TSP(SM)Coaching Development Teams

26Coaching Ethics

Ethics is an enormous subject, and we as professionals have an obligation to follow the codes of ethics established by our professions. The IEEE, for example, has a code of ethics that defines the basics of ethical engineering behavior (IEEE 1990). While ethical behavior might seem simple in principle, we rarely face black-and-white choices; when dealing with people, most situations are too complex for simplistic answers. The source of many ethical problems, however, is self-interest: People can become so preoccupied with their personal needs and interests that they literally cannot visualize how some action would impact others. A helpful guideline in such cases is to completely eliminate your self-interest from the decision ...