Coaching Supervision Demystifiedpar Edward Rudick
On February 8th, participants at the ICF Québec Coaches Breakfast were treated to a highly interesting and topical presentation by Michael Cullen, PCC, PPCC.
Although “Coaching Supervision” is a hot topic, it is often misunderstood. Michael offered that the word “supervision” itself might be felt as an intimidating term, not just for new coaches, but also for seasoned coaches, with years of experience. Many of his coaching supervision colleagues are leaning towards reworking the word to be “Super-Vision”, reflecting the emphasis on gaining perspective and better insights from this new addition to continuous professional development for coaches.
In essence, Coaching Supervision helps coaches develop their own skills and coaching acumen through a facilitative, practical, reflective process in a safe, non-judgmental environment.
Michael was able to bring further clarity to the subject by shedding light on some of the theories, models, purpose and practical applications to the field of coaching. This was exemplified by the individual reflections and subsequent group exercise which involved everyone present.
The exercise we did afforded the opportunity for the coaches to explore a real coaching-case situation, ask questions and offer their own thoughts. These insights were then challenged by Michael as a further learning opportunity to reflect on the coaches’ own models, approaches, and expectations of themselves, of their clients, and of the coaching relationship itself.
All of this led to experiencing, seeing, and understanding the value-added benefits of having a trained coaching supervisor.
By bringing in his personal journey of discovering this meaningful possibility of raising the bar for coaches, Michael also walked us through the difference between Mentor Coaching and Coaching Supervision, noting that both offer up to 10 CCEs for ICF credential renewals.
In the space of a little over one hour, Michael’s entertaining PowerPoint presentation, inclusive demonstration, valuable handout and explanations produced a truly memorable and practical workshop.
Great interest was evident not only through the depth of the questions asked and comments made, but from the insights and deep learnings that were revealed.
Comments after the session referred to an extremely valuable presentation executed with warmth, openness and engagement, by someone immersed and dedicated to the Coaching Supervision process. Thank you Michael!
