Ethics in coaching

Whether a coach is trained in coaching or not, ethics in coaching should still be considered as important.

We all understand that ethics is the appreciation of what is right and wrong.  So what does this mean in relation to coaching.  The different professional coaching associations each have their own set of ethical guidelines for their members, but generally they cover:

• The coach is competent and supporting the coachee in their professional development
• The coaching is relevant and appropriate to the coachee’s needs
• The coach will not work outside their professional capability and will refer the coachee to others if necessary
• The coach will act professionally in the best interests of the coachee and will not exploit the coachee in any way
• The coach will maintain confidentiality, unless there are grounds for breaking confidentiality, such as the coach being concerned: about the coachee’s health and mental health; or that the coachee is doing something dishonest, unlawful, unprofessional, or discriminatory

The ethical guideline which can be the trickiest to navigate, dependent upon the coach/coachee relationship, is confidentiality.  Fundamentally, the content of the coaching conversations between the coach and coachee should not be disclosed to a third party.  This is really important to build trust between the coach and coachee, providing the coachee with a safe space to raise and openly discuss issues.  Without the trust that the coaching sessions provide this safe space and everything discussed is confidential, the coaching sessions can be rendered worthless.

However, there are instances where that confidentiality will or should be broken. For instance in a workplace setting, there may be stakeholders who should be informed of the coachee’s objectives or progress, such as the HR department, a line manager or a member of the senior leadership team.  Alternatively the coach may be concerned that the coachee will harm themselves or others, and therefore as part of the coach’s duty of care, they need to inform an appropriate third party.  In addition where the coach has evidence that the coachee or others are assisting or colluding in unbefitting conduct, such as dishonest, unlawful, unprofessional or discriminatory conduct, this should also be communicated to a third party.

So how does a coach balance the fine-line between building trust whilst responding to other stakeholders’ need for information, or fulfilling their duty of care of the coachee or others?  The simple answer is that the coach should communicate the parameters of confidentiality at the outset of the coaching relationship, explaining that everything discussed within the coaching sessions is confidential.  The coach should also set out the circumstances where they may need to inform others, ie. as part of a duty of care; and if they need to report progress to HR or other members of the team.  Where the coach is required to report progress to HR or others, they should inform the coachee of what they are going to report and when.  This transparency will support the development of a trusting coach/coachee relationship.

Where the coach believes they should break the confidentiality due to their duty of care, the coach should firstly encourage the coachee to disclose this information themselves to the appropriate third party, within an agreed timeframe.

Understanding the ethics in coaching and communicating these with the coachee is essential to supporting the development of the trust between the coach and the coachee; and therefore essential to delivering productive and constructive results from the coaching sessions.