheduling (Calendly or similar)
7. Cancellation and Rescheduling
The client agrees to give at least 48 hours' notice to cancel or reschedule. Sessions cancelled with less notice are billed at the full session rate.
The coach will give equivalent notice and reschedule promptly when cancellation is on their end.
8. Fees and Payment
Individual engagements: Fees, invoicing, and payment terms are governed by a separate engagement letter provided before the engagement begins.
Organizationally sponsored engagements: Fees are governed by the agreement between SPARC and the sponsoring organization. The client has no financial obligation under this agreement unless otherwise specified.
9. Duration and Termination
This agreement covers the engagement period above. Either party may end the coaching relationship at any time with written notice.
If the coach determines the engagement is no longer serving the client, they will say so directly and support the client in identifying next steps.
Pre-paid fees for unused sessions will be refunded on a pro-rated basis, except where an organizational agreement specifies otherwise.
10. Vendor Trademarks & Disclosures
Some of the instruments used in SPARC's coaching engagements carry vendor-imposed trademark, copyright, and licensing obligations. The disclosures below apply wherever these instruments are referenced or delivered in the course of this engagement, including in any reports, summaries, materials, or conversations involving the underlying assessments.
Gallup CliftonStrengths
The non-Gallup information you are receiving has not been approved and is not sanctioned or endorsed by Gallup in any way. Opinions, views and interpretations of CliftonStrengths, Clifton Youth StrengthsExplorer or BP10 results are solely the beliefs of SPARC LLC. Dr. Mathew Johnson and Dr. Shannon O'Neill are Gallup-Certified CliftonStrengths Coaches. CliftonStrengths®, StrengthsFinder®, and Gallup® are registered trademarks of Gallup, Inc.
The Leadership Circle Profile
The Leadership Circle Profile® and related models, frameworks, and content are the intellectual property of Conscious Leadership, LLC. They are used by SPARC under license as a Leadership Circle Certified Practitioner. All copyright and ownership rights remain with Conscious Leadership, LLC. SPARC's interpretation, framing, and coaching practice surrounding the LCP are SPARC's own and do not represent the views of Conscious Leadership, LLC.
For the full vendor compliance posture, including the broader trademark and IP framework across SPARC's website and materials, see our Privacy & Policies.
Confirming this agreement
Confirming this agreement now happens inside your private SPARC portal. If we are beginning work together, you will receive an email with a link that opens your portal and presents this agreement for confirmation there. Your confirmation is recorded with its date, the version you read, and the address you signed in with.
These terms stay published here so they remain available to you at a stable address.
Questions? Contact mathew@sparcinsights.com