Coaching Ethics: How Do They Impact The World We Leave Behind?

Oct 17, 2025

Coaching often focuses on the here and now in relation to a client’s inquiry, challenges or aspirations and beneath every coaching inquiry conversation lies a deeper question or impact, which can sometimes feel uncomfortable: what is the ethical ground we stand on? And how do we hold space for our clients to consider the impact of their choices beyond themselves?

As a professional coach and supervisor, researcher, author, and community builder, Eve Turner shares: “Ethics is the heart of everything we do.” This statement invites coaches to reflect deeply, because while competencies, processes, and frameworks are essential, without an ethical foundation, coaching could be just another way of enhancing performance in a wider ecosystem that may already be strained.

The Challenge for Coaches

Many coaches wrestle silently with the tension between focusing on the client’s stated goal versus holding a wider lens for the client to explore. Some of the common thoughts are:

“Am I stepping outside my role if I ask questions about the systemic impacts?”
“Do I assist my client to achieve what they want, even if I sense there may be wider consequences that are worth exploring?”
“Is it really my responsibility to talk about wider consequences such as justice or sustainability, for example?”

This dilemma can lead to a subtle erosion of confidence. Coaches might avoid addressing deeper questions, fearing they’ll impose their own agenda. And yet, the silence itself may feel uneasy, especially when we know our clients’ choices ripple outward, impacting families, organisations, communities... all things living, as well as future generations.

A Way Forward: Grounding in Ethics

Eve Turner reminds us that ethics isn’t an “add-on” to coaching; it is the very soil from which powerful coaching grows. She explains: "For me, there’s always been a question: what is mine to do? And I think that question is different for everybody.”

This perspective indicates that it’s not about telling clients what to think, or about coaches prescribing solutions. Instead, it’s about holding the space where ethical reflection becomes possible for our clients to identify their own answers in relation to the wider implications of their choices.

As Eve purports, ethics includes values, fairness, and justice. It asks us, as coaches, to listen without judgment and to invite curiosity about the impact of their decisions, not just on the self, but also on others and on the systems we are a part of.

The Power of the Legacy Question

One of the simplest, yet most profound practices to incorporate ethical considerations according to Eve - and we at Empower World wholeheartedly agree - is by incorporating reflective, systemic questions at the contracting stage and beyond.

Eve says, “One of the things we might consider is what’s the world you want to leave behind? .... It might be thinking about future generations, because I think if we ignore future generations, and I think sometimes business decisions do, they may look to the next 10 to 20 years for strategy, but what about for our collective grandchildren and great-grandchildren?”

This type of questioning is not about steering the client toward a particular 'cause', but rather, it reconnects them to their own values, purpose, and a sense of responsibility that may otherwise be drowned out by social, economic, and business immediate pressures. This line of questioning allows clients to define, in their own terms, what matters most and align their decisions accordingly.

The Hidden Opportunity

Coaches often fear that addressing systemic or ethical questions will derail the client’s agenda. In reality, at Empower World, we believe it can deepen it by opening a space to explore larger systemic considerations, such as legacy, justice, equality, equity and impact. This can support clients to tap into deeper meaning for themselves and a purpose that transcends short-term goals. It can potentially identify much more sustainable and ecological ways forward.

Eve captures this notion by saying: “I tend to see it (coaching) in a systemic way - the work that’s needed, rather than what you want or what I want, but what actually we are being called to do.”

This reframe turns coaching into something larger than problem-solving. It becomes an inquiry into purpose, a sense of being, responsibility, and contribution.

What Does Exploration of Legacy Mean for Coaches?

So, what does it look like to bring ethics into your coaching without imposing? Here are three practices inspired by Eve’s work:

Anchor in Presence: Ethics begins not with a question, but with who we are being. Clients feel our authenticity when we show up grounded in our values.
Contract for Curiosity: At the start of an engagement, invite clients to consider systemic questions alongside personal ones. This makes ethics a natural part of the coaching frame.
Ask Expansive Questions: Simple but powerful prompts like “What legacy do you want to leave?” or “What impact might this choice have on those not in the room?” which can unlock deeper insights.

These are not leading questions. They are invitations to widen our client's lens while leaving the choice of focus entirely with the client.

Final Reflection

Coaching is not only about supporting new outcomes. It's about cultivating awareness about who we are and what we truly want to experience in a meaningful and authentic way.

When we bring ethics to the heart of coaching and incorporate a systemic approach to support our clients to experience their world more widely, we support them not only to succeed, but to succeed in ways that are aligned with values that endure.

And perhaps the simplest place to begin is by asking: What kind of ancestor do I want to be, and how can my coaching assist others answer that question for themselves?

Be Empowered

www.empower-world.com

To listen to the Podcast 'The Bigger Question: What World Will We Leave?' With Jeanine Bailey and Podcast guest Eve Turner, click here.

YouTube: ------ https://bit.ly/YT-Podcast-EP-239

Direct Link: ---- https://bit.ly/Podcast-EP-239

Spotify: ------- https://bit.ly/SP-Podcast-EP-239

iTunes: -------- https://bit.ly/IT-Podcast-EP-239

Upcoming Empower World Events and Programmes

The Empower World's world-class ICF Approved Professional Coach Training and Leadership Programme for Level 2 starts on 14 November 2025 in Doha, Qatar. You can find out more here.

Coaching Skills Mentoring Programme with an MCC mentor for ICF credentialing purposes, starting 16 January 2026. Find out more about how you can step into masterful coaching here.

The Reignite Coaching Community supports coaches to rebuild confidence, reconnect with their purpose, and return to coaching with clarity and momentum. Through practical resources, peer coaching, expert-led sessions, and a vibrant community, you gain the experience and growth, together with encouragement and feedback to enhance your skills, pursue credentials, and create a thriving, sustainable practice - no matter where you are on your coaching journey, from beginner to highly experienced. Find out more here.

You can also follow us on:

Website: https://www.empower-world.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empowerpeopletraining

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/empower_world/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@empower-world1695

You can listen to The Empower World Coaching and Leadership Podcast on the following platforms.

YouTube: https://bit.ly/yt-ew-podcast

Spotify: https://bit.ly/ew-podcast-spotify

iTunes: http://bit.ly/EW-Podcast-iTune