Coaching with Conscience: Leading for Social Good

Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home, so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. - Eleanor Roosevelt, 1958 address

As a coach working with leaders across sectors, and as an active coach with the Humanitarian Coaching Network (HCN), I see how ethical conviction is tested in the real world. At HCN, we support humanitarian staff in complex and fragile settings. These are people on the frontline battling daily for others’ comfort, dignity and survival. These are not abstract ideals. They are urgent, lived realities.

When human rights are under siege, leadership cannot be neutral. This is a decisive time, as forces of isolation, nationalism, authoritarianism and rigid ideologies seek to narrow the space for dignity, equity and empathy. Leaders and coaches must respond with conscience, courage and clarity.

The Human Rights Foundation in Leadership

Human Rights Day on 10 December commemorates the 1948 adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). It affirms the inherent dignity and equal rights of all people.

While human rights can feel elevated or distant, their principles translate directly into how people are seen, heard, included and protected at work. For leaders, that means embedding respect, equity, psychological safety and fairness not as extras, but as everyday norms.

Human rights start with human leadership.

Leadership built on these foundations resists the pull of the purely transactional. It becomes a practice of upholding human worth, even when that’s difficult.

---

Coaching for Humanity - The HCN

The HCN was established in 2012 to make coaching accessible to humanitarian and development staff, especially those working in under-resourced or high-pressure locations.

As a coach with HCN, I have supported professionals working in conflict zones, refugee response operations and disaster areas. Coaching in these contexts is not just developmental. It is a way to restore agency, hold space for trauma and uphold dignity under pressure.

This work shows how fragile and contested dignity can be. In many parts of the world, rights are still marginalised. The norms that support fairness and justice are being eroded.

---

When Human Rights Are Pushed Aside

We are seeing a disturbing shift. In many places, the value of human life — its dignity, its right to expression, its claim to protection — is being questioned. Nationalist, ideological and religious agendas are being used to justify the withdrawal of rights and freedoms.

In this environment:

• Silence becomes complicity.

• Ethical courage becomes essential.

• Values must be more than branding.

Coaching with conscience means recognising that leadership decisions are never neutral. They either advance or erode dignity.

Ethics, DEI and Values

In many organisations, ethics and DEI are siloed. Ethics is reduced to compliance. DEI becomes a tick-box exercise. But values-based leadership demands we see the connection. Equity, inclusion and justice are not optional. They are moral imperatives.

A values-based leader doesn’t treat DEI as an initiative. They embed it into decision-making, power structures and accountability. They lead with awareness, humility and commitment to change.

Tensions and Difficult Choices

Upholding values is not always easy. Ethical leadership often brings tension, such as:

• Balancing fairness and speed

• Navigating backlash when disrupting the status quo

• Avoiding token gestures that don’t drive structural change

• Managing emotional fatigue or moral exhaustion

Effective leaders are not those who avoid these tensions. They are the ones who recognise and work through them, guided by principle.

Practical Levers for Coaching with Conscience

Here are practical strategies to develop values-based leadership:

1	Conduct a Values Audit Reflect on the values you currently live by, those you aspire to and those that conflict.
2	Create Listening Loops Seek out perspectives you don’t usually hear, especially from marginalised voices.
3	Use a Values Filter for Decision-Making Ask: Does this decision uphold human dignity? Who might be excluded or harmed?
4	Foster Safe and Accountable Cultures Make space for people to express discomfort, raise concerns and repair harm.
5	Think Systemically  Look at how systems, policies or habits reinforce exclusion or injustice.
6	Take Care of Yourself and Others  Build resilience, stay grounded and seek support when values are tested.

Reflection Prompts

• When have you faced a conflict between your values and your work?

• What systems in your organisation might unintentionally harm or exclude?

• Who is missing from decision-making conversations, and why?

• What does moral courage mean in your role?

Real Life: A Coaching Example

A senior leader I worked with uncovered, through coaching and deep listening, that their department’s performance indicators unintentionally disadvantaged staff with caregiving responsibilities, many of whom were women. They revised the indicators, introduced support structures and built in equity reviews. It was not an easy process, but it restored trust and improved team cohesion. It also aligned their leadership with the values they deeply held.

Closing Thoughts

This is not a time for passive leadership. It is a time to speak up for fairness, to act on behalf of dignity and to coach with conscience.

As a coach and a mentor, I believe we must support leaders not just to succeed but to lead ethically. To ask, regularly:

• Who is being seen, heard and included?

• Where am I compromising my values?

• How can I lead in service of something greater than myself?

If this resonates, I invite you to reflect more deeply or connect. Let's keep coaching, and leading, for social good.