Coaching, like any other discipline aimed at intervening in people and organizations, is not alien to the field of ethics. It is not only an instrument that can be “applied” to individuals or teams, behind the actions that shape the coach’s work there are a series of values and morals without which their work would have no reason to exist.
However, the coach’s ethics cannot be individual and totally private and subjective: if it were, it would be disconnected from society and could not fit with the interests and goals of those who hire their services or come to them for professional help.
That is why there are a series of ethical standards that guide coaching. In this article we will give a brief review of those key ideas behind coaching ethics starting with a definition of the basic concepts.
Let’s start with the main thing, clarifying terms. What is coaching? It is a discipline based on intervention in people, teams and organizations with the aim of detecting their potential and taking advantage of it taking into account its values, goals and operating philosophy, breaking old dysfunctional inertias and opening new possibilities for action.
The work of the coach is always positive, not so much to alleviate or mitigate severe psychological and behavioral problems but rather to discover latent talents, rethink objectives and ways of working, and promote personal development processes or ambitious professional projects
Thus, the work of the coach has to do both with helping individuals (competition students, elite athletes, people who want to reformulate their professional career or who are looking to give a boost to their personal development) as well as companies and senior officials with people in his charge.
Some of the topics most worked on in coaching are leadership, motivation, stress management, team revitalization, conflict resolution, concentration management, work performance, and more.
On the other hand… what is ethics? Its about area of philosophical thought that delimits the concepts of what is right and what is wrong, that is, the desirable actions and the actions to avoid. Thus, ethics does not have a merely descriptive function, but is normative, pointing out not what is but what should be.
Ethics is a joint effort, in the sense that it creates norms that go beyond the individual, and aspires to create rules that can be applied rationally and systematically, without discriminating arbitrarily or giving rise to favored treatment. In this way, behavioral guidelines can emerge from ethics that make it clear in advance which actions are appropriate and which represent a breach of norms and consensus.
It can be said that practically all professionals have an ethical dimension, given that social interaction occurs in all of them, and that is why it is increasingly common to create deontological codes in which the ethics that support the activity are established. of a “guild” or sector. And coaching is no exception to this trend.
Is there a coaching code of ethics?
Today there is no universal ethical code for coaching, in the sense that not all coaches need, to be a coach, to accept a series of specific norms and behavioral guidelines. However, yes There are entities in which many coaching professionals are grouped and represented and that have created ethical codes that a large number of coaches follow. These ethical standards can overlap and complement each other.
In this line, it is worth noting that the International Coaching Federation (ICF), the largest international coaching organization with more than 35,000 associates, has its ethical code that outlines the standards of professionalism and good work.
This includes the values that should guide the coach’s work (that is, the key concepts that define this type of work and the professional relationship established with the client/coachee), the ethical standards of responsibility with the client, with professionalism and with society, and commitment to the ethics of the coaching professional.
Do you want to train in coaching?
If you are interested in specializing as a coach or incorporating the theoretical and practical knowledge of coaching into your work, you may be interested in our courses and postgraduate programs.
In European Coaching School We have been offering training, consulting and coaching services for individuals, professionals and companies for more than 15 years. Additionally, we follow the standard and requirements of the International Coaching Federation, and the coaches we certify must sign the ICF Code of Ethics.
For more information about our services and our way of working, contact us or visit our website.
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This article has been reviewed by our editorial team at PsychologyFor to ensure accuracy, clarity, and adherence to evidence-based research. The content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.
