EXPLORING EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION IN COACHING
Coaching can allow both coach and client to notice biases and assumptions, address power differentials and unpack beliefs that we hold about ourselves and others. I’d argue that this represents a significant overlap with the world of equality, diversity and inclusion. Below, I explore what lessons these two disciplines might have to offer each other, and reflect on how I think about identity in my coaching practice.
As a coach and consultant, big, related themes underpin everything I do. These are – voice (in various senses of the word – performance, political, physical), power and identity, emotional wellbeing and psychological safety. Or put more simply, “feeling safe to be seen and heard as you truly are”.
Before I became a coach, my background was in the third sector, where there was often a strong drive to speak truth to power and to support people who may have been let down both by systems and by those in positions of significant influence in their lives. Essentially, addressing themes like diversity and inclusion were these organisations’ very reasons for being. Given my career history, it may not come as a surprise that these themes have become a key area of focus in my coaching and consultancy work. And elements of my own identity give me something of a vested interest in working towards spaces and practices that allow people to feel welcome, safe, heard and equal. I identify as queer and neurodivergent – these are by no means the most important aspects of who I am, and yet, the experience of living in a world where ‘people like me’ are not the default informs my values, my decisions and my work.
As a coach, I’ve had the opportunity to examine my own unconscious bias – a job that is never truly finished. I am acutely aware of my tendency to gravitate towards certain people and away from others based on assumptions of who they are and what sort of power they might hold. I’ve had some light-bulb moments at times when I’ve connected with and learned from people I’d dismissed as too different from me to really understand. My own biases tend to make me especially wary of people I perceive to have a great deal of power, privilege and prejudices against marginalised groups. Sometimes, that’s a way for me to keep safe and it’s right for me to do so. And at other times, I may have made inaccurate assumptions about a person based on something superficial. In coaching, where we often have a great deal of control over who we work with and what sort of client we attract, it might be easier to avoid anyone who challenges us too much. But perhaps it’s worth some exploration of who we’d rather not work with and why. I’m not advocating for abandoning our boundaries and ethical frame – the buck has to stop somewhere and the question ‘who will you not work with?’ is an important one for the developing coach. Over the last few years, I’ve become increasingly interested in ‘difficult conversations’ about identity, power and sharing experiences from opposite sides of what seems like an enormous gulf of difference. How might we build bridges while keeping everyone safe? I don’t claim to have found the answers to this question, though I do rely on a specific set of tools for creating enough psychological safety to encourage honesty and vulnerability, and on committing to working on the ‘unconditional positive regard’* that reminds us of our common humanity.
I believe that the world of coaching, with its explicit focus on collaboration and its premise that the answers to challenges are to be found within the client, lends itself well to inclusivity and equity. A careful contracting process at the beginning of creating a trusting relationship involves a lot of checking in and negotiating about how things are to be done – each client’s contract will be slightly different because each client is different. This is an example of what is meant by ‘equity’ – rather than assuming every person will have broadly the same needs, there is an opportunity to ask about the specifics of what different people need, and to adjust accordingly. Some people may require more support or adaptation than others to reach similar goals.
But I wonder whether there may be a potential trap in skimming the surface and finding that this collaborative, equity focused practice informs an assumption that coaching is inherently benign, and that no further exploration is required. To put issues like power differentials and the narratives at play in coaching into context, it may help to start by looking at who is represented within the profession. Representation and diversity within the workforce are not the ‘be-all and end-all’. But if a group is largely similar in terms of cultural references, upbringing, access to resources, experience of discrimination or shared language, there is a good chance that this might limit the reach of our thinking and lead to unexamined assumptions and blind spots. The coaching world has been widely criticised for being overwhelmingly white and middle class, particularly in recent years as global events turn up the heat on issues of representation, justice and power for minority groups. Demographic data on the identities of coaches seem to abound in the world of sports coaching, while demographics in categories such as executive coaching and life coaching are less readily available. But experience and widespread discourse suggests that coaches and their trainers are often white, middle class, fall within a 40s to 60s age bracket and may have a corporate career history. I don’t think I could reasonably speculate on how many coaches identify with particular protected characteristics or minorities, especially the less ‘visible’ ones. However, I can call to mind numerous occasions where I’ve been part of a group of coaches and have singled myself out (rightly or wrongly) as ‘the queer one’, ‘the neurodivergent one’ or even ‘the only non-parent’. This might say as much about me as it does about the actual diversity of the profession – it’s based on a subjective experience in a small corner of the world. Being the ‘[insert characteristic here] coach’ might raise at least an amber, if not a red flag about the risk of tokenism or pigeonholing – it’s easy to fall into a position where someone becomes the go-to person for questions and support around a specific identity or equalities focused issue, and for us to subconsciously expect them to speak for a whole, diverse group of people. The emotional and mental labour that this entails is perhaps a blog post for another day. And, whatever the objective reality of diversity in coaching might be, I believe that it’s worth exploring the unconscious messages that may develop about what a coach is and who can be one, based on what the profession looks like today.
Alongside the caveats and suggestions of areas to explore, I’m still a big believer in the power of a coaching approach and its potential for sustainable change. So, how might using coaching skills and approaches help organisations and groups to become even more diverse, inclusive and actively anti-discriminatory? There are so many aspects of the sort of communication and reflective practice central to coaching that translate beautifully to other areas where people work together. Good coaching involves elements such as negotiation skills, checking in about assumptions and reflecting on our feelings, biases and own psychological processes. It offers a safe-enough space to explore what can often be emotive, challenging and even painful topics. And it can provide an invitation to try removing the professional veneer for a moment – to show up as our whole selves and be met with openness and deep listening. I’ve found that in conducting conversations and moving towards action in the field of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (or whatever title you prefer to give to this area), these qualities and skills are an excellent place to start. This is one of many reasons that I’m a passionate advocate for leaders learning and adopting a coaching approach in their work. And of course, being passionate about something doesn’t mean that we can’t step back and view it with a critical eye. As the profession continues to grow and develop alongside us, I hope that many lessons and insights will be shared between the fields of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and coaching – if indeed, they are different fields at all.
Mo Ford