What is Coaching SuperVision?

According to the ICF “Coaching Supervision is a collaborative learning practice to continually build the capacity of the coach through reflective dialogue for the benefit of both coaches and clients. Coaching Supervision focuses on the development of the coach’s capacity through offering a richer and broader opportunity for support and development. Coaching Supervision creates a safe environment for the coach to share their successes and failures in becoming masterful in the way they work with their clients.”

Personally, I am committed to the ICF professional standards of coaching and truly believe that accreditation and coaching credentials are a guarantee of coaching excellence. This is one of the reasons that most of our Neurolanguage Coaching training carries the CCE continuous coaching education accreditation from the ICF and also the reason that I continue on my own path of learning and developing now as an ICF Mentor and also as soon to be certified Coach Supervisor ??

So what really is Coach Supervision? We could say that it is a professional development process designed to support and enhance the practice of coaches. It involves a qualified supervisor working with a coach to reflect on their coaching practice, explore challenges, and develop strategies for improvement. The supervisor provides a safe and confidential space for the coach to discuss their client cases, explore any personal or professional dilemmas they may be facing, and receive constructive feedback and guidance. The goals of coach supervision include:

·???????? Enhancing coaching skills and competencies.

·???????? Reflecting on the coach's own biases, blind spots, and limitations.

·???????? Supporting ethical and professional conduct in coaching.

·???????? Providing emotional support and encouragement.

·???????? Assisting in managing difficult client situations.

·???????? Fostering continuous learning and development.

Supervision is often considered an essential component of professional coaching practice, ensuring that coaches maintain high standards of professionalism, ethics, and effectiveness in their work.

But then how is it different from Coach mentoring? Well they both serve different purposes within the realm of coaching, although they can complement each other in supporting a coach's development. Here's how they differ:

Purpose:

Coach Supervision: The primary purpose of coach supervision is to provide a reflective space for coaches to explore their coaching practice, receive feedback, and address any challenges or dilemmas they encounter. It focuses on enhancing the coach's skills, self-awareness, and professional development. In addition, a Coach Supervisor may be directive, tell what to do, give advice etc, so a totally different style of communication may be used.

Coach Mentoring: Coach mentoring, on the other hand, involves a more experienced coach (the mentor) providing guidance, advice, and support to a less experienced coach (the mentee). Mentoring often involves sharing insights, knowledge, and experiences to help the mentee develop their coaching skills and navigate their coaching career.

Focus:?

Coach Supervision: Supervision sessions typically focus on the coach's interactions with clients, exploring specific coaching cases, challenges, and personal dynamics within the coaching relationship. It covers all things which are not competency based.

Coach Mentoring: Mentoring may encompass a broader range of topics, including business development, marketing strategies, niche specialization, and career planning, in addition to coaching skills and client work. The focus on coaching skills is heavily based on ICF core compentencies, BARS or markers. It can also focus on recorded sessions and how to "improve performance".

Structure:

Coach Supervision: Supervision sessions are usually structured around the coach's current client cases and challenges. The supervisor facilitates reflective conversations, provides feedback, and offers guidance to support the coach's ongoing development.

Coach Mentoring: Mentoring relationships may be more informal and flexible in structure, often involving one-on-one discussions, shadowing sessions, or periodic check-ins between the mentor and mentee.

Experience Level:

Coach Supervision: Supervision is beneficial for coaches at all experience levels, including experienced professionals, as it offers an opportunity for ongoing reflection and growth.

Coach Mentoring: Mentoring typically involves a more experienced coach guiding a less experienced coach, although mentoring relationships can also occur between peers or within professional coaching organizations.

In summary, both coach supervision and coach mentoring aim to support coaches in their professional development, but in essence they are different. And I am committed to develop myself in both areas to assist not only my Neurolanguage Coaches and Neuroheart Educational Coaches across the world to hone and tone their professional coaching skills and training, but also to assist these and others to become ICF credentialed coaches on their life development paths, if their desire is to add that additional string to their bow. Quite a few of our Neurolanguage Coaches have gone on to become ICF ACC and PCC coaches and develop their Life Coaching Careers.