About Our Hold Policy

As a client of Segal Coaching LLC, you can elect to put your engagement on hold for up to three successive months (as used below, a “Hold”). Alternatively, you can elect to terminate your agreement and request a limited refund under our Refund Policy.

Here is more information about Hold periods, how they differ from terminating your agreement, why you may wish to elect a Hold and what you may wish to consider doing to keep up momentum in the meantime (if that is a possibility for you, depending on why you elect the hold).

How a Hold Period Works

If you became a client on or after October 3, 2022:

You can find the Hold election in Section 5 of your contract, and it is also available below (equivalent in substance, although some defined terms have been removed for ease of reference).

If you became a client prior to October 3, 2022:

In the midst of the pandemic, we began adding the Hold option into our form agreement (generally in Section 9, although it may be in another section for some clients depending on the date of your contract). It was previously limited to a “medical emergency or other extreme situation involving you or a close family member, including but not limited to a severe case of COVID-19.” On October 3, 2022, we revised the Hold provision to capture more situations in which you may need or wish to elect a Hold and make it easier for you to make a decision about what is the best choice in your situation.

If you were a client prior to October 3, 2022 and have the prior language in your contract, you can elect a Hold under either your original contract or our new Hold policy.

Why You May Want to Elect a Hold

Here are some reasons you may wish to elect a Hold:

You may be loving our coaching sessions but have an event (or multiple events) arise in your life that, while it doesn’t prompt or require you to terminate our engagement, behooves you taking a break.

You find yourself unable to commit to the work we have been doing together, and you anticipate that this is more likely than not to be a timing issue rather than a “coaching relationship” issue. For example, you may be working on significant projects at work and/or home that demand more of your attention than you have the capacity to give. In some cases, our coaching work can be shifted to help you develop resilience and increase your capacity, but in other cases you may simply wish for a break.

You could also, of course, have any one of a number of other reasons that arise (including physical health or mental health challenges as well as positive events like moving across the country or welcoming a new child or grandchild) that cause you to want to shift the timing of our engagement. Again, you may wish to continue coaching to support you during this period or it may be better to take a break. We are happy to discuss the options with you, but ultimately it is your decision.

In general, we gently suggest that the analysis might be:

Will continuing our engagement at this time (whether as originally intended or as we may jointly revise it) add stress or relieve stress?

If you believe continuing will add stress, is there a way to adjust our engagement/coaching relationship so that it relieves stress? (For example, we may have started working on leadership coaching or personal branding, but you may decide that what you need most at this time is resilience coaching.)

Do you wish (as a highly personal decision) to shift the engagement as described above or prefer to find support elsewhere?

We have no judgments, and you do not need to provide a reason or justify why you are putting an engagement on Hold, although you are welcome to share your situation and ask for help in making a decision, if you would like.

Our Official Contract Language Regarding Holds (as also stated in our Refund Policy)

Section 5: If one or more situations arise in your personal or professional life that require your full attention or if for any other reason you wish to continue working with us but temporarily suspend services, you may elect at your option to place a hold on your engagement for a period of up to three (3) consecutive months (a “Hold”) by giving five (5) business days’ advance notice to asegal@segalcoaching.com. The effect of a Hold will be to keep your engagement current during the Hold period without the need for any further active involvement on your part.

During any Hold, you will incur a nominal fee of $75 per month (coaching engagements) or $125 per month (project-based engagements), payable at the end of the period. Following the Hold, you will jointly determine with us how to best re-engage on or redirect your coaching or project, as applicable, and optimize the continued relationship. Please note that any project deliverables under your engagement may be delayed for up to ten additional (10) business days following any Hold, depending on other projects and activities in our schedule at that time. We will attempt, when possible, to mitigate any delay. If you give notice of a Hold and, following the end of the Hold period, have Failed to Respond (as defined below), Section 7(d) of this Agreement will apply.

Section 7(d): If you are unresponsive to two or more requests by us (which will be delivered via email to the last email address from which you have communicated with us) to schedule further coaching or advance the objectives of (or complete) any project in respect of your current engagement and such failure to respond occurs for a period of forty-five (45) days or more (“Failed to Respond” or a “Failure to Respond”), a new engagement may be required if you desire (and we agree) to have us provide additional services for you, which will be at then-current rates. You acknowledge and agree that you do not have any right to a refund in the event of any Failure to Respond.

How to Elect a Hold

We will be adding a Hold election form and other details soon, but in the meantime simply contact Anne Marie at asegal@segalcoaching.com.

What You May Wish to Do During a Hold Period

Depending on the reason for your Hold and the extent of the other obligations placed on you, you may wish to journal, engage in other self-care and/or find ways to engage the world with wonder (to keep yourself open to possibilities and maintain your resilience, as we tend to draw inward and can otherwise find ourselves with tunnel vision rather than clear vision).

On the last point, you might try the “Flow” tracker or another mindset exercise from my book, Know Yourself, Grow Your Career or simply find a place in nature or another spot where you can slow down, breathe and observe for 15 minutes or more each day. If you need some inspiration, check out some more of our images and videos here,

A windy (and slightly rainy) day on a beach in England. What draws your attention? Would this be a good day? What is a “good day” for you?

Again, we suggest using the analysis above (does this activity add or relieve stress?). But remember that in the modern world we are often “programmed” to seek stimulation to the point of overload and find unhealthy ways to survive (rather than thrive), so whatever you do try, give yourself the permission to be present in that moment.

After the Hold, as we continue our engagement, feel free to share any explorations or insights with us.

Further Questions

If you have any questions about our Hold Policy, please contact Anne Marie Segal at asegal@segalcoaching.com.

First image above: Adobe Images.