The 3 main benefits of coaching supervision
Kirsten Dierolf, ICF MCC, ICF ACTC, EMCC MP, ESIA, ITCA MP
Your one stop online shop to coach certification!
How much do I love coaching supervision – let me count the ways! As an educator of coaching supervisor and a coaching supervisor myself, I am, of course, biased, but I wanted to share with you why I think that taking regular coaching supervision is a really good idea for any coach (and facilitator, trainer, mediator…).
Coaching supervision has 3 main functions: normative, formative and restorative. The normative function comes into play when you are discussing ethical or deontological issues with your supervisor. The formative function is about “formation” in the sense of coach education – when the supervisor helps you to learn something about coaching (be it in the form of “teaching” or in the form of coaching). The restorative function is needed when your professional practice weighs on you in some way and you want to “restore”. All of these functions are beneficial to coaches, but they are not the only benefits coaching supervision can have. Here are some more:
One is the loneliest number
Coaches often work alone and cannot share their experiences with others due to confidentiality. Therefore, coaching often feels lonely. Supervision is a great place to be able to share and talk through your experiences in coaching.
Customized learning and reflection
A coaching supervisor is an expert in accompanying and facilitating learning and development in a customized way. Many coaches are still running after the next shiny model and tool and spend a lot of time and money for further education that may or may not add a lot to their development as a coach. A supervisor will encourage the supervision clients to reflect on their practice and identify the next steps in their learning. Supervisors are specialists in reflection AND in the subject matter of coaching. So, the clients cannot only identify what they would like to learn but also tap into the knowledge of the supervisor to then learn it. If you don’t run after the next shiny thing, going to a supervisor once a month or once a quarter is probably even cheaper!
Safeguarding your clients
We all have “blind spots”. We all live in our own little bubbles, and we all are prone to “group think”. However, what may seem ok for our tribe, may actually not be entirely ethical if examined from a different vantage point. Your coaching supervisor will help you notice when you are engaging in coaching practices that may be ethically questionable and will help you reflect on your actions and potentially develop new ones. By regularly reflecting with a supervisor, you are safeguarding your clients from the things that you don’t see.
Our free meetups and exchanges are no replacement for coaching supervision – but if you want to chat with like-minded people, learn about our classes, feel less lonely as a coach, why don’t you join? https://app.solutionsacademy.com/free?_gl=1*iwkv35*_gcl_au*MTMxMTg1NTM0NC4xNzI1NjIzNTQx
Focusing on how to create a thought-map for decision making // Healthy and Functional Ageing Coach and Speaker // Writer for Institute for Futures Research Stellenbosch Business School // Meet me in Nature!
3 周Kirsten Dierolf, ICF MCC, ICF ACTC, EMCC MP, ESIA, ITCA MP, thank you for the concise summary of the value of supervision. How can we grow (and I want to stick my neck out here) in any profession without a trusted supervisor who will challenge and care for the person and the work they do?
Good review of the three main functions and benefits of coaching supervision! Soon, I believe ICF will be releasing it framework of supervision competencies. Good to see the growing acknowledgment of the value of dialogical reflective learning at the heart of supervision. Complementary to coach mentoring but very different in its focus on the self as coach and exploration of ethical dilemmas.