Initially when I decided to write this piece, I wanted to explore how ethical practices differ around the world. This led me to consider how differences in cultures and hence ethical practices can impact the coaching relationship. Coaching is a collaborative relationship where the coach holds the space for the client to create their own solutions, one that help them achieve their defined success. Holding a space for clients seems somewhat simple to accomplish, something most coaches are successful at in all coaching relationships. And yet, what I have learned is when the coaching relationship brings together different cultural and thus ethical standards, holding this space can be difficult, creating challenges for the coach and probably the client as well.
With our shift to more of a global economy where working across countries and even continents becomes a standard practice, coaches looking forward, face many challenges in creating that space for clients of differing cultures so they can be successful on their terms, terms that take into consideration their unique cultural community and ethical standards.
The challenges that present themselves, now that coaching has a global market, need to be acknowledged and understood to ensure coaches are ethical at all times in their professional lives. As coaches, we need to respect our clients, their unique ethical and cultural practices if we are to be successful in supporting them to become the best version of themselves moving forward. If we cannot respect our clients fully because of cultural or ethical differences then we also need to acknowledge this to ourselves and decide how best to support this client so we do not construct barriers based on our ethical practices that stifle them in their continued growth and development.
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