Journeys towards the professionalisation of coaching: dilemmas, dialogues and decisions along the global pathway

Abstract

The term 'profession' derives from the Latin word 'profiteor' meaning to profess. Professionalisation, is the process whereby a gainful activity moves from the status of 'occupation' to the status of 'profession'. Claims for professional status and the emergence of standards and awards are typical of the journey that occupations make (or attempt to make) towards professionalisation. However, some occupations fall short of the mark or, at best, become semi-professions with shorter training, less specialised knowledge; and more societal (state) control. If coaching is to become a profession it must adopt criteria such as the development of an agreed and unified body of knowledge, professional standards and qualifications, and codes of ethics and behaviour. While some of these are already completed or in development, the continuation of a multiplicity (and growing) number of coaching associations suggests that the pathway of coaching to professionalisation may be at best bumpy, and at worst derailed.

Drawing the Triangle: How Coaches Manage Ambiguities Inherited in Executive Coaching

“…This may be the result of relying on a formal code of ethics, which could lead to the prescriptive tone and right or wrong approach to ethics from coaches in this group. Formal codes are essential to the practice of coaching, but not enough to encompass all situations and possible ethical dilemmas (Fatien-Diochon & Nizet, 2015;Gray, 2011). In addition, such codes do not necessarily foster ethical sensitivity, defined by Carroll and Shaw (2013) as the awareness of self, of harm, of impact of behavior, and of intention.…”

“…Today, elaborating such a code may be more relevant to educators than it is for coaches: the empirical material in this study shows that coaches may not be aware of ethical issues in the field and even when they are aware, some coaches perceive ethics more as right or wrong issues than as dilemmas. On top of this, the coaching literature highlights ethics as a theme peripheral to practice (Fatien-Diochon & Nizet, 2015;Gray, 2011). These two aspects, lack of awareness among coaches on ethical dilemmas and the distance from ethical issues present in the practice of coaching, guided the decision to exclude the individual professional code from the model, at least for now.…”

“…These formal professional codes of ethics parallel coaching codes of ethics from different coaching organizations such as the ICF and EMCC or coaching training programs like Ashridge Code of Conduct for Coaches (2016). Considered guideposts, such codes of ethics are not expected to fit all situations and provide answers to all ethical dilemmas, but they are important starting points for reflection and ethical decision making (Fatien-Diochon & Nizet, 2015;Gray, 2011). This way, in the adapted model of the ethics of the profession, coaches are encouraged to elect one formal code of ethics and consider it a relevant perspective when making professional decisions.…”

“…If we question the centrality of moral aspects and ethics to executive coaching, we see that such considerations are minor, mainly not considered in coaching training programs, and most of the time limited to coaches agreeing to a code of ethics (Carroll & Shaw, 2013;Fatien-Diochon & Nizet, 2015;Gray, 2011).…”

“…Formal coaching codes of ethics are necessary but not sufficient in supporting coaches faced with ethical dilemmas and deciding the best action (Gray, 2011). Aiming to provide structure to ethical decision making in coaching, Duffy and Passmore (2010) proposed a sequential, yet non-linear, model for coaches.…”