Coach Supervision
“Supervision is the forum where supervisees are supported and facilitated in sitting at the feet of their own experience and allowing that experience to become their teacher”
L Zachary
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What is coach supervision?
Coach supervision is not dissimilar to making good wine.
When we do our coach training, we are really planting the seeds of our coaching career. Over time we add various courses and read several books to grow our coaching skills. We might even harvest this growth by becoming accredited. But where does the real maturity happen? It seems to me that, like a good red wine matures over years in oak barrels, coaches similarly mature over time through supervision where they are able to be stretch themselves to a level of coaching they may not previously have considered possible.
Coaching is a lonely profession in that we are often sole practitioners and may not always know just how well we are coaching. This maturity builds as we learn and develop:
- self-reflection at deeper levels;
- ways to better resource ourselves;
- how to become effective, ethical and safe practitioners;
- how to consistently act in the best interests of our clients
to mention a few
Accordingly, supervision is:
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A joint and equal relationship with responsibility on both sides
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An ongoing practice occurring at regular intervals
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A process of reflection potentially before, during and after a session
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An opportunity to explore what prompted you to do what you did
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A place to celebrate and learn from success
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An opportunity tailored to your needs
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In group settings, a way of building a professional community
What benefits are there for you?
Coach Supervision benefits you and your clients, through the greater integration of your awareness, knowledge, and practice skills.
Some primary developmental benefits include:
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Increasing confidence
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Enabling coach maturity
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Honing reflective practice
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Learning coaching techniques
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Gradually developing your emergent inner supervisor
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Sharing resources among peer groups
The focus is therefore on you:
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the person as coach
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the coach as person and
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the coach as ethical practitioner
What are your options?
Like many wine estates offer both red and white wines, I offer both group and individual supervision:
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Individual coach supervision: You and I meet regularly for an hour to explore a topic that has arisen for you in your practice.
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Group coach supervision: Twice a year I set up small groups of 5 or 6 coaches who meet at the same time and day each month (eg the first Wednesday of the month) to discuss topics brought by members from their practices. In addition to learning from having one’s own topics discussed, much of the learning also takes place in one’s participation in the discussions of the topics of other members.
In both instances you can expect the level of topic, the level of discussion and, therefore, the level of learning, to increase and mature over time.
What types of topic are discussed?
You are invited to bring topics from your practice for discussion to each session. I have found that topics are often difficult to identify when one looks back at one's sessions generally so, if you are having this challenge, try reflecting on your last session - what challenges, dilemmas or uncertainties arose for you in the moment? Or when you reflected back after the session? After all, whilst some of our coaching sessions are better than others, there is no such thing as “the perfect session”. These are just some examples of the potential focus areas:
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Challenging client cases
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Ethical dilemmas
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Personal development as a coach
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Improving coaching skills
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Managing boundaries
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Self-care
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Want a taste of this wine?
So, if you would like to taste my particular supervision cultivars, I invite you to join me for a free no-obligation individual supervision session where we will discuss something you are experiencing in practice and how group or individual supervision might help you mature your coaching.