A stretch of work has an end date. Coaching that cannot name when it stops is usually afraid to be checked. Open-ended coaching feels loyal. It is often just unexamined. If we cannot name the date we will stop or renew, we cannot name what “better” was supposed to mean.
Every series I take has an end date written at the start. Typical cadence is every two to four weeks. The last meeting is a review of the original sentence — can the leader do the thing they named, or not? — not a tour of feelings about the year. In Berlin we put that review on the calendar before session two.
Why the date matters more than the model
Models multiply. Dates do not. A review point forces both of us to be specific. If the brief has changed, we write a new brief or we stop. We do not quietly extend because the diary still has a slot. Loyalty is a poor reason to keep an hour that no longer has a job.
We do not keep a public scorecard of promotions or companies improved. If you want a reference, ask for one privately after we have worked.
An end date is no threat. It is how the work stays checkable. Without it, both people drift toward companionship. Companionship can be humane. It is not what was bought. If you want companionship, say so and do not call it a series with a methodology.
| At the start | At the review | If you skip the date |
|---|---|---|
| Name the change | Can they do it, or not? | Nobody can say |
| Write cadence | Still keepable? | The diary becomes the product |
| Write stop-or-renew | New brief, or stop | Quiet extension by loyalty |
| Agree what the sponsor hears | Process only, still | Colour leaks under pressure |
What belongs in the last meeting
Three lines: what was named, what changed, what will not be continued. Then the work ends unless both sides write a new stretch. The last hour is no retrospective workshop. It is a check. If the original sentence was wrong, say so. Wrong and finished is cleaner than vague and endless.
I will not keep a ghost slot “in case the next board is messy.” Boards will be messy. That is no reason to erase the date. A sounding-board hour can be booked as its own conversation. It should not kidnap the series.
If you want to start that conversation, get in touch. Name the stretch you think you need, including when you think it should stop. If you cannot name the stop, you are not ready to start.
What I will not do to keep the diary full
I will not invent a second brief in the last ten minutes so the calendar stays warm. I will not discount a continuation as a loyalty prize. I will not convert a finished stretch into a “light touch” retainer that nobody can describe. Light touch is how dates die.
Empty hours are allowed. An empty hour is cheaper than a year of unexamined conversations. When the stretch is done, it is done. If a new sentence appears later, it can have its own date.
A date also protects the sponsor relationship. Process includes “we have an end date,” not “we will see.” If a chair asks whether the work is still live, the calendar answers. If it is not live, say so. Do not keep a polite maybe on the books. Maybe is how retainers outlive their brief.