CEF2026 Focuses on Ethics in Practice Across Leadership, AI, and Global Systems

The Coaching Ethics Forum (CEF) will convene its 2026 global conference on 27–28 February, bringing together international practitioners, researchers, and leaders to explore how ethics is enacted in real-world professional contexts.

Under the theme Ethics in Practice: Where challenge meets courage, and choices shape change, CEF2026 shifts the conversation from conceptual ethics to lived ethical action across coaching, leadership, governance, and organisational life.

Building on the global momentum of its 2025 conference, CEF2026 places a strong emphasis on application — examining how ethical responsibility is exercised in moments of uncertainty, complexity, and competing demands.

Across two days, the programme addresses a wide range of contemporary ethical challenges. Sessions explore the ethical implications of artificial intelligence in coaching, governance and leadership accountability, group coaching dynamics, mentoring and developmental networks, cybersecurity risks, and the ethical tensions that arise in conditions of global disruption and systemic constraint.

The conference also foregrounds the concept of dynamic ethical practice — the capacity of practitioners to respond in real time with discernment, courage, and contextual awareness. This includes navigating ethical grey areas, managing power and boundaries, and sustaining ethical integrity in increasingly complex professional environments.

Discussion groups throughout the conference invite participants into shared inquiry on topics such as ethical fading, peer coaching dynamics, grief and presence in times of global instability, and the lived experience of holding ethical boundaries under pressure.

CEF2026 also reflects the continued development of a broader ethics ecosystem. Alongside the conference, initiatives including Ethics Forum International, regional Ethics Circles, the Ethics Beyond the Code learning pathways, and the Journal of Coaching Ethics contribute to an integrated infrastructure supporting ethical practice across professions.

Founded as an independent global platform, the Coaching Ethics Forum brings together diverse perspectives to strengthen ethical awareness, dialogue, and practice. The 2026 conference marks a continued evolution of this work, with a clear focus on how ethicality is embodied and enacted in everyday professional life..