Tripartite Agreement

What is a tripartite agreement?

In coaching, a tripartite agreement is a three-way agreement between the person being coached (the coachee), the coach, and the sponsoring organisation, usually represented by the coachee’s manager or an HR or L&D lead. It sets shared expectations for a coaching engagement, including its goals, how progress will be shared, and crucially where the boundaries of confidentiality lie.

It is a specific form of coaching agreement used when an organisation is paying for and has a stake in the coaching, which is common in executive coaching.

Why it matters

When an organisation sponsors coaching, three parties have interests, and unmanaged, those interests can collide, especially around confidentiality and what the sponsor gets to know. A tripartite agreement prevents that by making expectations explicit up front: the coachee knows what stays private, the sponsor knows what they will and will not see, and the coach can protect the trust the coaching depends on. This clarity supports the ethical standards set out in the ICF Core Competencies.

What it covers

Goals. The objectives of the engagement, aligned across all three parties.
Confidentiality. What content stays between coach and coachee, and what themes or progress may be shared with the sponsor.
Roles and logistics. Number of sessions, timeframe, and each party’s responsibilities.
Review. How and when progress will be discussed, often in a three-way check-in.

Coaching with clarity from day one

Coachello builds clear agreements into every engagement, so coachees, managers, and the business share expectations and confidentiality is protected, which is the foundation of coaching people actually trust.

Run coaching that everyone trusts. Book a demo.

FAQs

Who are the three parties in a tripartite agreement?

The coachee, the coach, and the sponsoring organisation, usually represented by the coachee’s manager or an HR or L&D lead.

How does a tripartite agreement handle confidentiality?

It defines clearly what stays private between coach and coachee and what high-level themes or progress may be shared with the sponsor, so trust is protected while the sponsor stays informed.

Is a tripartite agreement always needed?

It is standard when an organisation sponsors the coaching. For fully private coaching with no organisational sponsor, a two-way coaching agreement is enough.