Mento Coach Code of Conduct

Grounded in the ICF Code of Ethics and The Mento Way

Purpose: This Code of Conduct exists to provide clarity, outline Mento’s professional standards, and support you during your tenure as a Mento Coach.

Mento’s Code of Conduct aligns with and upholds the International Coaching Federation (ICF) Code of Ethics, while incorporating additional Mento-specific standards that reflect the responsibility entrusted to us by our members and partner organizations.

These guidelines are not about restriction, they are about protection. These standards protect our coaches, our members, our partner organizations, and the integrity of your coaching work. Our goal is to ensure you as a Mento Coach never unintentionally step into a situation that could compromise your neutrality, credibility, or professional standing.

This document should be read alongside the Mento Coaching Standards & Ethics Toolkit, which provides coaches with added support and real world scenarios.

By serving as a Mento Coach, you agree to uphold the following principles:

1. Integrity & Professionalism

• Act with honesty, transparency, and professionalism at all times.
• Represent your credentials, experience, and scope of practice truthfully.
• Maintain clear agreements with members and partner organizations.
• Seek guidance when something feels unclear or ethically complex.

If you are unsure, we want you to ask. We are here to support you.

2. Protecting the Coaching Container

Coaching at Mento is built on trust and role clarity.

Coaches agree to:

• Maintain confidentiality within agreed and legal limits.
• Clearly distinguish coaching from mentoring, consulting, or advising.
• Avoid influencing decisions for personal or financial gain.
• Keep adjacent roles separate from the coaching relationship.

Clear boundaries preserve credibility and prevent misunderstandings.

3. Conflict of Interest

Conflict of Interest is defined by the ICF as:

“A situation in which a coach is involved in multiple interests where serving one interest could work against or conflict with another. This could be financial, personal, intrinsic, professional, or a perceived conflict with a client, prospective client, or sponsor.”

If there is a pre-existing relationship with a person or entity, a potential monetary gain or a bias that could impact the ability to work objectively, this is a signal there may be a potential Conflict of Interest.

To protect the integrity of our work and our partners, Mento coaches agree to:

• Before applying to, pursuing employment with, or engaging in business development with any partner company where they coach members, a coach must initiate a conversation with Mento to transition members off of their coaching roster from the associated company in advance of any other actions.
• It is also the expectation that the coach disclose this information to any partner company before pursuing employment or an engagement to ensure ethical disclosure. In your role as coach, you are being trusted with private, confidential, and even privileged information at times. It’s critical to acknowledge this and make clear.
• Refuse and immediately report any potential Conflict of Interest to coachsupport@mento.co.
• Proactively flag dual relationships or pre-existing connections that may impair objectivity.

Coaches also agree to report any conflicts of interest to coachsupport@mento.co. Surfacing potential conflicts before action is taken ensures you never find yourself in a compromised position. The following are sample situations when you may become aware of a potential Conflict of Interest:

• Upon immediate match with a member
• Prior to meeting with a new member for a chemistry call
• Learning about a new Mento Partner
• A member asking you to become a consultant, advisor, board member or any role outside of coach
• A Mento member (either current or former), including after their employment or coaching term ends, asks you directly to continue coaching

4. Insider Information & Personal Gain

Coaches must not:

• Seek or absorb insider or strategic information for personal or professional advantage.
• Use knowledge gained through coaching for investment, recruiting, consulting, or employment leverage.
• “Dig” for information unrelated to the member’s development

Curiosity must always serve the member’s growth, never the coach’s personal interest.

5. Escalation & Safety

Coaches are not expected to manage complex or high-risk situations alone. Concerns must be escalated when:

• A member’s safety is at risk.
• There is potential harm to self or others.
• A boundary issue or conflict of interest emerges.
• Ethical uncertainty compromises neutrality.

Confidentiality does not override safety or ethical responsibility. If something feels uncomfortable or ambiguous, bring it forward. Escalations should be directed to coachsupport@mento.co within 24 hours of awareness.

6. One Platform & Boundary Integrity

To maintain clarity and trust, Mento Coaches agree to:

• Avoid parallel engagements that create boundary confusion.
• Not recruit or provide external services to members or Mento Partners.
• Not use proprietary Mento IP outside coaching at Mento.

One Platform

At Mento, we invest deeply in training, supporting, and developing our coaches. To protect the integrity of this ecosystem, and the trust our members and partners place in us, we ask coaches to choose Mento as their sole coaching platform while actively coaching with Mento.

Coaches may not simultaneously coach on competing enterprise coaching platforms or represent themselves as active coaches across multiple scaled coaching marketplaces.

Coaches may operate their own independent coaching or consulting practice, provided such work does not create competitive conflict or boundary confusion.

Coaches may view the full one-platform policy here.

Boundary Integrity

If a coaching or professional relationship with a member or partner organization begins through Mento, that relationship must remain within Mento. This includes side agreements, informal arrangements, or parallel consulting engagements. Coaches may not move the relationship off-platform or continue services independently outside of Mento without explicit written authorization.

If approached for off-platform work or unsure whether an opportunity creates overlap, escalate before proceeding. Early transparency is key. We are here to help you navigate opportunities without unintentionally creating conflicts.

Employment Conflicts

If a coach develops intent to pursue employment at an organization where they are currently coaching members or where it is known Mento has a partner relationship, this constitutes a conflict of interest and requires immediate disclosure to Mento regardless of whether any formal application has been submitted or interview scheduled. Intent alone is sufficient to trigger disclosure obligations.

Upon disclosure, Mento will work with the coach to reassign the associated members with a new coach. The coach will be responsible for disclosing to the employer that they have coached clients within their organization and through that experience have access to confidential / privileged information.

These guardrails are in place to keep the coaching relationship clean, focused, and protected.

Intellectual Property and Platform Tools

Mento's coaching frameworks, tools, and methodologies are proprietary and are provided to coaches solely to support member coaching sessions. Coaches may not reproduce, distribute, teach, or position Mento tools as curriculum whether inside or outside of coaching sessions, and whether on or off platform. Any request from a member or third party to share, license, or teach Mento IP should be communicated immediately.

Commitment

Ethics at Mento are a shared professional standard.

We are committed to building an environment where you can do your best work with confidence, clarity, and protection. When in doubt, ask. When something feels unclear, reach out immediately. We’re here to be a support system and help you thrive as coach.

This Code outlines our shared standards at a high level. For detailed guidance, practical examples, escalation pathways, and real-world scenarios, please refer to the Mento Coaching Standards & Ethics section within the Coach Toolkit. These resources are designed to help you apply these principles thoughtfully and confidently in complex situations.

By continuing to serve as a Mento Coach, you affirm your commitment to these standards and to the integrity of the ecosystem in which you operate.