Supervision maintains standards, so why the slow uptake, asks Julia Menaul in the latest column from the Association of Coaching Supervisors
Many in the coaching profession believe having regular supervision with a trained supervisor is beneficial and describe three key aspects:
- Normative/qualitative This is an opportunity for coaches to ask, ‘Am I doing this right?’ ‘Was this intervention with a client OK?’ This allows coaches to check that they’re operating to a good standard and that they haven’t slipped into bad habits.
- Formative/developmental This is long-term development for coaches to improve over time in handling new coaching scenarios or tricky ethical issues (especially if original coach training was some time ago.)
- Restorative/resourcing This can easily be forgotten but just as we help clients avoid burnout, we also need to watch our self-care. This can be difficult if we’re trying to make a living from coaching or coming under pressure internally to provide a service.
In the UK, more coaches than ever before are in regular supervision – an increase from 44% in 2006 to 92% in 2014 (see Hawkins, Turner and Passmore, 2019).
However, when other coaches are asked why they don’t have supervision, the answers are similar to those from 2006:
- I don’t need supervision
- My company doesn’t expect/support it
- I can’t find a supervisor
- Too expensive.
At the Association of Coaching Supervisors (AoCS), we suspect this isn’t the full story, and in future columns, we will bring some new research that explores these issues.
Coaching research, however, is often asking questions of the converted. Much research is carried out with coaches/supervisors who are part of coaching networks and members of coaching bodies, who are likely to be more committed to their own CPD.
Challenge the assumptions
My favourite answer to those who say they don’t need supervision is to ask, ‘How do you know you don’t?’
Companies not expecting/supporting supervision are becoming less of an issue. Organisations with internal coaching pools now buy supervision and understand its benefits. Our supervisors report an uplift in enquiries for internal supervision
Not being able to find a supervisor may have been a legitimate excuse 10 years ago but we’ve worked hard to create a website with an effective ‘find a supervisor’ function: http://bit.ly/2XD9xAu
The thorny issue of money, a return on investment from supervision and how that translates into more lucrative coaching work, is a topic for another column. Transparency on fees within our profession may help. The average for a one-to-one 60-minute session (often online) is £120-180, and with most supervisors happy to negotiate on frequency, this is a small price for deep learning. It can also be seen as ‘insurance’, a way of covering yourself as a coach should the worst happen and you need a supervisor to fight your corner.
Why the negativity?
Anecdotally, I believe the real reason for the slow uptake for supervision may be fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of judgement, fear of vulnerability. Ironically, all the things coaches are familiar with when coaching clients.
So, the challenge for all coaches is to confront the fear to become the best coaches they can be – for themselves, their clients and for the profession overall.
Reference
- P Hawkins, E Turner and J Passmore, The Manifesto for Supervision, Henley Business School & Association for Coaching, 2019 http://bit.ly/2PF4VGx
- Julia Menaul is on the board of the AoCS and supervises both coaches and supervisors: http://bit.ly/2pHws0X
Julia.menaul@associationofcoachingsupervisors.com