Stacy Danley: Coaching Ethical Principles and Responsibilities
Ethics is a critical component of any profession, and coaching is no exception. Coaches are held to a high standard when it comes to ethical conduct due to the critical role they play in shaping young minds. There are four ethical principles that coaches must adhere to. These principles essentially guide coaches in ensuring that they maintain the highest level of professionalism when interacting with their athletes. Stacy Danley discusses these principles in detail, highlighting the importance of each and how they contribute to building a successful coaching practice.
1. Competence
Humans have an innate ability to tell right from wrong. It means they can choose to act ethically or unethically through free will. According to Stacy Danley, ethical competence is the pursuit of information and action, distinguishing between acceptable and unacceptable actions.
Coaches must follow strict ethical competence in their practice. Since the coach supports the whole team, it may interrupt their ability to work if they find one person out of sync and coach them.
The human drive toward knowledge and action that distinguishes right and wrong actions is the touchstone of ethics. It can be found at the heart of ethical competence. An ethically competent individual can tell right from wrong and act accordingly.
The coach must be transparent and consistent about the services they provide. Coaching is a type of advanced development to achieve advanced results. The coach makes sure that responsibilities are clearly defined.
2. Integrity
Stacy Danley explains that integrity in coaching means coaches truthfully represent themselves. It helps coaches recognize their competencies and weaknesses.
Coaches are almost always conscious of their own beliefs, values, and desires, as well as their limits and their impact on their job. They strive to explain the positions they play for relevant parties and behave in compliance with those roles as much as possible.
Coaches must be trustworthy, genuine, and honorable in their interactions with others. Coaches with high self-awareness and objectivity can focus on how their experiences affect their relationships with others and are best positioned to act on their beliefs.
Coaches should always follow ethical principles that reflect well on the individual coach and the profession. Stacy Danley notes that coaches have a responsibility to obey and promote the interests of people who are disadvantaged, dependent, or unable to defend their rights.
Coaches should communicate with others in such a way that they maintain their clients’ reputations. They should also cultivate mutual support among fellow coaches, clients, and officials.
4. Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity
Coaches should always treat clients with dignity and respect. They should consider cultural nuances, their cultural context and prejudices, and the client’s right to privacy, confidentiality, and autonomy.
Stacy Danley explains that the simple presumption that each individual has value and deserves respect is at the heart of this concept.
Coaches have to behave with respect for their participants. They should not judge participants’ worth based on their place of birth, athletic ability, gender, ethnicity, color, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, marital status, age, faith, political views, or other factors. They should also be accountable for upholding and promoting all individuals’ interests.
Stacy Danley is the President and CEO of SLD Sports Management Group, a premiere management consulting, sports, and special event marketing and management company specializing in providing quality event management corporate consulting, strategic planning, fund-raising, new business development, sales, and corporate marketing. He graduated from Auburn University, earning his Bachelor of Science in Adult Education and Master of Education in Administration of Higher Education. Follow this page for related posts.