Ethics

 

What are ethics and why are they important? The Oxford dictionary defines ethics as “moral principles that govern a person's behaviour or the conducting of an activity.” In a self-regulated industry such coaching where, the approach and style of coaching can differ from one person to another, ethical principles become even more important. 

The core competency, Demonstrates Ethical Practice defined as “Understands and consistently applies coaching ethics and standards of coaching” by ICF lays down 7 principles:

1. Demonstrates personal integrity and honesty in interactions with clients, sponsors and relevant stakeholders. – Having integrity means living in accordance to your deepest values, being honest, and always keeping your word. Integrity also means always doing the right thing, even when nobody is watching. Interacting with integrity and honesty, to me means protecting the interest of all parties involved at all times while being honest and respectful.

2. Is sensitive to clients’ identity, environment, experiences, values and beliefs. – Everyone comes from different backgrounds, is raised different, taught different, have had different experiences and because of that, we each have different perspectives. Understanding this and withholding judgement, helps us connect a little deeper with our coaching clients, enabling us to have richer conversations.

3. Uses language appropriate and respectful to clients, sponsors and relevant stakeholders. –  Being raised in a multi-racial, multi-cultural nation, and having worked with large multi-national organisations, I’ve learned that while we may sometimes speak the same language, we don’t necessarily mean the same thing. I’ve learnt when in doubt, to err on the side of caution. Be respectful always.

4. Abides by the ICF Code of Ethics and upholds the Core Values – I believe this speaks for itself. As professional coaches, certified by an accrediting body, it helps maintain the high standards the profession calls for and is set by the governing body.

5. Maintains confidentiality with client information per stakeholder agreements and pertinent laws –  To me, this speaks of a very fundamental aspect of a coaching relationship. It helps to build trust and rapport between the coach and the client. Clients are more likely to open up and share if they feel assured that their coach will keep things confidential.

6. Maintains the distinctions between coaching, consulting, psychotherapy and other support professions – Coaches have an important role to play and that is to be a coach. It’s important to not try and do more, not because we were not paid to perform the other roles BUT because we may not have the required expertise. Attempting to go beyond the coaching boundaries could hurt the coaching relationship.

7. Refers clients to other support professionals, as appropriate – This last principle is an extension of the previous, and also as a coach, being sensitive to the needs of the client. As coaches, we need to know our limits on helping people to avoid unnecessary damage to others. Having the awareness to know where coaching ends, and something else begins.

For me, each of these principles simply holds us to a higher standard in the coaching industry.  Following ethical standards and opting for professional conduct are of the utmost importance for coaches. They protect not just the coaching client but also the coaches and the coaching industry as a whole.