SUPERvision - A Coach Development

Leadership admiration has been a constant in my career since its inception decades ago. Each concluded chapter has brought new insights, offering profound joy and guiding my current roles and functions. Although coaching is not new to me, I have continuously discovered new nuances within it. Now, I am fortunate to explore the realm of coaching supervision. A couple of years ago, seeing many fellow coaches proudly display their supervision badges sparked my interest even further.

I am excited to share some fundamental insights into coaching supervision as I embark on this journey. It's been an eye-opener to understand its importance, beyond just having a coach or mentor. Throughout my 17-year coaching and mentoring journey, I've relied on coaches and mentors for support. However, coaching supervision has now brought greater clarity and depth to the domain, enhancing my understanding beyond past experiences.

What is Coaching Supervision?

Let me start with an example,

Imagine a coach named Janice who works with corporate clients to improve their leadership skills. Janice regularly meets with her supervisor, Greg, an experienced coach. During their supervision sessions, Janice discusses a recent challenge where she felt stuck with a client who was resistant to change. Greg helps Janice reflect on her approach, explore alternative strategies, and address any personal biases or blind spots that might be affecting her coaching. Through this process, Janice gains new insights, improves her techniques, and feels more confident in handling similar situations in the future.

So, Supervision in coaching is a process of professional support, which ensures continuing development and quality of work for coaches. It involves a coach (the supervisee) working with a more experienced coach (the supervisor) to reflect on their practice, discuss challenges, explore ethical dilemmas, and develop their skills. The aim is to enhance the supervisee's effectiveness, support their professional growth, and ensure the quality and integrity of their coaching practice.

This process of professional support is critically Important to ensure that the quality of coaching conversations is continually reflected upon and improved. Most importantly, it ensures that coachees/clients receive the best transformative outcomes through their interactions with the coach (supervisee). While all coaches recognize the need for self-awareness, the fast pace of professional progression can cause this focus to become diluted. With clarity and a deeper understanding of the WHY, coaching supervision becomes a more robust tool for professional development, reinforcing the importance of reflection and continuous improvement in coaching practices. Some areas to callout,

1. Professional Development: It provides coaches with ongoing learning opportunities to improve their skills and knowledge.
2. Quality Assurance: Supervision ensures that coaches maintain high standards of practice and adhere to ethical guidelines.
3. Support and Resilience: It offers emotional support to coaches, helping them manage the stresses and challenges of their work.
4. Reflective Practice: Supervision encourages coaches to reflect on their practice, gain insights, and continuously improve.
5. Accountability: It helps coaches stay accountable for their professional growth and the outcomes they achieve with clients.

"Coaching supervision is not a luxury; it's an essential component of effective and ethical practice that ensures the coach's growth and the client's benefit." - Julie Starr, Author and Leadership Coach

Now, how do we differentiate Supervision with Coaching and Mentor Coaching. To me it felt overlapping across, which though may be true, but minimally. The common denominator, it is just about Coaching Practice, isn't it!

Coaching, is a process where a coach helps a client achieve specific personal or professional goals. It is client-centered and goal-oriented. The coach facilitates the client's learning and development by listening intently, asking powerful questions, providing feedback, and offering support. The primary outcome is the client's achievement of their goals and improvement in performance.

Mentor coaching, involves a more experienced coach (the mentor) guiding a less experienced coach (the mentee) in developing their coaching skills and competencies. The mentor provides feedback on the mentee's coaching sessions, helps them refine their techniques, and supports their credentialing process. The main outcome is the improvement of the mentee's coaching skills and competencies, often in preparation for certification.

Coaching supervision, is a reflective practice where a supervisor supports a coach in exploring their coaching practice, dealing with challenges, and ensuring ethical standards. The supervisor helps the coach reflect on their experiences, explore their emotional responses, and develop professionally. The outcome is the coach's professional growth, enhanced self-awareness, and improved quality of coaching.

I would like end with a quote from Peter Hawkins,

Supervision is the cornerstone of professional coaching, fostering continuous learning, self-awareness, and accountability in coaches - Peter Hawkins, Leadership Coach and Author.

In summary, coaching supervision is a vital component for professional growth, ensuring coaches reflect on and improve their practices for the benefit of their clients. It provides essential support, fosters self-awareness, and upholds ethical standards. Differentiating from coaching and mentor coaching, supervision focuses on reflective practice and professional development rather than direct skill-building or client goal achievement. By embracing supervision, coaches can maintain high-quality coaching conversations and deliver transformative outcomes for their clients, solidifying their role as effective and ethical practitioners.