For obvious reasons, confidentiality is an important prerequisite for productive coaching. You need to feel secure that things that we discuss will remain private. Therefore, I will not reveal to third parties anything we discuss or the fact that we are working together without your consent.

Duration of Agreement

This confidentiality agreement will be in effect both during our work together and after our work concludes.

Anonymized Sharing

From time to time, I share anonymized client experiences or stories in the course of my work as a coach, speaker, and consultant. These examples are used to illustrate common difficulties, unique solutions, etc., and help others move forward in their leadership and lives. Wherever possible I present these details in aggregate (eg: “Many of my clients struggle with X…”). When I do share an individual story (eg: “One of my clients had great success doing Y…”), I leave out personally identifying details such as name, employer, etc, as well as any detail that might make it reasonably possible to trace back to the original client.

Interaction in Public

If we run into each other in public, I will ignore you (like I would a stranger) unless you initiate a conversation. Then you can manage our interactions depending on location, people you’re with, etc.
In general, I will follow your lead if you introduce me to people – it will be up to you to explain how we know each other. If we know each other outside of coaching (e.g.: if we were introduced by a mutual friend), and I run into you in a social context, I will treat you as if the coaching relationship did not exist, and again, follow your lead around others.

Exception for Safety

If, throughout the course of our coaching, I learn that you are likely to harm yourself or others, I reserve the right to report my concerns to the appropriate authorities or resources. This may mean revealing some of the content of our discussions in the course of reporting.

Exception for Professional Development

From time to time, it may be helpful for me to discuss certain elements of our coaching with mentors and peers in the coaching and counseling community. This will help ensure that I continue to develop as a coach, and can serve as an additional source of insight into our discussions. These discussions would contain as little of your personal detail as possible and are concerned with coaching technique.

Exception for Professional Accreditation

I maintain a client ledger for the purposes of accreditation with the International Coach Federation, a professional association and accrediting body for coaches. This information is given for credentialing purposes. From time to time I may be requested to turn over client names, phone number, email address, and start and end dates of our coaching relationship to assist the ICF in verifying my coaching experience. At no point will I be required to release any details of our coaching conversations.

Exception for Personal Assistant

I employ a personal assistant who has access to my client files, emails, financial systems, and calendar. I only share information with my assistant as required for them to perform their duties, but they do have full access to my electronic communication, etc. Therefore, they are aware of my clients’ identities, contact information, etc. My assistant is bound to the same confidentiality agreement as I am as your coach, as noted above.

Client Access to Confidential Records

I create session notes and keep them in my secure home office. I do not provide copies of my session notes to clients.