Accountability between sessions: how to keep coachees moving

Accountability between sessions: how to keep coachees moving

Accountability between sessions means that your coachee carries out the actions you agreed on together, and reports back about them at a fixed moment. It works best when three things are right: the action is small and concrete, there is a fixed and short check-in moment, and the coachee decides for themselves how they want to be held to account. Your role is not that of a supervisor, but of someone who helps learn from what happens. In this article you will read how to set this up, what to do when actions are left undone, and what to watch out for regarding privacy.

In short

• Accountability is the coachee's responsibility to carry out the agreed actions. Your role is to design and follow up on those agreements together with the coachee.
• Concrete plans in the form of “if X happens, then I do Y” increase the chance that an intention actually becomes reality.
• A short, fixed check-in between sessions (for example weekly, three questions) works better than scattered messages without structure.
• If an action is left undone, that is information, not failure. Investigate the obstacle and adjust the agreement.
• Contact between sessions falls under your professional code and the GDPR. Agree in advance which channel you use and how you store data.

Table of contents

• What accountability between sessions means
• Why the time between sessions makes the difference
• How to agree on actions that actually happen
• Setting up check-ins between sessions
• When a coachee does not carry out the actions
• Staying supportive without becoming a supervisor
• Boundaries, privacy and confidentiality
• Our view: follow-up belongs in the file
• Tracking accountability in Exantur
• Frequently asked questions
• Sources

What accountability between sessions means

The English word accountability is best translated as “taking responsibility for your own commitments”. The ICF Core Competencies (2025) describe it as the coachee's responsibility to carry out commitments and actions agreed on in the coaching process. The same competencies ask you as a coach to design goals, actions and ways of accounting for them together with the coachee, in a way that supports the coachee's autonomy.

That last point is important. Accountability is therefore not: you keep track of what the coachee does or does not do, and hold them to it. It is: you make an agreement together about what the coachee is going to do, how they report back on how it went, and what you learn from it together.

Why this pays off can be seen in research on the relationship between coach and coachee. A study of 181 Dutch coachees (Vermeiden et al., 2022) found that a good working relationship, and a relationship the coachee experiences as supportive, are linked to better goal achievement. Follow-up between sessions is one of the places where that relationship becomes visible. A coachee who notices that you genuinely want to know how it went, without judgement, is more likely to keep moving.

Why the time between sessions makes the difference

A coaching session usually lasts one to two hours. The weeks in between are much longer. That is where the real work happens: the difficult conversation with the manager, the first job interview, the new morning routine. If those weeks stay empty, every session starts with looking back and reconstructing instead of building further.

Two research findings help make better use of that in-between time:

• Concrete planning helps. Research on coaching relationships found that making actionable plans partly explains why a good relationship leads to progress on goals, as judged by the coachee. The relationship is therefore important, and concrete planning is one of the ways in which that relationship delivers results.
• If-then plans work. A meta-analysis of 94 studies on so-called implementation intentions, plans in the form of “if situation X occurs, then I do Y”, found a medium-to-large effect on achieving goals.

In addition, the way coaches work is changing. The NOBCO market research 2025 shows that 96% of coaches hold face-to-face conversations, 61% also coach via video calls, and 36% use a combination of formats. The more you work digitally and in a blended way, the more follow-up between sessions also runs digitally. That calls for a fixed place for that follow-up.

How to agree on actions that actually happen

Most actions that are left undone were too big, too vague or not really the coachee's own. These five steps help prevent that.

1. Let the coachee formulate the action. Ask: “What are you going to do before our next session?” and write it down in the coachee's own words. An action you come up with feels like homework.
2. Make the action small and visible. “Set boundaries better” is a goal. “The next time I am given an extra task, I will ask what can come off my list in return” is an action.
3. Add an if-then plan. Link the action to a moment or situation: “When I open my calendar on Monday, I block two hours for my application letter.”
4. Agree on how you will know it succeeded. Choose a simple measure: done or not done, a score from 1 to 10, or a short sentence about what happened.
5. Ask how the coachee wants to be held to account. Some people want a reminder halfway through the week. Others only want a question at the start of the next session. Record that.

The difference between a vague and a concrete agreement is shown in this overview:

If you want to do this step by step during the session, a fixed conversation model helps. Our GROW model worksheet guides you from goal to a concrete will-agreement. You also see the same approach outside coaching practice. Sports coaches translate a big goal into trainable steps, as with goal setting in basketball. The principle is the same: a goal only becomes usable when it has a next step.

Setting up check-ins between sessions

A check-in is a short, fixed moment at which the coachee reports how things are going with the agreed actions. The difference from a casual message is that a check-in always has the same questions. As a result, after a few weeks you see a pattern, not just isolated moments.

Choose a rhythm that fits the coaching path

These are starting points, not rules. Agree on the rhythm together and discuss it again after a few weeks.

Keep the questions short

Three questions are enough for most check-ins:

1. What did you do of what we agreed on?
2. What went well, and what held you back?
3. What do you want to take to the next session?

A check-in that is done in five minutes is filled in more often than an extensive form. In other forms of support, too, you see that a plan moves with what happens between appointments. The difference between static and adaptive training plans shows well why feedback between appointments makes the plan more usable.

Use what you get back in the next session

A check-in only makes sense if you do something with it. Read the answers before the session and start with a question that builds on them: “You wrote that Thursday's meeting was difficult. What happened there?” That way the coachee notices that what they fill in is read. How to record that information clearly is covered in our guide on writing session notes.

If you are a member of the NOBCO, you can also use the Coaching Monitor for free. With it you follow coaching paths and measure goals using validated questionnaires. That fits well alongside your own check-ins, which are mainly about the day-to-day actions.

When a coachee does not carry out the actions

It happens in every coaching path: the coachee comes in and says “I didn't get around to it”. That is not a failure. It is information about what is getting in the way.

The GROWS model extends the well-known GROW model with an extra step: ways to overcome obstacles and get going again after a setback. In a small pilot with four coachees, the results for behaviour change were promising. You can also simply add that step to your own conversations.

Questions that help when an action has been left undone:

• “What happened at the moment you wanted to do it?”
• “Was the action still important to you, or has something changed?”
• “What would make the action half as big?”
• “What do you need to actually do it next time?”
• “Would you like me to send you a reminder halfway through the week, or not?”

Watch for patterns. If the same kind of action keeps being left undone, then the action may not be the problem, but the goal behind it. Then it is time to discuss the goal again. If you notice that more is going on than coaching can carry, such as persistent low mood or tension that disrupts daily life, discuss with the coachee whether a GP or psychologist is the right next step.

If you want to check how strong the follow-up is in your own coaching paths, our coaching accountability scorecard helps.

Staying supportive without becoming a supervisor

Many coaches are afraid of becoming the “homework police”. That concern is valid. The NOBCO International Ethics Code states that the coachee's goals, means and choices take precedence over those of the coach, and that coaches actively encourage the coachee's independence and self-reliance.

Accountability and autonomy go well together if you do these things:

• Let the coachee design the system. Ask how often, through which channel and in what tone the coachee wants to be reminded.
• Ask about learning, not about performance. “What did you discover?” works better than “Did you do it?”
• Scale back the support gradually. Start with weekly check-ins and let the coachee decide later when a check-in is needed.
• Give the coachee insight into their own progress. Someone who can see for themselves what has been achieved needs a coach to tell them less.

The Coaching for Leadership programme at NYU describes accountability in the same way: it works best when coachees set up their own structures, with the coach as a guide and not as a supervisor. You will find more practical tips in our guide on improving coaching accountability.

Boundaries, privacy and confidentiality

Contact between sessions is contact too. It therefore falls under the same confidentiality agreements as the session itself. The ICF Code of Ethics (2025) asks coaches to agree on what information is exchanged and how. Electronic files and messages must be stored and destroyed confidentially and securely, in line with the law and the agreements made. The code also explicitly notes that when using technology, such as coaching software and AI, you continue to meet your ethical and legal obligations.

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is the European privacy law. What a coachee writes in a check-in is often about work, relationships or health. That is sensitive data. So at the start of the coaching path, agree on:

• Which channel you use. A fixed, secure place is better than messages scattered across email and chat apps.
• When you respond. For example: you read check-ins before the session, and you respond within two working days. That prevents the coachee from expecting you to be available at all times.
• Who sees what. If an employer pays for the coaching path, record what the client does and does not get to see.
• How long you keep data. Decide what happens to notes and check-ins after the coaching path.

Software can help you with this, but as a coach you remain responsible for how you handle data. Even a programme with good security does not automatically make your practice fully GDPR-proof. With each tool, check where the data is stored and whether there is a data processing agreement: a contract in which the provider sets out how they protect your data.

Our view: follow-up belongs in the file

We see the same pattern with many coaches. The session is well prepared, the notes are in a document, but follow-up runs via WhatsApp, an email and sometimes a spreadsheet. After a few weeks no one knows exactly what was agreed any more. That is not a lack of effort. It is a lack of a fixed place.

That is why we believe accountability belongs in the same file as the session itself. An action point you record in the session should come back in the check-in, and what the coachee writes in that check-in you should have in front of you when preparing the next session. When those three things are connected, follow-up automatically becomes calmer and more personal.

We also believe the coachee should be able to see for themselves where they stand. Their own overview of goals and progress gives ownership. That fits what good coaching aims for: a coachee who depends on the coach less and less.

That is what we built Exantur for, around the coaching relationship and not as a general customer system.

Martijn

Tracking accountability in Exantur

Exantur is software for coaches who want to keep the follow-up of their coaching paths in one place. You record session notes as observations, insights, breakthroughs and action points, and you track goals, progress, accountability and check-ins between sessions. Coachees get their own portal for coachees, in which they see their goals and progress, fill in check-ins, track their accountability and prepare for their session.

Data is stored in the EU, in Frankfurt. You can log in with MFA (an extra check, for example a code on your phone), and a data processing agreement is available. See how the accountability software for coaches works, or compare the packages and prices. The Mini package costs €19 per month or €190 per year, and you can try Exantur for free first.

Frequently asked questions

How often should I do a check-in between sessions?

That depends on the coaching path and on the coachee. For sessions every three to four weeks, a check-in every other week is often a good start. Agree on the rhythm together and evaluate it after a few weeks.

What is the difference between accountability and responsibility?

Responsibility is about who takes care of something. Accountability is about giving an account of what you did with that responsibility. In coaching, that means: the coachee shares how things went with the agreed actions, and you learn from it together.

Can I follow up with my coachee via WhatsApp?

You can if you agree on it together, but it makes it hard to find agreements again and to store data securely. The ICF code of conduct asks you to agree in advance how you exchange information and how you store it securely. A fixed, secure place for check-ins makes that easier.

What do I do if a coachee never responds to check-ins?

Discuss it in the next session without judgement. Ask whether the rhythm, the questions or the channel do not fit, and adjust the agreement. Sometimes a coachee prefers less contact between sessions, and that is also a choice.

Sources

• ICF Core Competencies 2025
• ICF Code of Ethics, 1 April 2025
• NOBCO International Ethics Code
• NOBCO Coaching Monitor
• NOBCO digital market research 2025
• Vermeiden et al. (2022), working relationship and goal achievement in coaching
• The role of actionable planning in facilitating goal progress
• How do implementation intentions promote goal attainment?
• Panchal and Riddell (2020), the GROWS model
• NYU Coaching for Leadership: Accountability

Recommendations

• Improving coaching accountability, practical guide
• Managing coaching programmes, practical guide
• Writing coaching session notes, practical guide