Uncompromising Confidentiality
Confidentiality is an essential component of executive coaching.
One afternoon when my daughter was in college, I came home, and she was studying at the kitchen table. She lived on campus but for whatever reason, she was at home that afternoon. On the table, there was a small orange traffic cone.
I asked her about the cone, and she said when she was studying in a public place, it was a signal to her friends that she couldn’t socialize because she had to study.
I had a flash of insight. I thought: “cone of confidentiality.” Could I use a small orange traffic cone as a physical representation of confidentiality when meeting with clients?
So I went to Target and bought a Tonka toy construction site set and took the cones out. At my next meeting with clients, I told this story and put two toy cones on the table. They laughed. So, I thought, “People aren’t going to take these toy cones seriously.”
But, to my surprise, a few minutes later, when the conversation turned to a confidential topic, one of the clients picked up both cones, one in each hand, and held them as she spoke. At that moment, I thought, “This may work.”
Since then, I’ve had hundreds of client meetings with the cone of confidentiality on the table, and about 90% of the time, clients will mention it or gesture to it before saying something significant.
Two recent examples: I asked a client a question, but I had failed to put the cone out. He said, “Where’s the cone?” before answering. I was having lunch with another client at a restaurant. The cone was on the table, but when the food came, I slid it to the side. Later, when a confidential topic came up, the client moved the cone back to the center of the table.
Whether the cone is visible or not, I keep all client conversations confidential. It’s an important part of the process. Fortunately, it’s easy for me. It’s in my nature to keep information close to the vest.