Coaching Supervision

Guest Bio Jane Porter head of coaching & coach accreditation, IECL Jane is the head of coaching at IECL, a role that leads and advises on the strategy modelling and approaches for coaching development. She oversees IECL’s large scale coaching programs for public, private, and not for profit clients, and also leads the development and delivery of IECL’s, ICF accredited coach training pathways, and ongoing professional development. Jane is passionate about increasing the professionalism of the industry and its strategic impact on organizational life. Jane, brings a wealth of knowledge and vast experience as an ICF master coach, educator, supervisor, and mentor across the Asia Pacific region. Thank you so much for being with us today. SHOW NOTES

Coaching supervision is about creating a reflective space for the coach to think about their practice as a coach, but also reflect on themselves. It is in the context of self-care, increasing awareness of themselves as coach, being able to look at what is working and what is not, what stays with them after a coaching session and why that thing is staying with them. Also, a space to think through ethical dilemmas, tricky situations, perhaps mental health considerations that show up in coaching. 

Transcript 

Jane Porter:
Thank you for having me.

Renee Holder:
Okay, so we're looking at supervision and there are a number of varying definitions of supervision for coaches. How do you define supervision in a coaching context? 

Jane Porter:
Primarily supervision is about creating a reflective space for the coach to think about their practice as a coach, but also reflect on themselves. So I think about it in the context of self care, increasing their awareness of themselves as coach, being able to look at what's working and what's not, perhaps what stays with them after a coaching session and why that thing is staying with them. And also a space to think through ethical dilemmas, tricky situations, perhaps mental health considerations that show up in coaching. 

So while the coach is busy working in service of the counterpart in the organization, who's in service of the coach? And I'd say that's the supervisor. 

Renee Holder:
And you insist that all IECL coaches undertake supervision. Why is this? 

Jane Porter:
Some of the reasons I think what I've just articulated there in that first question. As coaches, even if we're part of an organization, when we're out there in the world, in the practice of coaching, sitting in front of the counterpart, working with the organizations, there's a large piece of self-regulation in that role and being present with what the counterpart and the organization needs and working to keep your own...not your own thinking, but your own content out of that space and that's not easy. So there's a quality assurance piece for us at IECL that I didn't mention earlier around knowing that when a coach bumps up against any of those things we referred to, they have somewhere to go where they can put that thing down, they can have a look at it in a safe space with somebody who can help them explore what might be going on, what might have triggered that thing for them, what the learning in that might be for them, and how that then applies to them as a coach, a human being, and also to their practice so that they're then also more resources to step back out into the industry, the counterpart, the organization and do their job well. 

Renee Holder:
And you run supervision groups yourself?

Jane Porter:
I do, yes.