| CPD for
Coaches and Coaching Teams
I am able to control only that which
I am aware of. That which I am unaware of controls me. Awareness
empowers me. Sir John Whitmore.
1. What is Coaching Supervision?
A specialist service
for coaches. A place of absolute acceptance and support, where
you can explore the heart of your coaching practice. It can
be demanding out there! The central focus in Coaching Supervision
is finding out what is really going on within the coach and
the client, and how to clear the interface between them, so
that coaching is efficient
and effective. It also aims to support coaches through
making psychological insight available where necessary - 'I
don't know what's going on here!' cries the coach. Cognitive
insight is important on its own, but Coaching Supervision shows
coaches how to take this to another level and implement insight
smoothly and wisely, integrating it into their tool kit and
increasing their process skills. Coaches will learn subtler
interventions and breakthrough to
new levels of self awareness, through developing
their best ally, the Internal Supervisor (see below). Coaching
Supervision is working when a coach can comfortably begin a
supervision session by saying: ' I made a real mess of that!'
Coaching Supervisors are trained to be non-judgemental and to
see beneath and beyond the current coaching conversation or
the current difficulty. My own supervision, over many years
has taught me that we can never see the whole picture ourselves
and that when we can really relax with a trusted and competent
Coaching Supervisor, we are in a great position to learn and
develop to be the best professional that we can be; we have
our very own champion when the going gets tough. Sometimes the
going gets tough very suddenly and that's one of the ways in
which Coaching Supervision can support coaches - by being available
within 24 hours, to respond to the unexpected blips in coaching
and/or client material which gives cause for concern. I have
worked with many coaches who have been going along merrily when
suddenly, the client 'falls down' in some way - hits a wall,
experiences difficulty in their primary relationship, can't
cope with the pace of coaching, or gets hit by a life experience
which throws them. It happens - quite regularly! Some coaches
feel perfectly comfortable with this, but many of us feel pushed
to the limit of our professional comfort zone. What began as
straightforward Business Coaching or Performance Coaching has
turned into something else entirely! Coaching Supervision also
looks at contracts,
both that between the coach and coaching supervisor and that
between coach and organisation, and coach and client. Creating
clear contracts is an important piece in the supervision
exploration.
2. Why now?
It is considered good practice -
in our view essential- for a coach to work with a supervisor.
Graham Lee & Liz Pick
in 'People Management', 2004.
Be prepared for everything; coaching
is maturing, moving out into areas beyond just
setting goals and developing strategies. Many coaches are
now working more deeply and even explicitly 'coaching to the
soul'. This requires a wide range of competencies and a high
level of Personal Development and Coaching Presence. Coaches
are using a Coaching Supervisor to hone and refine skills
and to keep their practice sharp. Coaches are beginning to
develop Masterful Presence
through Coaching Supervision. Coaching itself is
moving swiftly towards greater professionalism and accountability.
Many trainings simply are not long enough, and/or do not focus
enough on Personal Development and full understanding of a
wide range of client issues. Coaches can be vulnerable after
brief initial training and sometimes report that client issues
and behaviour are testing their skills to the limit. The best
coaches function confidently and with great competence in
the crucial meeting place between
coach and client - no matter what is emerging. Often referred
to as Coaching Presence, this core coaching competence is
hugely developed through Coaching Supervision: As Pat Williams
recently pointed out in the ICF newsletter: "I think
we need to have some concerned coaches who are also therapists
available to help members. A team of these therapists/coaches
could be available when a coach has a concern.'
3. What does a Coaching
Supervision session look like?
Individuals: As in coaching, an initial email containing essential
information is sent to the Coaching Supervisor. Then, the
supervisory contract is established
and through exploratory dialogue and using a range of Coaching
Supervision Tools (see below), the client situation or coaching
theme is gradually resolved. In the process, which is always
collaborative and enlivening,
new insights emerge and the coach gains from being in the
supervisory process and from their own, and the supervisor's,
reflections, information and feedback. There is often some
follow-up - either email/phone or by sending relevant material
for the coach. Coaches sometimes have a regular slot, call
in when something unexpected emerges in coaching, or call
in as, and when, they want Coaching Supervision.
Team Supervision. This is a marvellous way for a group of
up to 5 coaches to maximise learning. Coaches gather - either
in person or on the trusted bridge line! -and present client
situations or coaching themes, and through process work and
feedback from both supervisor and group members, matters are
resolved and .
The synergy of the group, as always, deepens exploration and
learning. It's a great way to have Coaching Supervision. Coaching
groups/teams usually have a regular fortnightly or monthly
Coaching Supervision slot.
I believe that supervision of coaches is fundamental to
any coaching business as it provides the essential support
and development that enables coaches to sustain consistently
high levels of service to their clients. Coaching Supervision
has played an invaluable role in helping us to continue to
develop and refresh the skills, approaches and confidence
of our coaches, so they in turn provide inspirational, effective,
leading edge coaching to help our clients fulfil their true
potential.
Carole Gaskell, Director,
The Full Potential
Group.
3. What is The Internal
Supervisor?
'Who you are is how you coach'. Edna
Murdoch
One of the great things about having a Coaching Supervisor
is that you begin to recognise and build your own Internal
Supervisor. What is that?? Well, the best coaches are
tuned to the entire range of their body/mind information while
working with a client; they respond to what they 'pick up'
from their intuition, their body and their intellect.
And they know how to use this splendid range of information
in an instant, so that interventions are genuinely laser-like
and perfectly timed. That's what having a well developed Internal
Supervisor gives you. And with it comes a major increase
in Coaching Presence and powerful,
impactful coaching. Coaching Supervision greatly accelerates
the development of the Internal Supervisor through
working directly with, and teaching skills in, Intuition.
It also offers opportunities to learn, using tools such as
the very practical Body/Feelings/Mind
Exercise, in a playful and thoughtful way, so that
coaches can quickly make huge strides in the Personal Awareness
which gifts them a truer understanding of their clients.
You do not have to go on expensive courses to bring
out the magic in your coaching! Get a well trained Coaching
Supervisor, work out a contract with them that suits your
development and 'become the
best coach that you can be'.
Coaching Supervision Skills and Tools include:
Classic Supervision 7-eyed
Model (Shohet and Hawkins).
Parallel Process
(Searles),
Pendulum (Pellin
Institute),
Karpman Drama Triangle
(Transactional Analysis ),
Accessing Intuition
(Various),
Image and Metaphor
(I.G.Brown, D. Glouberman),
Body/ Mind/ Feelings
(Centre for Transpersonal Psychotherapy),
Mindfulness/Coaching Presence
(J. Welwood),
Advanced Listening Skills
(7 levels of Listening- Pellin Institute),
Focussing (Gendlin),
Core Energy Management
(W. Bloom).
Internal Supervisor
(Patrick Casement)
For more details on these, see: The
Coaching Supervision Academy
Edna Murdoch
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