Managing the Ethical and Legal Implications of Coaching
The number of coaching
cases and coaches has increased dramatically over the last several years.
There are many reasons for this increase. When well done, coaching efforts
can result in both improvement in the organization and in organizational
outcomes as well as in individuals and groups.
Even the most highly
qualified coaches and best of managers, however, can find themselves involved in
situations that create either ethical dilemmas or legal challenges.
Unless these situations are prepared for and addressed properly in advance, the
effectiveness of the effort is likely to be compromised. This situation
can also lead to decreased trust of both coaches and managers. At the
worst, it can harm both the individual and the organization. This
situation can result in many bad outcomes, including legal costs.
Managers and coaches alike should remember that, at a minimum, their efforts
should result in no harm. Disciplined assessment processes and
contracting procedures that take place prior to the beginning of coaching and
that include all those involved in supporting the case (e.g., coach, coaching
candidate, HR, manager) can help prevent or minimize potential negative
outcomes.
In general, potential
ethical and legal issues fall into four categories.
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Diagnostic:
A frequent practice is to refer to coaching efforts as developmental
even when their true focus is on addressing performance, lack-of-fit, or
dyad, team and other types of organizational dynamics issues. As a
result, important issues may be inappropriately presented or not identified
for the coach and/or to the coachee. This practice can result from
ignorance, from being nave or from a desire to present the coaching
experience in the most positive light. Even when the individual is the most
appropriate person to focus on, underlying clinical issues can render
coaching an ineffective and inappropriate solution. Companies that
effectively use coaching base their coaching program on disciplined
assessments that take place prior to determining intervention objectives and
steps. These assessments include a clear determination of the person,
his or her readiness for change and openness to feedback, the context in
which the person works, including the organizations readiness to support
change, and the viability of objectives.
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Confidentiality:
Trust is a critical component of successful coaching efforts. Coaches
and organizations, alike, inappropriately often promise full confidentiality
to their coaching candidates. Coaching in organizations is
typically not bound by the same conditions of confidentiality that can be
found in personal coaching (when the coaching is paid for by the individual)
or in clinician-patient relationships (e.g., those that occur in
clinical practice or EAP relationships with companies). As in
therapeutic relationships, coaches need to report potential threats to
individuals (self or other) or organizations. Coaches are, however,
also agents of their hiring organizations. As such, they can be called to be
witnesses if a lawsuit arises. Importantly, in cases that involve more
than the individual, individual confidentiality needs can be overestimated
so that all those involved in the coaching effort cannot benefit from the
insight gained. Negotiated levels of confidentiality where parameters
for handling of information by both coaches and participants are clearly
spelled out and agreed to prior to coaching can help ensure trust and more
effective outcomes.
-
Dependency: The
best coaching relationships occur when there is a spirit of trust and a
certain level of dependency is created between the coachee and his or her
coach. However, support needs as well as the desire to learn more
about oneself can promote continuation of coaching efforts indefinitely by
coaches. In addition, even well trained coaches are motivated to continue
relationships beyond full usefulness. In general, the coaching
relationship in organizations should not continue beyond achievement of
specific objectives, unless other business objectives have been identified.
As the professional, it is incumbent upon the coach to help create the
environment to gradually ease the coachee into independence and help him or
her develop alternatives for support other than the coach. Managers
should query potential coaches about their approaches for handling stages of
coaching efforts and their eventual termination.
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Boundary: In some ways, coaching inside organizations is often like
working inside a highly complex and very large family. It can never be
done in isolation of other people or the organization at large.
Activities and changes that occur in any individual or group can quickly
affect others. In addition, without a firm understanding and strong
foundation in dealing with these dynamics, the coach unwittingly can become
part of system he or she is trying to help, with potentially negative
consequences. Companies that use coaches effectively engage in and
agree upon parameters regarding areas of potential conflict of interest.
These include (a) a clear definition of the primary client as well as the
hierarchy of potential clients and stakeholders and the coachs role
relative to them, (b) a clear definition of objectives, goals, and
timetables, (c) boundaries for coaching multiple levels in the
organization as individual coaching cases, especially when there are
direct reporting relationships, (d) a clear distinction between coaching and
therapy, (e) standards for handling of internal information both inside and
outside the organization, and (f) policies and procedures for selling by
coaches to other potential coaching candidates or managers inside the
organization.
In sum, effective coaching is much more complex than it
might initially appear. It can be fraught with diagnostic, dependency,
confidentiality and boundary issues that the untrained or inexperienced eye can
easily miss. If these are overlooked and, therefore, unattended to before
coaching begins it can harm both the individual and the organization.
Clear case assessment, identification and contracting prior to beginning
coaching are critical to ensure effective outcomes and avoid unintended
consequences. Industrial and organizational psychologists who
provide coaching services are specifically trained in the psychology of
individuals in the context of work and business and are bound by the highest
standards of ethical behavior by adherence to the Ethics Standards of the
American Psychological Association. Their expertise in individual, group
and organizational dynamics can help to ensure that potential ethical issues are
identified early and managed appropriately should they arise during coaching
engagements.
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