Ethics of a Life Coach The life coach and the coachee have a special relationship that is very similar to the relationship between the counselor and the client. In the client-counselor relationship, the counselor is expected to abide by a code of ethics, and the same expectations should be preserved for the coach-coachee relationship. The life coach is a position of authority to some degree, and to misuse or abuse the trust granted him by the coachee is to violate the ethical principles that support the good work that coaches can do with their coachees. This paper will look at question e) Are there circumstances where it would be OK to have a sexual relationship with a client/coachee? It will show that engaging in a sexual relationship with a client/coachee would be highly unethical.

As Moberg and Valasquez (2004) point out, the ethics of mentoring does not mean that it provides a safe way in which mentoring and coaching can be conducted without any dysfunction whatsoever. Dysfunction is very likely to occur in most mentoring cases, simply because people are complex. The purpose of an ethical framework, however, is to allow all stakeholders to have a guide—an ethical rule that they can follow and adhere to...

Once the coach-coachee relationship has terminated there should still be a professional distance between the two. The individual will always be a former client and thus the coach-coachee relationship should always be respected and it would be ill-advised for the coach and coachee to become sexually involved even once the coaching has ended. Would it be appropriate for them to enter into a relationship 6 months or a year down the road? The ACTION model would suggest that the coach should not seek out a personal relationship with a coachee, whether current or former, because it degrades and clouds the action of being a coach. To preserve the integrity of the coaching process, professional relationships between coaches and coachees should never turn into personal relationships.
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