B. Personal Professional Conduct
Coaches and Mentors have a duty to ensure that their professional standing and conduct are of the highest level.
1. Coaches and Mentors have a responsibility to monitor and maintain their fitness to practice at a level that enables them to provide an effective service. If their effectiveness becomes impaired for any reason, including health or personal circumstances, they should stop working and seek advice and support.
2. Coaches and Mentors will clearly understand their own levels of coaching or mentoring competence, experience, qualifications and accreditation and will not exaggerate, embellish, misrepresent or defraud these in any way.
3. Coaches and Mentors will ensure that all promotional materials and advertisements, including verbal and written, are truthful, honest, legal, decent and compliant with current legislation.
4. Coaches and Mentors will work within the limitations of their own competence and will distinguish situations where it may be necessary to refer a client either to a more experienced Coach or Mentor or Supervisor, or to seek the help of a qualified professional or practitioner.
5. Coaches and Mentors will operate within applicable laws, rules and regulations and will not, assist, persuade or collude with others engaged in conduct which is dishonest, unprofessional, unlawful or discriminatory in any way.
6. Coaches and Mentors will treat all information from a client with absolute confidentiality. Coaches and Mentors will only disclose information where explicitly agreed with the client, or where the Coach or Mentor believes there is compelling evidence of serious danger to the client or others if the information is withheld.
7. Coaches and Mentors will be aware of the impact of their own belief and values systems and the effect of these may have on their coaching or mentoring.
8. Coaches and Mentors will ensure their behaviour can in no way be described as sexual harassment, physical advances, sexual solicitation, or verbal or non-verbal conduct that is sexual in nature.
9. Coaches and Mentors will maintain appropriate records of their work with clients, ensuring that any such records are accurate and that reasonable precautions are taken to protect against third party disclosure. Attention should be given to the clients rights under current legislation.
10. Coaches and Mentors will be diligent in understanding and implementing their client’s and their own legal and other obligations with regards to race, national origin, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, language, disability, and socioeconomic status, ensuring they do not knowingly participate in or condone unfair discriminatory practices.
11. Coaches and Mentors will ensure they participate in relevant training and appropriate Continuing Professional Development to augment and increase their level of coaching or mentoring competence. Coaches and Mentors will ensure they are aware of new technologies, legal requirements, practices and standards as are relevant to the coaching or mentoring profession by participating in appropriate and relevant instruction. Coaches and Mentors will maintain a record of all such training undertaken.
12. Coaches and Mentors will monitor the quality of their work and seek feedback from clients and other professionals.
13. Coaches and Mentors will not enter into a coaching or mentoring arrangement where it could create a risk of conflict of interest.
14. Coaches and Mentors will ensure clients are fully aware of the nature of the service provided – if coaching is agreed, only coaching is delivered; and if mentoring is agreed, only mentoring is delivered.
15. The IIC&M recommends that all Coaches and Mentors have current Professional Indemnity Insurance to cover the provision of their coaching or mentoring services.
C. Professional Relationships
Coaches and Mentors have a duty to ensure that in their dealings with colleagues and the public they maintain the good standing of the coaching or mentoring profession and do not bring the profession, professional bodies or individual Coaches or Mentors into disrepute.
1. Coaches and Mentors will work supportively with colleagues to raise the profile and standards of coaching and mentoring by conducting their business in keeping with IIC&M Professional Standards.
2. Coaches and Mentors will ensure that any public statements produced by themselves or their agents (verbally or in writing) are true and reflect well on the coaching or mentoring community.
3. Coaches and Mentors will take care to ensure that they do not use their relationship with IIC&M, or other professional bodies, in a way that is detrimental to such a body or that brings that body into disrepute.
4. Coaches and Mentors will not claim to represent IIC&M, or other professional bodies, unless explicit permission for such has been granted.
5. Coaches and Mentors will take care to use logos only as allowed by their status within each organisation.
6. Coaches and Mentors will immediately notify the IIC&M, if a situation arises which creates conflict, litigation or bad publicity.
7. Where a Coach or Mentor has reason to be concerned about the behaviour or practice of another member of the coaching or rmentoring community, that matter will be raised firstly with the person concerned. Thereafter the matter should be referred to the IIC&M Complaints Procedure. Such concerns should be treated with the appropriate degree of confidentiality and sensitivity.