Coach and mentor commitment
The Network community of practitioners is drawn from a wide range of backgrounds and approaches. All registrants on this coach and mentor referral service possess core coaching & mentoring competencies and many also possess specialist competencies and professional accreditations. They also share our values and deliver services in alignment with our Principles of Good Practice.
Coaches on our referral database will:
- Provide a clear explanation of the services they offer.
- Explain the nature and limits of confidentiality and data protection surrounding the information you choose to share with them.
- Estimate the number and length of sessions required to achieve your goals.
- Provide you with a clear statement of fees along with any terms and conditions of service including any minimum commitments, payment and cancellation terms.
- Market themselves and their services in a legal, decent and honest manner.
- Provide you with a review and exit process so you are able to monitor progress, achieve/refine your goals and conclude your coaching or mentoring programme at the right time.
- Be clear about the extent of their professional expertise and refrain from delivering specialised services in areas where they are not competent or do not hold any legally required licences to practice.
- Consult with professional peers or supervisors where appropriate to support the delivery of your services and tell you about any professional peer consultation or supervisory arrangements if you request it.
- On-refer you to other relevant professional services where appropriate (e.g. specialist practitioners, business advisory services etc).
- Ensure your satisfaction with their services by monitoring the effectiveness of the coaching/mentoring process as well as the achievement of agreed outcomes.
Coaching & mentoring competencies
Core coaching & mentoring competencies
You should expect that any professional coach or mentor should possess a high level of:
- Professional practice skills (e.g. contracting, relationship management, managing the coaching/mentoring process)
- Listening and communication skills
- Belief in the potential for others to grow and develop
- Focus on achieving positive action and outcomes (either long or short term)
- Self awareness, confidence and personal presence
- Competence at working with different attitudes, beliefs and behaviours
Specialist coaching & mentoring competencies
Many coaches and mentors work in specialist fields and may have additional specific experience, skills, qualifications or licences, for instance:
- Business and commercial development theory and practice
- Management and leadership development
- Critical thinking skills
- Artistic and creative skills
- Domain or role specific experience e.g. health care, sports….etc
- Psychological models, methods and practices
- Assessment skills e.g. psychometric profiling and business analysis
In some countries the delivery of certain services are regulated by law. Please check with the regulatory authorities in your country and see our training and accreditation section for more about this.
These competencies are distilled from research directed by Pauline Willis for the European Mentoring and Coaching Council. The research was community wide, inclusive and based on inputs from an extensive range of professional bodies, universities, training organisations and individual professional practitioners. This research formed the basis of the Coaching & Mentoring Standards subsequently developed by the EMCC and has also been used to inform a range of initiatives including the guidelines for professional coaching services published by Australian Standards. For more information about this research, or to request a copy of the report written by Pauline Willis contact the EMCC www.emccouncil.org. Ask for a copy of the coaching and mentoring competenies research report.
Principles of good practice for professional coaches & mentors
- Maintain registration with appropriate regulatory bodies where coaching & mentoring or any activities provided under the names of coaching & mentoring are regulated by law.
- Adhere to any specialised codes of conduct which are relevant to the nature and scope of services provided. e.g. financial, spiritual, health, psychological.
- Engage with competency based Continuing Professional Development and peer or supervisor consultation appropriate to the nature and scope of coaching or mentoring services you deliver. Keep a record of CPD activities.
- Provide clear explanations of the services your clients or beneficiaries of pro-bono services can expect to receive.
- Adhere to professional standards for advertising to ensure that you market your services in ways that are legal, decent, honest and truthful.
- Ensure that appropriate consent is sought where any additional professional services will be delivered either as part of the coaching/mentoring service or as a concurrent activity.
- Provide a clear explanation about the nature and limits of confidentiality surrounding the services you provide.
- Be clear about any specific goals that will be supported through your service and for which the client can reasonably expect to receive specific measurable benefits.
- Provide an estimate of the number and length of sessions required to achieve agreed goals.
- Provide a clear statement of fees along with any terms and conditions prior to the commencement of any services.
- Provide clear expectations about the review and exit process, so clients are able to conclude their coaching or mentoring programme appropriately.
- Maintain adequate records and ensure that your document control processes conform to legislation and relevant professional practices for data protection and privacy.
- Manage the boundaries between coaching and allied professional domains to ensure that clients receive appropriate on-referral to relevant services that fall outside of your personal expertise.
- Ensure that your services are covered by an appropriate level of professional practice insurance.
- Monitor client outcomes and satisfaction so you can assure quality and continuously improve the services you deliver.