How can you incorporate restorative justice principles in coaching diverse clients?

1 What is coaching for diversity and inclusion?

Coaching for diversity and inclusion is a specialized form of coaching that aims to support clients from diverse backgrounds, identities, and experiences in achieving their personal and professional goals. It also helps clients to develop their intercultural competence, awareness, and sensitivity, and to overcome the barriers and challenges they may face in a diverse society. Coaching for diversity and inclusion requires a coach to be culturally responsive, empathetic, and respectful of the client's values, beliefs, and perspectives.

2 Why use restorative justice principles in coaching?

As a coach, restorative justice principles can help you create a safe, supportive, and collaborative space for your diverse clients. Through building rapport and trust with those who have been marginalized or harmed by systemic or interpersonal injustice, validating and acknowledging their feelings, needs, and experiences, and empowering them to take ownership of their actions and decisions, you can facilitate healing and growth. Additionally, restorative justice principles can promote social justice and equity by raising your clients' awareness of the root causes and impacts of injustice and supporting them to take action for positive change.

3 How to use restorative justice principles in coaching?

In coaching, restorative justice principles can be applied in a variety of ways depending on the context, goals, and needs of your clients. Through open-ended, reflective, and probing questions, you can help them explore the impact of the harm they have experienced or caused. Active and attentive listening with paraphrasing, summarizing, and mirroring will demonstrate understanding and empathy. Affirmations, acknowledgments, and appreciations help to validate their experiences and emotions while feedback, observations, and challenges can help them identify areas of improvement. Furthermore, goal-setting, action-planning, and accountability can help define desired outcomes and create realistic steps for progress. Finally, circle processes, role plays, or mediation techniques can be used to engage in dialogue with those affected by the harm and to agree on how to repair it.