Ethics in Public Speaking/Life Coaching
There are, as far as I am aware, very few formal codes of practice/regulations within the field of Life coaching/Public speaking. The rules that are most commonly adhered to are those merely of common decency and attempting to be moral, treating people fairly.
This I think is both one of the advantages and disadvantages of the profession. Unlike Primary school teaching where every thing’s regulated, monitored, tested and formally recorded, the current unregulated nature of speaking does not stifle the practitioner, interfering with them being able to carry out their job whilst drowning them in red tape and admin/paperwork.
On the flip side, however, this can somewhat undermine the credibility of the profession, as anyone can currently call themselves a life coach.
I believe that Ethics are something that come naturally to most. It is an inbuilt understanding, whether conscious or not, of what is right and fair and what is not.
Code of Ethics / Codes of practice/regulation
Confidentiality
Doing what you say you are going to do
Never plagiarise / copy anyone else’s material
Not taking advantage of a position of power/trust
Never knowingly mislead anyone
Offer value for money
Try to do the best you can by people
If people are not happy, give them their money back, no questions asked
I have put all of these under the same headings as to me, at the moment, they mean the same.
These are my current thoughts on ethics in my chosen community.
As there are currently no licences or formal codes of practice for life coaching, I was wondering if there are qualifications that you need to have? Can anyone call themselves a life coach? I think you are right when you say that this would make people question the person's credability. I suppose you could persue other qualifcations that would be relevent (in your case, this degree!)because I'm sure the customer would want some sort of 'proof' that the life coach has been trained in some way. No help here really Phil, me just pondering really lol. Really interesting topic.
ReplyDeleteYou are right Sarah. Credibility must be so important in the gaining of clients. There are many companies out there offering courses and qualifications in coaching/speaking. These however are more money making operations for them as a company than gaining actual industry recognised qualifications, I'm sure that lots of information would also be gained to. I think in realty potential clients decisions will be based on web site/recommendation firstly then information on web site (similar thoughts on issues/ethos) and price/location, finally getting results for them. I wonder if potential clients would be more interested by a list of qualifications, list of past clients, testimonials or just a feeling of getting on/similar way of thinking when choosing a coach/speaker.
ReplyDeleteWhat would you be drawn to first?
Thank you for your interest and probing questions.
How is your own enquiry going?
Let me know if i can help you in any way.
Stay safe - Phil
I would actually probably be drawn to the website Phil. I really don't like the types of wesites that go on and on giving you endless information and right at the end they show how much money they want.
ReplyDeleteI think i would be drawn to a website that clearly shows a link to prices, testimonials, information about the coach (qualifications / experience) and an example of how the coach will help you.
I too am happy to help out Phil. Thank you for your offer too. My email is sarah.c.pearson81@gmail.com if you need any further help, comments or general 'help me!' situations. my inquiry is going ok, a bit slower than I could do with though. I don't know if you've already seen it but the inquiry plan structures that Paula and Alan put on their blogs has really helped me. Good luck..keep in touch
Sarah :-)
I think there are codes of conduct out there:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.internationalinstituteofcoaching.org/standards_and_ethics.php
I agree in part with your perspective. A code of conduct does not, in itself, guarantee high standards of professional behaviour. I would suggest that comes partly from the authenticity we each bring to our work, while ensuring we avoid situations where we might be tempted to take short cuts. For example, where we have too little time to do proper preparation, so we 'wing it'. Being professional in part means protecting our wider and perhaps, collective interests.
Where I do not agree with the general thrust of your comments is around the underlying value of codes of conduct etc. These codes can be viewed simply as regulations to be followed. But to take that perspective fails to recognise that the codes have evolved over time, contributed to, and edited by various groups and individuals each coming from different perspectives (professional body lawyers may take a legal view, a practitioner another). So the codes often have developed to represent a collective view.
Being part of a profession is to take notice of, and to seek to work within, the collective codes.
When I am thinking as a member of my university, I am thinking about be a member of any university. I am seeking to carry a wider interest than just my own, local interest. I think this is at the core of a positive notion of professionalism, and want to argue that we carry that concern across all our professional activity.
Phil,
ReplyDeleteyou may be interested in a previous post on this topic:
http://adurrant.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/ethics-as-codes.html