The ethics of S(hr)edding

I was only be able to dip into a few sessions of the Coaching Ethics Forum (CEF) annual conference but they have been a great example of emancipatory learning: learning that prompts me to interrogate and shed some of my ‘truths universally acknowledged’, assumptions about myself, about others and about the world.

With the title of Conscious Power for Ethical Maturity: Exploring Integrity, Influence, and Responsibility, it was a muscular engagement with ideas and principles. I particularly enjoyed insights on how power dynamics shape the act of listening and of being heard from. And a session presented by Rachel Hawley offered a practical ethical framework against which I’ve been testing elements of my coaching across four domains:

• the ethics of preparation

• the ethics of process

• the ethics of relationships

• the ethics of inclusion and diversity in a global context

Even as I write these, I’m conscious of a sense of…fear? anxiety? over-earnestness? Because - inevitably - I’ll fail to live up to these ideals fully, and look hypocritical perhaps?

So: one concrete step. Confidentiality is a central tenet of my practice - a blog for another day. Shredding confidential notes - jottings from 1:1 sessions, 360 degree feedback reports - feels strangely harsh, almost disrespectful to the coaching conversation, but is one way that I can hold true to saying that confidentiality is a central tenet of my practice.