Confidentiality in Coaching Groups Within Organizations

When coaching a group within an organization, confidentiality presents unique ethical challenges compared to coaching a group outside of an organization or coaching in a 1:1 setting. In an organizational setting, participants might be colleagues, which can lead to conflicts between group dynamics and individual privacy. Participants might feel hesitant to share openly due to fears of judgment or repercussions within their professional environment.
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In order to mitigate those fears, internal coaches or those setting up groups within organization need to contract powerfully. We encourage you to carefully design the contracting process with the organization / sponsor within your organization.
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This includes engaging in discussions about expectations, the goals of the group coaching program, and any reporting requirements. The outcome of those discussions should be a contract that include clauses to:
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• Protect participants’ confidentiality: Clearly outline what will be shared with all stakeholders, such as managers or HR, and what will remain strictly confidential within the group.
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• Set clear expectations around data sharing: Explain how often and how data will be shared (e.g. Will feedback data be aggregated and shared anonymously?)
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• Specify how information gathered during coaching sessions will be used / if it will be used at all.
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• Refer to your company’s privacy policy if one is in place.
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It’s also key to ensure that the participants understand that they have a responsibility to hold everything that is shared in the group setting confidential. We encourage you to ask all participants to sign a contract highlighting this and to reinforce the above through co-creating an agreement around confidentiality with your group.
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Balancing organizational interests with the ethical responsibility to protect individual privacy is not always an easy task! Proper contracting and clear communication are vital to navigating these complexities and ensuring the coaching engagement is beneficial for all parties involved.

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