Duty of care in coaching: from ethical frameworks to the development of the coach

Duty of care is not clearly defined in coaching literature, but is described as being part of the ethical framework of conduct in how a coach acts in relation to promoting the welfare of others. It is associated with the coach’s own sense of what is fair and right, both legally and ethically, connected to the coach’s own principles of behaviour. The executive coach has greater complexity in their roles due to multiple stakeholders in the coaching relationship and duty of care is arguably of integral importance. The literature discusses theoretical ethical best practice in coaching, and coaching bodies’ codes offer guidance. Yet, empirical research is lacking on coaches’ understanding and enactment of duty of care. This study is the first to explore these areas and the findings move duty of care beyond an ethical framework to a development opportunity for coaches and those associated with coaching. The research was qualitative and inductive, using semi-structured interviews with thirty executive coaches. The findings challenge assumptions on the level of understanding of duty of care in coaching and positions duty of care firmly in coaches’ development and practice. The research evidences that development in relation to ethics is continual and that coaches use reflective dialogue when making sense of duty of care, rather than reverting to ethical codes or training, thus challenging coaching bodies’ positions on supervision and education of coaches. The study evidences that coaches’ enactment of duty of care encompasses managing boundaries through contracting and ending coaching relationships, and indicates how coaches are custodians of the limits set. The empirical data found care to be at the very core of a coach’s work, and that an executive coach’s duty of care is systemic. The research makes a further contribution to the literature by defining duty of care in coaching.

Grantor dc:publisher

Oxford Brookes University

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Mayhead, Benita

Contributors dc:contributor

• Iordanou, Ioanna
• Lugosi, Peter

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved

Language dc:language

en

DOI dc:identifier

https://doi.org/10.24384/sjmq-9b67

OAI identifier oai:identifier

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