SUPERVISION
“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way. Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life” Alfred D'Souza

Defining Supervision: what is it?

Derived from Latin, ‘super’ means over and ‘videre’ means to watch or see. Not dissimilar to Mentors, Supervisors historically were recognised as being skilled and particularly wise in their own areas of expertise, and were assigned to look after trainees/apprentices/students, for the purpose of overseeing their work and progress. This created an environment in which trade skills were developed, thus maintaining a selected standard of excellence, allowing for critical feedback to be delivered in a positive way to enhance the apprentices learning .

In the modern world, Supervision is embedded in the fields of social work, counselling and psychotherapy, as well as clinical psychology. Regarded as compulsory within much of the “helping/caring Professional” worlds, I believe it is timely to bring this area of compliance into the Coaching arena.

Supervision looks at the welfare of the Coach and his/her business practice, and walks alongside the Coach and his/her Clients. Patti Stevens (2004) defined Coaching Supervision as: “The Coaching Supervision relationship is a formal learning process in which a Coach engages with a more experienced Coaching Practitioner in order to articulate, reflect on, evaluate and receive support to monitor his/her Coaching Practice”.
It is too easy for a Coach, possibly isolated by working alone, to either become over-involved, or ignore/fail to recognise important points in their relationship with Clients; equally, having doubts about their own abilities is not uncommon. By having Supervision in place it will ensure that Clients and the Coach are protected, also maintaining a high standard of Professional Coaching, as well as receiving practical support for the Coach’s ongoing continual Professional development (CPD).