The International Coach Federation has 11 Core Competencies: as The Coaches Coach I am going to support coaches out in the blogosphere by working through a competency a month and then reviewing in December with an overview.
As they said in the Sounds of Music, "Let's start at the Beginning, a very good place to start"...
The first of the ICF Core Competencies is Coaching Ethics and Standards. What I'll be doing throughout January is posting a series of thoughts, questions, ideas and generally thoughts to help you develop more of an idea of how you can develop your understanding of Ethics and Standards and how you apply these in your Coaching Business and the work you do with your Coaching Clients.
As you'll see, Coaching and Ethics and Standards are a key part of setting the Foundation for the relationship of Coaching.
Today we'll concentrate on the basic dictionary meaning of Ethics and Standards.
Ethics:
–plural noun
| 1. | (used with a singular or plural verb ) a system of moral principles: the ethics of a culture. |
| 2. | the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture, etc.: medical ethics; Christian ethics. |
| 3. | moral principles, as of an individual: His ethics forbade betrayal of a confidence. |
| 4. | (usually used with a singular verb) that
branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct,
with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to
the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions |
Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ethics#dict_header
As a coach I find 2 interesting parts to this. If I think about the culture and groups I belong to as a coach where I have Ethics, I follow an Ethical Stance as a Coach:
- Because I believe in the Integrity of the Coaching Profession and am a member of the wider community of coaches
- Because I am an Accredited member of a Coaching Professional Community - In my case the International Coach Federation, which has a stated set of Coaching Ethics and Standards.
- Because of my own personal values and ethics - I believe to be professional there are certain ways to do things.
What I'll be doing in future posts in January is to explore these issues, and particular statements around ethics, further.
Standards:
–noun
| 1. | something considered by an authority or by general consent as a basis of comparison; an approved model. |
| 2. | an object that is regarded as the usual or most common size or form of its kind: We stock the deluxe models as well as the standards. |
| 3. | a rule or principle that is used as a basis for judgment: They tried to establish standards for a new philosophical approach. |
| 4. | an average or normal requirement, quality, quantity, level, grade, etc.: His work this week hasn't been up to his usual standard. |
| 5. | standards, those morals, ethics, habits, etc., established by authority, custom, or an individual as acceptable: He tried to live up to his father's standards. |
| 6. | a grade of beef immediately below good. |
| 7. | the authorized exemplar of a unit of weight or measure. |
| 9. | the legally established content of full-weight coins. |
| 10. | the prescribed degree of fineness for gold or silver. |
| 11. | British. a class or grade in elementary schools. |
| 12. | a musical piece of sufficiently enduring popularity to be made part of a permanent repertoire, esp. a popular song. |
| 13. | a flag indicating the presence of a sovereign or public official. |
| 14. | a flag, emblematic figure, or other object raised on a pole to indicate the rallying point of an army, fleet, etc. |
| 15. | Military. | a. | any of various military or naval flags. | | b. | the colors of a mounted unit. | | c. | (initial capital letter) a U.S. Navy radar-guided surface-to-air missile with a range of 10–30 miles (16–48 km). | |
| 16. | Heraldry. a long, tapering flag or ensign, as of a monarch or a nation. |
| 17. | something that stands or is placed upright. |
| 18. | a long candlestick or candelabrum used in a church. |
| 19. | an upright support or supporting part. |
| 20. | Armor. a standing collar of mail. |
| 21. | Horticulture. a plant trained or grafted to have a single, erect, treelike stem. |
| 22. | Botany. a distinct petal, larger than the rest, of certain flowers; a vexillum. |
–adjective
| 23. | serving as a basis of weight, measure, value, comparison, or judgment. |
| 24. | of recognized excellence or established authority: a standard reference on medieval history. |
| 25. | usual, common, or customary: Chairs are standard furniture in American households. |
| 26. | manual; not electric or automatic: standard transmission. |
| 27. | conforming
in pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, etc., to the usage of most
educated native speakers, esp. those having prestige, and widely
considered acceptable or correct: Standard American English; standard pronunciation. Compare nonstandard (def. 2). |
| 28. | authorized or approved: The program was broadcast on the standard broadcast band. |
Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/standards#dict_header
Phew! What a lot of different interpretations of the same word! I've highlighted in bold those that really stand out as being linked into what we are talking about here, the Standards the Coaching Community sets itself, the Standards we set ourselves as Coaches, and the Standards which are being expected of us by outside organisations and customers.
It's about a certain way of doing things and a level of consistency that can be expected. If as coaches we work to a Standard, then that is like flying a banner (another meaning of the singular standard!) saying what we stand for. This is our Army of Coaching Beliefs and Who we are when we work as coaches.
Suggested Coaching Action:
What thoughts did this bring to your mind about you as a coach? Do you have a written set of standards that you work to?
Find out what coaching standards and ethics are available for you if you don't already work to a set: Your Coach Training School or Association will have a set. Revisit them as we work through this series together.
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