Code of Ethics for Coaching and Mentoring

At Positive Performance, we are committed to maintaining, advancing, and promoting excellence in coaching and mentoring practice. As a professional organisation operating within the human capital, organisational development, and employee well-being space, we hold ourselves and our practitioners to the highest ethical and professional standards.

All individuals operating under the auspices of Positive Performance-whether as coaches, mentors, consultants, facilitators, or practitioners-are expected, as a condition of their continued professional association with us, to adhere to the elements and principles of this Code of Ethics.

This Code of Ethics aligns with the content and requirements set out in the Professional Charter for Coaching and Mentoring. The Charter, drafted in accordance with European law and registered on the dedicated European Union database for self-regulation initiatives, informs best practice and ethical accountability within the coaching and mentoring profession. While Positive Performance operates within diverse regional and organisational contexts, we recognise and uphold these internationally recognised standards as a benchmark for ethical excellence.

This Code of Ethics sets clear expectations for best practice in coaching and mentoring and actively promotes the development of professional excellence across all our service offerings. Its purpose is to:

• Provide appropriate guidelines, accountability, and enforceable standards of conduct for all our members operating within Positive Performance.
• Set out how our members are expected to act, behave, and perform when working with clients, stakeholders, and partner organisations.
• In conjunction with Positive Performance’s professional competency frameworks and practice standards, guide our members’ ongoing development and growth within the profession.
• Serve as a reference and guide for individuals who may not formally identify as professional coaches or mentors, but who nonetheless apply coaching or mentoring skills in leadership, management, facilitation, or advisory roles within their work.

Where members fall short of these expectations and guidelines in their work with clients or stakeholders, this Code of Ethics will serve as the basis for any complaint, review, or disciplinary process, in line with Positive Performance’s established complaints handling and governance procedures.

THE CODE OF ETHICS

This Code of Ethics is arranged into four sections and outlines Positive Performance’s general expectations of professional behaviour, ethical conduct, and practice excellence:

1. Terminology
2. Working with Clients
3. Professional Conduct
4. Excellent Practice

1. Terminology
a. Each body will define exactly which of its members and other stakeholders are expected to abide by this code (who are hereafter collectively referred to as the “members”).
b. For the proper understanding of this Code of Ethics (hereafter referred to as the “code”), members must be familiar with, and guided by, their respective professional body’s definitions and terminology when interpreting the precise meanings of key terms used within this code. These include, but are not limited to: coach, coaching, client, member, mentor, mentoring, sponsor, supervisor, and supervision.

Within the context of Positive Performance, members are expected to apply these definitions consistently across all coaching, mentoring, organisational development, and advisory engagements to ensure clarity, alignment, and ethical integrity in professional practice.

3. Professional Conduct

Maintaining the reputation of coaching and mentoring

3.1 Members of Positive Performance are expected to behave in a manner that consistently reflects positively upon, and enhances the reputation of, the coaching and mentoring profession in all professional and organisational contexts.

3.2 Members will demonstrate respect for the diversity of coaches, mentors, and other professionals within the coaching and mentoring field, and will acknowledge and value the wide range of legitimate approaches to coaching and mentoring practice.

Recognising equality and diversity

3.3 Members will abide by their respective professional bodies’ diversity statements and policies and align their conduct with Positive Performance’s commitment to fairness, inclusion, and respect.

3.4 Members will avoid knowingly discriminating on any grounds and will actively seek to enhance their awareness of both overt and subtle forms of discrimination that may arise in professional practice.

3.5 Members will remain cognisant of the potential for unconscious bias and will intentionally adopt respectful and inclusive approaches that recognise, explore, and value individual difference.

3.6 Members will, where appropriate, challenge in a supportive and constructive manner any colleagues, employees, service providers, clients, or participants who are perceived to be engaging in discriminatory behaviour.

3.7 Members will monitor their spoken, written, and non-verbal communication to guard against inadvertent discrimination and to promote dignity and respect in all interactions.

3.8 Members will engage in ongoing developmental activities that are likely to enhance their self-awareness and competence in relation to equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Breaches of professional conduct

3.9 Members acknowledge that any breach of this Code of Ethics that is upheld may result in sanctions, including the loss of accredited status and/or professional body membership. In the interest of client safety, quality assurance, and maintaining the reputation of coaching and mentoring, relevant bodies may share details of such breaches where appropriate.

3.10 Members will ensure that no false or misleading claims are made, either explicitly or implicitly, regarding their professional competence, qualifications, experience, or accreditation in any published, promotional, or professional material.

3.11 Where a member has reasonable cause to believe that another member is acting in an unethical manner, they may challenge that member directly and, where resolution is not achieved, report the matter to the appropriate body.

Legal and statutory obligations and duties

3.12 Members are required to remain informed of, and comply with, all applicable statutory and legal requirements in the country in which their work takes place, and to operate in accordance with any organisational policies or procedures relevant to the context in which the coaching or mentoring occurs.

3.13 Members will maintain appropriate and accurate records of their work with clients and will ensure that such records remain confidential, are stored securely, and comply with applicable data protection and privacy legislation.

3.14 In line with the legal requirements of the country in which they operate, members will hold appropriate professional indemnity insurance to cover their coaching and mentoring activities conducted under the Positive Performance banner.