Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Ethics of the Executive Coach


by Seth Sinclair

Executive coaches come to the profession having had different academic backgrounds and training for the job.  Whatever a coach’s background may be, there are standards of behavior every client or an organization should expect of any coach. The International Coaching Federation (ICF) has a code of ethics professional coaches accredited by the federation are required to uphold.  The entire code can be found here. 

Here are a few highlights of the code:

First, executive coaches must maintain the highest levels of confidentiality for all of the information with which they are entrusted, and must have a clear agreement and understanding before releasing any information to anyone else, unless the law requires that such information be disclosed. All records they create must be maintained, stored, and disposed of in accordance with applicable laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Second, coaches must always behave professionally with clients by not
“overpromising” results, either from the coaching process or from their own abilities.  They must never give false or misleading advice; and must respect the client’s right to end the coaching relationship at any time--subject, of course, to the provisions of their contract.

Coaches should make sure, at the beginning of the relationship, that both the client and the organization who hire them fully understand what coaching is and does, the extent to which the relationship is confidential, and any other terms of the contract.  Throughout the coaching process, the coach should look for signs that the client is no longer being helped by coaching, and should make it known when that becomes the case.

And finally, coaches must “seek to avoid” any conflicts of interest they may have—and openly disclose any such conflicts.  They must offer to remove themselves when such conflicts arise.  They must also “not knowingly” take any personal, professional, or monetary advantage from their relationship with their clients, except for whatever compensation is agreed to in their contract.

ICF accredited coaches are required to pledge their agreement to the organization’s code of ethics—but whether a coach is accredited by that organization or not, clients should expect that whoever they choose to work with will meet these standards of behavior.  If there’s any question in a client or an organization’s mind that a coach may not be able to meet these standards, the client should spell out requirements in the employment contract—or simply hire a different coach.