Three Ways to Identify a Coach who Coaches Ethically and Responsibly

Coaching is an unregulated industry. Any person can call him/herself a coach even though they have no coach-specific training. What this means is that anyone, with no or very little coach-specific training (such as a weekend course or even a three day training program) can offer themselves as a coach to others without any verification of their ability to help their clients solve their problems or achieve their dreams. What this does is create confusion in the industry as to what coaching is, what a coach does and how they may help you. Some “coaches” intuitively “get it right” because they have a feel for people and how to assist them. However other unqualified coaches can create havoc and misery as a result of their intervention. At best they just give the industry a bad name. This is why coaching should become a profession – so that it is regulated in terms of the accredited, coach-specific training that is required for entry into the profession, with ongoing professional development to maintain membership of a reputable professional body. When this happens, individuals and organisations can be confident that they are receiving the services of an expert who has been trained to the highest standards. They can be assured that the trained professional coach will behave ethically and responsibly in relation to the client and their situation. They will manage privacy and confidentiality issues with the utmost professionalism, and address any possible conflict of interest issues before they start coaching. For these reasons and more, coaching should become a regulated profession with coaches being trained to meet specified standards and adhere to these standards in relation to every coaching program they conduct. Confidence in the marketplace will be assured when:

1. Coaches are trained by a professional coach training school with an accredited coach training course;
2. The coach training company subscribes to national and international standards of coaching – no self-audit;
3. Graduates of the coach training school maintain their coaching credentials via a program of ongoing professional development and adhere to the profession’s code of conduct.

The Australian Institute of Professional Coaches has developed coach-specific training courses based on comprehensive research into accredited coaching standards and industry needs. Our coaching courses are delivered by highly trained and credentialed experts in coaching and associated fields. The voracity of our coach training courses has been verified by the Australian Skills Quality Authority.