Coaching Supervision

From Supervision to Super Vision

Would you like to train to be a  Supervisor?

Coaching supervision is very different to the traditional understanding of supervision in industry. In the workplace supervision often involves giving feedback and direction to staff which may be connecting to performance evaluation. While there may be some similarities with the former elements the supervision offered by GWiz Learning & Imaginarium is very different. Coaching supervision enables the coach to be able to step back and get more perspective on their working practice. It can be seen more as encouraging the coach to get “Super Vision” and see more clearly the coaching relationship.

Brigid Proctor (1986) described three elements useful in counselling supervision; normative, formative and restorative. These elements have value in coaching supervision too. Julie Hay (2007) re-labelled restorative as supportive when applied to coaching to reflect the less traumatic nature of the coaching process when compared to counselling.

The normative aspects of supervision relate to ensuring that the coach/mentor is practicing in a competent and ethical way. This includes working in accordance with the law and within whatever professional or organisational boundaries apply.

The formative aspect is aimed at encouraging development and growth in the coach by the use of feedback, direct guidance, challenge or role modelling. The aim is to engage the coach in active self awareness, development of skills and increased knowledge of theoretical models.

Finally the supportive aspect is aimed at providing the coach/ mentor with a safety valve to ensure that they are avoiding unhealthy transference or counter transference issues. This may involve challenging the coach/mentors perceptions about emotions, issues or approaches. It may even include recommending that the coach/ mentor seek more in-depth personal support if their own personal issues have begun to intrude into their professional practice. In addition this aspect provides the encouragement and support to help the coach/ mentor if they experience feelings of self doubt or insecurity.

In-house coaching and mentoring programmes should include a formally set up supervision process. This can involve experiences coaches or mentors within the organisation or may involve using and external provider.

Supervision

The supervision offered by Imaginarium is suitable for executive coaches, life coaches, performance coaches and professional trainers.

One to one supervision is available for coaches who would prefer to receive supervision privately or in combination with group supervision.

Group supervision can be a more powerful format with many benefits. Participants get the opportunity to work one to one with the supervisor while the rest of the group observes. The participants will not only learn from other peoples experiences they will also get to develop additional skills. While observing participants are expected to remain neutral and refrain from comment so as not to unduly influence the supervision process. This allows participants to develop their “poker face”, after all if a coach cannot control reactions of shock or inappropriate humour in supervision they are unlikely to do so in the coaching practice.

After each round of supervision in the group there is a process review. During this process participants can:

• Reflect on how the supervisor/supervisee interacted.
• Consider their own reaction to the process.
• To question the supervisor about the interventions used.

The supervision will ensure that discussion focuses on the process and not the content. This avoids any temptation for participants to offer inappropriate advice or make judgements about other coaches practice.

More experienced coaches and Master Practitioners may benefit from facilitated group supervision. This involves the group working with a coach while the supervisor monitors the process.

What is Coaching Supervision?

Supervision is a key element of good coaching practice providing the Coach with support and development. It also signals a professional approach to your client. Supervision is essentially the process of going “meta” to your coaching and mentoring practice, it helps you to metaphorically take a step back and look at your work from a new perspective.

You will attend this group to:

• Gain essential support and feedback of your work.
• To learn and develop, in a supervision group you will learn from other people’s experiences as well as your own.
• Check that you are managing transference and counter- transference effectively.
• Check your thinking around content, processes, ethics and professional practice.
• Gain mentoring and advice.
• Experience the support, reassurance and encouragement often missing for sole traders working alone.
• If you are a Professional Member of any of the Coaching Professional bodies you will need to be in regular Supervision and this group helps you achieve that criteria.
• Gain CPD credits.

The group also includes an opportunity to develop your skills further by including a Coaching Circle once the Supervision needs of the group have been addressed for the session.

Why attend supervision with Melody Cheal?

Melody has worked as an executive coach, personal development coach and a therapist for over thirty years. This provides her with experience of working with very different client groups

She holds a degree in Psychology and a diploma in Psychotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Master Practitioner in NLP and is a certified Master Trainer of NLP and Neuro Linguistic Psychology. She also has an MSc in Applied Positive Psychology.

In addition to this she was a Director of the Institute of Developmental Transactional Analysis and the co-ordinator for a working group for the European Mentoring and Coaching Council.

She has been running accredited training programmes for professionals for over 25 years including ILM, AC and ANLP accredited courses. Throughout that time she has continued to provide her students with supervision, support and mentoring.