Coaching Ethics & Professional Standards Flashcards
7 cards from real CLC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Coaching Ethics & Professional Standards flashcards as text
A coach learns that a competitor is using unethical practices that harm clients. What is the professionally appropriate response?
Answer: Report the concern to the relevant professional body if warranted
Reporting concerns about unethical practice to the appropriate credentialing or professional body is the proper channel for addressing industry-wide ethics violations.
How does the ICF Code of Ethics define 'conflict of interest' in coaching?
Answer: A situation where a coach's personal or financial interests could improperly influence their coaching decisions
Conflicts of interest arise when the coach's personal, financial, or professional interests could interfere with their ability to act in the client's best interest.
A coach using digital tools to record sessions for note-taking must ethically ensure which of the following?
Answer: Explicit client consent is obtained before any recording begins
Recording sessions constitutes processing personal data and requires explicit informed consent from the client prior to recording.
What distinguishes coaching from mentoring in the context of professional ethics?
Answer: Mentoring relies on the mentor's expertise and advice, while coaching draws on the client's own resources without directing outcomes
Ethically, coaching preserves client autonomy by facilitating self-discovery, whereas mentoring involves sharing the mentor's own experience and advice.
A CLC coach is coaching a client who also happens to be a close personal friend. Which ethical issue is most prominent?
Answer: The personal relationship creates a dual relationship that may compromise coaching objectivity and boundaries
Personal friendships create dual relationships that risk blurring boundaries and undermining the coach's objectivity.
Which ethical principle is violated when a coach shares a client's breakthrough story in a webinar without consent, even without using the client's name?
Answer: Confidentiality, because the client's story is their private information regardless of anonymization
Confidentiality protects client information in all forms; sharing client stories without explicit consent violates this principle even when anonymized.
Under CLC and ICF ethical guidelines, how should a coach respond when a client's stated goals conflict with the client's wellbeing?
Answer: Explore the tension with the client and raise awareness of the potential impact on their wellbeing
Coaches honor client autonomy but also have a responsibility to raise awareness of how stated goals may conflict with the client's broader wellbeing.