LP Life Coach Code of Ethics
The coach’s personal moral qualities are of the utmost importance to clients. Many of the personal qualities considered important in the provision of services have an ethical or moral component and are therefore, considered as virtues or good personal qualities. It is inappropriate to prescribe that all practitioners possess these qualities, since it is fundamental that these personal qualities are deeply rooted in the person concerned and developed out of personal commitment rather than the requirement of an external authority. Personal qualities to which coaches are strongly encouraged to aspire include:
Privacy: At no time will any of the information shared with our coaches be given to a third party. This does not include information shared by clients on the forums, online support groups and in chat rooms.
EXCEPTION: COACHES ARE REQUIRED BY LAW TO REPORT ANY KNOWLEDGE OR INFORMATION RECIEVED FROM A CLIENT WHO PLAN TO HARM THEMSELVES OR OTHERS.
Empathy: the ability to communicate understanding of another person’s experience from that person’s perspective.
Sincerity: a personal commitment to consistency between what is professed and what is done.
Integrity: commitment to being moral in dealings with others, personal straightforwardness, honesty and coherence.
Resilience: the capacity to work with the client’s concerns without being personally diminished.
Respect: showing appropriate esteem to others and their understanding of themselves.
Humility: the ability to assess accurately and acknowledge one’s own strengths and weaknesses.
Competence: the effective deployment of the skills and knowledge needed to do what is required.
Fairness: the consistent application of appropriate criteria to inform decisions and actions.
Wisdom: possession of sound judgment that informs practice.
Courage: the capacity to act in spite of known fears, risks and uncertainty.
Conclusion:
The challenge of working ethically means that coaches will inevitably encounter situations where there are competing obligations. In situations when it is tempting to retreat from all ethical analysis of what may appear to be irresolvable ethical tension coaches will always revert to this code of ethics. These ethics are intended to be of assistance in factors that may need to be taken into consideration and to alternative ways of approaching ethics that may prove more useful. No statement of ethics can totally alleviate the difficulty of making professional judgments in circumstances that may be constantly changing and full of uncertainties. By accepting this statement of ethics, coaches are committing themselves to engage with the challenge of striving to be ethical; even when so involves making difficult decisions or acting courageously.
