In December of 2019, the International Coaching Federation published the new Code of Ethics that then went into effect January 1, 2020. What are the reasons behind the change? Primarily two things: 1. It is a best practice to review and update as appropriate on a regular basis. This leads to what is behind the extent of the changes with the next reason: 2. As the profession grows and matures the experience and knowledge base also grows and matures.
Most noticeably, how the code is organized changed.
Sections Before:
- Professional Conduct at Large
- Conflicts of Interest
- Professional Conduct with Clients
- Confidentiality/Privacy
- Continuing Development
Sections Now:
- Responsibility to Clients
- Responsibility to Practice and Performance
- Responsibility to Professionalism
- Responsibility to Society
To go into more detail, consider this table shows what converted and where.
This provides a very general outline of what changed. In the next blog, we will explore more of the details in the changes.
In response to an unasked question: Yes, during coach training the new Code of Ethics is now taught in all Center for Coaching Certification programs.
