Book Chapter

Ethical issues in note taking and record keeping in coaching

Abstract

While note taking and record keeping are widely established coaching practices, academic and practitioner literature on them is conspicuously absent. In this chapter, borrowing from the literature on psychology, counselling and psychotherapy, the issue of ethics in note taking and record keeping is addressed by discussing some of the most practical ethical considerations for any coach engaging in these practices. These ethical considerations include confidentiality, informed consent, ownership, timing, storage and disposal, and are very much situated in the sphere of process. Expanding reflections beyond the sphere of process, coaches are encouraged to reflect on the relational value of ethical note taking and record keeping, namely, how the value and purpose of these practices enriches and enhances the coaching relationship. The main argument is that conscious reflection on the purpose and value of note taking and record keeping – aside from the practicalities of these practices – can help enhance the development of a respectful and trusting coaching relationship.

Attached files

Authors

Iordanou, Christina
Hawley, Rachel
Iordanou, Ioanna

Oxford Brookes departments

Department of Business and Management

Dates

Year of publication: 2023
Date of RADAR deposit: 2023-02-16

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

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Related resources

This RADAR resource is the Accepted Manuscript of Ethical issues in note taking and record keeping in coaching
This RADAR resource is Part of The Ethical Coaches’ Handbook: A Guide to Developing Ethical Maturity in Practice [ISBN: 9781032230603] / edited by Wendy Ann Smith, Jonathan Passmore, Eve Turner, Yi-Ling Lai, David Clutterbuck (Routledge, 2023).