We’ve all been on the receiving end of unkept promises, manipulative practices, power plays from leaders, false urgency, bypassing, and otherwise “icky” behavior in the coaching & transformation industries.
And so we make a promise to ourselves to be…
Not. That.
We know ourselves to be people of integrity. To be driven by this value. To not take advantage of others.
And thank goodness for that. The industry needs more practitioners who refuse to use these icky practices in marketing and in client sessions.
But, sometimes, working so hard to not be the thing we stand against…Means we inadvertently keep ourselves small. Or quiet.
We may really want to be visible but end up not putting ourselves out there at all (or just barely).
We may stop ourselves short from offering our work in big ways. We may find it difficult to raise our rates. We may end up holding back from working with clients or not allowing ourselves to go as deep in sessions out of fear that we might do harm.
It’s as if, in our quest to make sure we aren’t out of integrity, we in essence, hide ourselves, hold ourselves back, and keep ourselves from doing the full measure of work we want to be doing in the world…just to ensure we’re never like “them” (i.e. icky, manipulative leaders).
(If this is you, please know you are in very good company! It is very normal and speaks deeply to your beautiful heart and beautiful values).
Over the course of two decades of being an entrepreneur – and being one who values ethics above practically everything else – here’s what I’ve learned:
There is a way to grow a thriving business, to be fully visible, and to do deep work with clients, AND be ethical at the same time.
And not only that, but I’ve also learned that having ethical practices at the heart of my marketing and my client work IS part of the special sauce that has allowed my business to grow. (YAY! Right?)
So all that being said, how do we do this? How do we show up fully for our business and work AND be ethical at the same time?
Well, it takes time, and it takes three different sets of skills:
1. Ethical Coaching & Transformational Skills
Ethical Transformational Skills are at the heart of my own practice, and those skills are what actually allow me to be able to go so deep with my clients, to be able to create client & group containers where is so much beautiful vulnerability and sharing and willingness to do the hard work. It’s what allows for the transformation to take place and the results to happen.
Some of these Ethical Coaching Skills include:
- How to Not Bypass Clients
- Being Trauma Informed
- Checking Filters & Biases
- Speaking Hard Truths
- Activating Client Agency
- Staying in Your Scope
- Setting Aligned Agendas
- Create a Container with Shared Power
- …and so many more
I spend ten months in the Sacred Depths Transformational Practitioner Certification to teach these ethical transformation skills and others (and yes, they are 110% related to being able to go deep with clients, and to being more effective at transformation and co-creating results!).
2. Ethical Marketing Practices
The transformational industry doesn’t have enough models of ethical, non-icky, in-integrity marketing, and so we need to learn those ethical marketing skills. Because the more tools of marketing with integrity that we have….the more willing we’re going to be to actually market!
Some of these Ethical Marketing Practices Include:
- Don’t Shame Market
- Don’t Make False Promises
- Stop Creating False Urgency
- Avoid Fear-Based Marketing
- Create an Equal Playing Field
- Honor Nervous Systems
- …and so many more
One of the Content Pillars of Sacred Depths is Ethical Marketing Mastery, and this topic is a game changer for anyone who has been holding themselves back from marketing because you are worried about being too pushy or manipulative.
3. Commit to your Own Inner Shadow Journey
For some folks who have really decided that they will never be slimy, icky, or out of integrity, what can kind of happen is that in the extreme fear of being manipulative or harmful or taking power “over”, you inadvertently end up putting into Shadow that powerful part of yourself that has the ability to make their work visible. And when you put your Power in Shadow, you don’t have full access to it.
So, along with honing your ethical marketing & coaching skills, it’s usually important to also do the work of making friends with your Shadow of power, of bringing it out of the crags where you might judge it or hate on it or be scared of it, and into the light.
I don’t want you to be scared of your Power, scared that it might hurt others. I want instead for you to trust your Power, for you to know that with awareness and ethical skills, your Power can always be used for good, for the benefit of the world, for the benefit of your clients, AND for your benefit all at once.
THIS is what will allow you to be willing to be visible in your marketing and to go deeper in your client work.
Here’s to placing ethics at the center of our businesses AND being able to thrive and grow in beautiful ways!
client work.
Here’s to placing ethics at the center of our businesses AND being able to thrive and grow in beautiful ways!
