Category: Ethics & Values in Coaching

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Ethical Marketing for Coaches: Inspire Trust and Create Impact

Wise Goose Founder and Director Helen Sieroda shares some thoughts about the importance of ethical marketing for coaches, touches on marketing snares and snags and offers a some suggestions for marketing with integrity.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been preparing for our 2025 BCorp recertification, this happens every three year. It’s a rigorous process and treading water for three years isn’t an option. We need to demonstrate a journey of continuous improvement.

There are some areas where we are already doing better, and places where we need to improve. Going through our impact assessment I realised that Wise Goose didn’t have a written marketing policy. We are small, and maybe we don’t need a policy, but it started me thinking about the importance of aligning marketing strategies with our core values and mission.

We do our best to live our values through the way we do business and talk about our work, but I’ve not really thought about this as marketing. This is probably because I’m definitely not a marketing expert. In fact, I’m ambivalent about a lot of the ‘hype’ that gets generated in marketing .

I may not be a marketing guru, but I do want to build a business that’s sustainable and makes a profit. For me, learning to be okay with marketing is about embracing being a business owner, and building effective systems that can create real lasting success. So what’s been my problem?

Someone who helped me to understand my ambivalence was Mats Alvesson. In his book The Triumph of Emptiness,  he demystifies popular, upbeat claims about branding in higher education, organisational change, professionalisation, leadership and coaching. He argues that a culture of grandiosity is leading to numerous inflated claims as organisations focus excessively on image, brand, visibility at the expense of substance and genuine value. 

Inflated claims that over-promise and under-deliver can easily sneak into the marketing of coaching and coach training. With this in mind, ethical marketing is not just a strategy—it’s a commitment to authenticity, transparency, and genuine engagement, ideally to serve worthwhile purposes., or as Simon Western for the Eco Leadership Institute puts it Coaching to act in ‘good faith’ to create the ‘good society’. This can apply to pretty much any coach, whatever their niche, so I hope the following suggestions will resonate whether you are a life coach, executive coach, career, wellness, relationship or any other kind of coach.

Transparent Practices

Transparency is crucial in building trust. Focus on providing honest and accurate information that helps potential clients make informed decisions. Be clear about your coaching methods, pricing, and what clients can expect from your services. When I designed the Wise Goose website ‘experts’ told me to leave out the ‘fees and dates’ page. I was determined to make it easy for potential students to have the information they needed to compare us with other training providers and make a confident and clear choice about their next steps.

Genuine Engagement

At the heart of ethical marketing is genuine relationship and engagement. This means interacting with all stakeholders (not just potential clients) in a way that is sincere and meaningful. Rather than viewing potential clients as mere leads, or ‘prospects’ see them as individuals with unique needs, challenges and aspirations. Encourage thoughtful conversations, give personalised responses, and show genuine interest in their hopes and dreams and aspirations. This is what coaching is all about, so hardly needs saying!  But sometimes, even though it seems obvious it’s challenging; for example if I really want more clients, the focus easily shifts from what’s best for them to my needs. I might feel under pressure to try hard to sell my services and ‘convert’ them rather than focus on where they want to go and if and how I might help them get there. If I think a client would be better served by another coach, or another training programme I say so and refer to someone who could be a better ‘fit’. But sometimes, turning away business feels like losing out- and that’s hard.

Building a Community

Hiding your light under a bushel, and waiting for the world to come knocking on your door won’t work and is one of the biggest pitfalls new coaches fall into. You need to let the world know what you do! Aim to build genuine relationships and to connect with other coaches and professionals not just potential clients. Attend workshops, and webinars, go to training sessions, read books then go and talk to friends and colleagues about them. After meeting someone you have a connection to, follow up with a personalised message to show are genuinely interested in staying connected. Partner with other coaches, therapists, or consultants to offer joint programs or workshops. Collaboration can expand your reach and introduce you to new audiences. Wise Goose has thrived through collaboration, not all have been successful, but all have been worth exploring. The word-of-mouth referrals that come our way through our community are incredibly powerful, it’s the foundation our business is built on.

The Power of Storytelling

Share stories that highlight your values, experiences, approach and the impact of your coaching (with permission and respecting confidentiality.)  Testimonials are a powerful way of illustrating how your coaching has helped clients achieve their goals. They can demonstrate the tangible benefits of your services. Rather than trying to explain what coaching is in theory, find ways to show how you are offering a clear path forwards that can lead to real, positive change and results. It’s totally possible to do this while being honest and avoiding the temptation of creating a glossy front on your work.  

Education and Expertise

Share your interests and knowledge through blogs, videos, articles, webinars, podcasts and workshops. Write or speak, depending on your strengths and preferences. Provide educational content that helps your audience understand how you can address their specific needs. It’s a place to share your approach, and focus on how your coaching process works and can help them get from where they are to where they want to be. This not only positions you as an ‘expert’ but builds trust, allowing you to interact with potential clients and other professionals in a meaningful way.

I know social media can be a powerful tool for ethical marketing but it’s not my favourite place and I don’t engage enough. So on this topic I encourage you to “do as I say not as I do” – use it to share valuable content, engage with your audience, and build your brand presence. Focus on creating content that educates, inspires, and adds value. Join relevant groups and participate in discussions – be generous – comment on others’ posts and engage with your community regularly.

Social and Environmental Responsibility

Incorporating social and environmental responsibility into your marketing strategy reflects a commitment to broader values. Highlight your efforts to support sustainable practices, contribute to social causes, and promote ethical behaviour. This a big part of our brand at Wise Goose, it resonates with clients who share similar values. Over the years I’ve learned that though it might put some people off, in the end it means we get to work with the people who are a good ‘fit’ with our approach and values – and that is a real joy!

In a nutshell, gaining attention, generating a buzz, showcasing your services and values, and creating traffic that can significantly boost the growth of your business is a primary purpose of marketing.

This begs the question – when you have a business that’s growing how much growth is enough? Just like any industry coaching can play into the myth of endless growth, feeding consumerism with life denying, planet depleting consequences. What kind of growth is good growth? What purposes does all that coaching serve? What if growth is not the only story? What is a good life – for us as coaches or for our clients?  

Coaching can be part of the problem or part of the solution.

As coaches we have a powerful frameworks, structures, tools and techniques to help clients work towards their goals. We can do this while helping them explore new ways to be in the world, find new stories to tell about what matters, and consider the differences between surface wants, and deeper needs., We can help a client focus on transactional goals to achieve immediate tasks, and at the same time hold wider transformational goals to drive long-term growth and development. This isn’t about preaching or telling our clients what they should want, or how they should be. It’s about holding the bigger picture, inviting exploration, so they can discover what’s important, choose where they want to go and how to get there.

I want to finish with ‘worthwhile purposes’ I mentioned earlier. Over ten years ago on a Dartmoor walk, Jonathan Wise shared his story of waking up to the negative impact of his work in advertising, how he quit in the middle of a recession, and his journey towards getting people in the industry to ask tough questions about purpose. Marketing and advertising aren’t the same thing, but they are close cousins. This video from Jonathan and his associates at ‘Purpose Disruptors’ is aimed at the advertising industry, but there’s a lot here that’s relevant to our work as coaches, especially the exploration of ‘The Good Life 2030.’

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Trust and Permission

A leadership lesson in vulnerability

I’m delighted to share this post by Pam Billinge, writer, leadership coach, and specialist in Embodied Horse-Led Leadership Development. I always encourage coaches to use supervision, and this is a powerful story of how much of a difference it can make to coaching practice. Thank you Pam – being your supervisor is a joy and a privilege!

Late in 2021 I was delivering a client programme when, out of the blue, I received some extremely difficult news. My blood froze when I saw the 12 missed calls throughout the day from two different numbers I didn’t recognise. What I learned in the subsequent minutes folded me in two and knocked me to the ground. There was no question of me entering the classroom again, I was in deep shock and grief.

Five months later Spring 2022 dawned and it was time for me to get back to doing the work I love, facilitating Equest’s horse-led leadership development programmes. We had 20 international leaders coming to the farm where we are based in Wiltshire for a two day programme. As it approached, still feeling raw and emotionally spent from the aftermath of my bereavement, I began to doubt whether I was up to leading our team of 10 humans and 8 horses and facilitating an intense process for a group of this size.

The nature of the leadership development we offer plumbs the depths of human emotion albeit gently. We’d be talking about being authentic, connecting with the essential self, about being vulnerable and creating emotional safety. And here I was, the programme leader, on track to be perhaps the most vulnerable person in the room. I knew my feelings of trauma could easily be triggered at the location where my nightmare had started and I began to question whether I should do the programme at all. I was terrified of spoiling the experience for the group, of being hijacked by my feelings, of looking stupid, of losing control, of not being able to provide a safe environment for others.

‘What is the worst thing that can happen?’ My supervisor said to me in our session a couple of  weeks before the programme.

‘That I break down and completely lose it,’ I said.

‘So? What would happen if you did?’ She continued.

‘I suppose one of my team would take over. I would trust them implicitly to carry on without me, to cover for me.’

‘And what would the impact on the participants be of you breaking down? What kind of example would it set?’

‘I guess it would be an example of authentic behaviour, and of being courageous enough to be vulnerable!’ I couldn’t help a wry giggle.

So on the morning of the programme I briefed my team that they needed to be ready and verbalised the trust I had in them. Together we devised a ‘Pam breakdown back-up plan.’

The classroom hummed with happy expectation as I stood to welcome the client group. I shared that I’d had some bad news the last time I stood there and that I was still fragile, which the tremor in my voice betrayed. But I breathed deeply, grounded my turbulent feelings down through my feet, looked outside to the tranquil herd, the beautiful landscape, the red kites hovering overhead. I felt calmer. I had done it. I had named my vulnerability and suddenly everything seemed possible.

My usual introduction didn’t seem appropriate. Instead I read to the group from my journal about why the leadership development work I do with horses is so important to me. I spoke of how our approach has evolved through the interconnection and courage and contribution of many, both human and equine. I held myself together, just about, and the emotional chord I struck continued to vibrate it’s beautiful harmonies throughout the following two days for everyone present. I hadn’t broken down as I had feared, but I hadn’t pretended either. I had let my emotions live and breathe within the group process. And the group’s learning experience was richer for it: safe, joyful and profound.

I had rested in Trust – of my colleagues, of the horses, of our clients, of the process. And I had given myself Permission – to be truly real, to shed the need to be brave, or infallible, or in charge. The heart-opening which I had no choice other than to embrace flowed through to the group – they trusted and they too gave themselves permission to be true to themselves.

This experience has changed the way that I lead forever.  Whilst the pain caused by my bereavement will lessen over time, I trust that the gifts it gave me – how to be openly vulnerable with grace, intention and fortitude and how to ask for help – will continue to grow and make me a better leader, practitioner and human being.

Pam is a writer, leadership coach, specialist in Embodied Horse-Led Leadership Development and Director of Equest Limited. Her books The Spell of the Horse, Stories of Healing and Personal Transformation with Nature’s Finest Teacher and The Spirit of the Horse, Finding Healing and Spiritual Connection with the Horse, are published by Blackbird Books and available from all good publishers.

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‘Walking the Talk’ Purpose Led Business

COP26 is almost upon us, convened against the backdrop of profound challenges and upheavals of 2020 and 2021 from the pandemic, floods and wildfires to Black Lives Matter.

Like many others I’ve questioned the ability of our political, economic, and societal systems to take action. This year’s Edelman Trust Barometer survey showed that rather than wait for government to impose change, a whopping 86% of respondents thought business leaders should take the lead and be as accountable to the public as they are to their board and shareholders.


With this in mind, Wise Goose has taken another step on our journey as a ‘purpose led business‘ we’ve amended our ‘Articles of Association’ to integrate wider stakeholder interests into our governance structure. These are written rules, registered with Companies House, stating how the company is run. In practice little will change, a ‘purpose led’ approach has inspired our work since the early days, but now balancing people, profit and planet is firmly at the heart of our purpose. From now on, ensuring business and operations have a material positive impact on society and the environment, is a director responsibility adding an extra layer of scrutiny.

This is about taking a stand, stating our core reason for existing is richer and wider than solely creating shareholder returns. It’s a way of ‘putting our money where our mouth is’. The world needs more businesses to see their role as creating value for society, and while we may only be a micro business, we are heeding Theodore Roosevelt’s advice, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” I’m proud to have found the confidence and courage to start where we are and take a step.

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Moving Beyond The ‘Blame Game’

I can’t believe we are heading towards the Autumn equinox and the marking of the transition between seasons. There’s definitely that back to school/ work feeling in the air. This week I’ll be driving my son back to Brighton for the start of his final year at the University of Sussex. 

This year it’s a transition that I have mixed feelings about, with news of a virus storm brewing on university campuses and knowing he will be returning to face more uncertainty, disruption and social distancing. Young adults generally are more likely to suffer the long-term consequences of economic downturn, more likely to have lost their jobs or been furloughed, more likely to live in cramped shared housing; more likely to suffer Covid related mental health issues. There’s been a lot of talk about impacts of the pandemic on children, the elderly and businesses but impacts on young people and how to support them seems to be largely ignored and this troubles me.

Given my concerns, a couple of days ago when I heard Matt Hancock laying the blame on young people for the Covid spike, I felt angry. I wanted to blame him.

My rant began something like this: “How dare you shift the blame. It’s your fault they took advantage of ‘eat out to help out’ and heeded the prime minister, who said it was a ‘patriotic duty’ to go to the pub.  Your mixed messages made this mess, and so Mr Hancock, YOU are to blame for your governments chaotic, incompetent response to Covid19.”

My reaction got me thinking. In this tirade, the fact that quite a few young adults have been casual about social distancing, and the question of how best to do something about the risks is simply not part of my picture.  I’m off, on my high horse, lashing out at full speed, sucked into the ‘Blame Game’. What just happened?

Blame it turns out, is contagious, it spreads like a virus. A 2010 study from USC into ‘blame contagion’ showed that pointing fingers at others is not only infectious, it is amplified when trust is low and seems to be eliminated when people feel valued and appreciated. In other words, being blamed for things that are not our fault and not receiving acknowledgement and the credit that we deserve are entangled.

How the credit/ blame game is played is a key ingredient of organisational cultures, for better or for worse. I often meet clients who work in organisations with rampant cultures of blame. These are places where dishing out blame, unfair attacks or credit grabbing hijack energy and distract from tackling problems. Teams and organizations with a culture of blame have an uphill struggle when it comes to encouraging learning, creativity, innovation and productive risk-taking. Blame is an excellent defence mechanism, by avoiding looking at our own flaws and failings, blame protects our self-image. However, research shows that people who blame others for their mistakes lose status, learn less, and have poorer performance compared to those who own up to their mistakes. The pattern is so destructive, whether you are a coach or a leader, blame is something to be alert to, because in the end playing the blame game never works.  

The blame game is lazy. It’s easier to blame someone else than to recognise and accept responsibility for the part you play in a messy situation. Becoming blame-savvy requires effort, changing behaviour so you don’t repeat mistakes involves work.  Creating psychological safety is one of the most important things a coach or leader can do to stop the blame game but this takes awareness, time and commitment. Here are a few potential places to start:

  • Avoid collusion. By setting the right example and not joining in with the game, you can help grow awareness and model collaborative problem-solving rather than defensiveness and finger-pointing.
  • Own up to your mistakes.  When you make a mistake, it is tempting to shore up the illusion of our own self-worth and blame someone else.  Instead, say sorry when you are wrong, you are not omnipotent, face up to the reality that you are not always right. When you don’t pass the buck, you gain respect and help to prevent a culture of blame.
  • Focus on learning and creating a ‘growth’ mindset. This is where learning from — rather than avoiding mistakes — is the priority. This helps ensure that people feel free to ‘own up’, discuss and learn from their errors.
  • Pause. Take a breath. Step back. If you’re facing a “blame-thrower” or “credit-grabber” a good first response is to pause. We all tend to cast blame; it is often a subconscious process; the blame game might not be personal. What is behind the game? What might be triggering your reaction? This is where talking to someone outside of work, a coach or trusted colleague will help you gain perspective and distance make strategic decisions about your response.
  • When you do blame, do it constructively. Accountability is important and there are definitely times when people’s mistakes need to be raised in public. In these cases, make sure to emphasise that the goal is to learn from mistakes, not to publicly humiliate those who make them. As a manager, peer or coach, be careful not to use feedback as a sneaky way of dishing out blame.

Author of The Blame Game Ben Dattner summarises it like this: “We all want to be recognised for our effort and accomplishments, and we resist being blamed when things don’t go right. This leads to habitual patterns of credit and blame at work. […] The most successful leaders are able to see their role in the blame game, admit mistakes and focus on fixing rather than blaming.” 

Do you recognise the Blame Game?

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Tackling silent bullying in the workplace

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Have you ever been ignored, rejected or felt slighted by a colleague or a boss? Have you ever given someone the ‘silent treatment’?

 

Silent bullying is common and costly, I know a lovely woman who was so badly shunned by her boss she became depressed, burnt-out and left a career she loved.  I’ve also been a target –  in a  place where I’d felt liked, appreciated and respected. Because of the behaviour of one person, I felt I didn’t  matter, it was like I didn’t exist.  The good news:  it was limited to relatively a small project. Continue reading “Tackling silent bullying in the workplace”

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Take Three Questions…

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What do you most deeply and profoundly love?

What are your deepest and most profound gifts?

What are your most profound responsibilities?

On Friday, sixty of us, mostly coaches, spent the day at Embercombe reflecting on these questions.

Embercombe is a delight, ‘a garden that grows people’ a place dedicated to touching hearts, stimulating minds and inspiring committed action for a sustainable world.  Fifty acres with views towards Dartmoor, it includes two yurt villages, mature broadleaf woodland, a wildlife lake, forest garden and apple orchard, cob pizza ovens,  circular organic market garden (that supplied fresh food for our lunch) and a peaceful ‘medicine garden’. Continue reading “Take Three Questions…”

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International Stoic Week: 25th Nov – 1st Dec

Emperor Marcus AureliusDid you know we’re in the middle of International Stoic Week at the moment?

No, well I wouldn’t have either if I hadn’t received an invitation to a workshop at the University of Exeter about how Ancient Philosophical Ethics could contribute to Modern Business a few weeks back.

I spent a fascinating couple of hours learning about Stoicism; the 2000 year old philosophy as way of life which encouraged resilience, flourishing in relationships and contributing to the common good. Continue reading “International Stoic Week: 25th Nov – 1st Dec”

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Redefining Success – Coaching for Responsible Leadership

26 Oct 2004 --- Golden Nest Egg --- Image by © Royalty-Free/CorbisIn the wake of the financial crisis the media spotlight has been increasingly on unethical behaviour in organisations. We’ve seen trust in leaders unravel and a crisis of confidence in institutions of all shapes and sizes. Society is calling for more responsible leadership and demanding that companies and individuals act with integrity.
Continue reading “Redefining Success – Coaching for Responsible Leadership”