Material for reading “Applying the appropriate ethical principles to female learners coaching”
1.1. Ethical principles of coaching
It is important for adult educators to be acquainted with ethical principles of coaching, which represent the bedrock of a coach's motivation and accountability. Main ethical principles are integrity, professional responsibility, and respect for people's rights and dignity.
Integrity: Coaches will represent themselves in an honest and fair manner, being knowledgeable about their particular competencies and limitations. Coaches strive to be aware of their own belief systems, values, needs, and limitations and the effect of these on their work. To the extent feasible, they attempt to clarify the roles they are performing for relevant parties, and to function in accord with those roles.
Professional Responsibility: Coaches should uphold standards of ethical conduct that reflect well on the individual coach as well as the profession at large. Moreover, coaches should avoid any potential conflict of interest that may arise, and should handle confidential information as confidential.
Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity: Coaches should treat people with dignity and respect, being aware of cultural differences, their own cultural background and biases, and the client’s right to autonomy, privacy, and confidentiality. Coaches accord appropriate respect to the fundamental rights, dignity, and worth of all people. They respect the rights of individuals to privacy, confidentiality, self-determination, and autonomy, mindful that legal and other obligations may lead to inconsistency and conflict with the exercise of these rights. Coaches seek to learn more about cultural, individual, and role differences, including those due to age, gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, and socioeconomic status.
Links for the self-learning
1.2 Ethic codes at the beginning of coaching
Each adult educator-coach can work in a variety of specialised sectors depending on methodologies and clients. Thus, each coaching relationship is based on the personal nature of the two subjects. As a consequence, national and global associations of
coaching have developed Ethic Codes in order to provide a common framework of values upon which professional coaches base their practice. Furthermore, Ethic codes provide rules for coaches to use in many of the specific situations that a coach might
encounter. Finally, Codes are meant to serve as a building block for the ethical and moral standards of coaches. While each individual coach agrees to follow one Code, they are encouraged to supplement and add to it in order to build a lifelong commitment
to building an ethical workplace and profession.
Practically speaking, the beginning of a coaching relationship is not always easy to do and one effective strategy is to focus on the awareness of the coachee. The coach can effectively make someone aware of the opportunity to improve, but the language and approach is as critical as anything. The goal of this stage is not to convince somebody that they have to improve, rather it's to make them aware of the opportunity, seek their emotional commitment to the area of opportunity, and ultimately establish a cadence associated with getting together. Considering that in the coaching process first conversations set the tone and the language, Ethic Codes are fundamental to guide the coach in this critical phase. Indeed, morally sound coaches rely upon codes of ethics in the event of a dilemma or the need for guidance, and implement them.
Ethic Codes do not substitute individual probity of coaches, and their personal and professional experiences constitute the bedrock of the codes‘ application. Evidence-based practice is a key element of ‘practice ethics’ and allows coaches to identify, apply and demonstrate good practice
Main global and national codes are those published by the International Coach Federation (ICF), the Association for Coaching, and the International Association of Coaching.
They include sections on terminology and key definitions and others on several principles such as integrity, confidentiality, conflict of interest, professional conduct.
Links for the self-learning
1.3 Ethical standards and technological developments in coaching
Technology is changing the way coaching is conceived and delivered. Technological developments impose updating and re-training to educators-coaches. Relevant technological innovations are: Apps to enable self-coaching and booking a coach; videoconferencing and blended coaching; platforms to manage coaching; augmented or virtual reality to enrich a session; tailored bots and artificial intelligence to deliver coaching tasks; analysis of leadership style through meeting playback. All those innovations require the coach to maintain, store and dispose of any records, including electronic files and communications. This should be done in a manner that promotes confidentiality, security and privacy, and complies with any applicable laws and agreements.
Links for the self-learning
1.4 Manage power or status differences caused by cultural, relational, psychological and contextual issues
Every coaching relationship is characterised by the personal and cultural features of both the coach and the learner. As a consequence, the relationship can be characterised by cultural, relational, psychological and contextual issues deriving
from power or status differences between coach and female learners. Status is the respect and esteem that a party has in the eyes of others, and generally people earn status by proving their worth. Power is connected with control and influence
over other people through different means.
Both Status and Power may affect the effectiveness of the relationship, and in particular the female learner’s trust in the coach. To prevent it, the coach needs to be aware of this possibility, and to be prepared to manage power and status differences in a professional manner, without consequences on the relationship with the learner. For example, studies suggest that cultural orientation shapes the effect of power on the perceived status and vice versa. According to Christopher and Leslie’s research, “individuals high (versus low) on vertical collectivism are more likely to perceive high power targets as also high in status; individuals high (versus low) on horizontal collectivism are more likely to perceive high status targets as also high in power”. This could be useful for the coach to understand how learners perceive power and status according to their national culture.
For instance, coaches should set and maintain clear, appropriate and culturally sensitive boundaries that govern all physical and virtual interactions with clients.