Coaching Supervision Groups

Resourcing Practitioners

Jo Birch

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9781000473940
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Mental Health in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Written by experienced coaching supervisors, this book offers a kaleidoscope of wisdom drawn from a complex professional field. Theoretical concepts, practitioner research, models and techniques are brought alive here through the lived experience of the authors.

As coaching supervisors continue to develop their practice, those wishing to extend their skills into group work step into a new context which stretches and strengthens their own learning, as well as that of supervisees, in this mutual, intentional learning environment. Coaching supervisors are encouraged to begin with the inner journey, developing their own knowledge as each chapter offers a new perspective, enabling readers to gain a philosophical understanding of the process, which will guide them on their journey through the unpredictable terrain of group work.

Coaches, mentors and other practitioners looking for a Supervision Group experience will gain insights into the range of opportunities available, opening myriad possibilities for furthering personal and professional learning.

Chapter 1

Coaching supervision in groups

Framing the encounter

Jo Birch

DOI: 10.4324/9781003143451-2

In endeavouring to provide an overview and generic footprint for a coaching supervision group, I soon became acutely aware of the impossibility of the task!

As you move through the following chapters, you will notice that each group is shaped by the person opening the space, by the people in the group, the processes that play out within it and the situational context in which it takes place.

How then might I draw out the essential components of a coaching supervision group – taking account of the specific requirements of our profession, as coaches and coaching supervisors, and the contexts in which we work?

I turn first to the essence of coaching supervision, which can be found in Seven Simple Rules (Birch & Gardiner, 2019). Drawn from a small research study with 24 experienced practitioners, these systemic behaviours characterise coaching supervision at its best. They are general enough to be applied in every supervision situation and specific enough that every person can make them their own, applicable moment-to-moment in each supervision encounter. None of the Simple Rules stand alone: they are interdependent, applying to the entire system – supervisors and supervisees, equally and differently, according to their role in the encounter.

Simple Rules are neither simple, not rules – the two words constitute a linguistic term that describes a set of behaviours already present in a system. These are not abstract ideals to be enforced; rather they are descriptors of current practitioner behaviour (Birch and Gardiner p. 26).

1. Attune to self – being present to your experiencing, self-awareness, centering.
2. Engage with love – bringing kindness, care and compassion to the engagement.
3. Serve the intention – honouring the contract and the agreed purposes in each encounter, being explicit, checking in with each other as necessary.
4. Hold the space, work with the edges – the quality of the reflective space. Interwoven with explicit contracting, acknowledging the boundaries as they come into view, holding and/or adapting where necessary.
5. Illuminate and explore what is calling for attention – focussing on what is present, reflecting moment-to-moment, offering wider reflections, noticing distractions.
6. Dare to call it out – reflecting what is present, in stories, cases, responses, relationships, dynamics and more, is not always comfortable, yet can provide the basis for fruitful exploration.
7. Attend to the relationships, individuals and situational context – taking a systemic approach, attending to the ‘whole, part and greater whole’ (Eoyang & Holladay, 2013).

It is in the Simple Rules that the quality and standards of coaching supervision are held. In both individual and group supervision we look for self-awareness; expect the engagement to be clearly defined by purpose; the container for the work held by boundaries and consideration given to ethical codes, competencies and contractual agreements. In the work of supervision, we give attention to what is present, even if we bring a case from the past; we offer different perspectives and notice newness and, finally, we attend to the multiple relationships and external factors at play influencing our work.

As we move specifically into coaching supervision in groups, the Simple Rules remain central, whether the groups are facilitated or peer-led, open or closed, short or long-term. They are illustrated in the following pages, held within a dynamic image, folding in to create a distinct space for the work of coaching supervision in groups. A dotted line symbolises the flow out of the space, taking our learning about ourselves back into our work.

Six discrete sections emerge from the frame, flowing into the space for the group experience: beginning, attuning, inviting, gathering, co-processing and closing. Each section raises questions for the prospective group supervisor. These are designed to peel back layers of awareness, searching underneath the surface for new insights, enabling the potential for more choice-ful decision-making; a quicker return to ‘centre’ after being triggered and, therefore, more dexterity in handling the complex dynamics at play in all groups.

The ‘Beginning’ section is an invitation to the supervisor to establish resonance with their existing practice through the Seven Simple Rules. These considerations remain the core purpose of a Coaching Supervision experience and serve as a point of reference as the group process unfolds.

Many of the subsequent questions reflect the balance between ‘the supervisor role’ and the desire for co-creation.

This exploration can be profound, touching on the supervisor’s feelings and beliefs regarding power, control and collaboration. Being able to bring a clear awareness into view at different stages in the process, to hold power without harm and to hold the boundaries when necessary are essential skills of the group supervisor.

The inner reflections of the supervisor are generally offered as ‘Me,’ with ‘We’ acknowledging the collective co-created space of supervisor and group members. In peer groups every member might hold the inner reflective and collective questions as roles move and develop.

Everything we are; our experiences with groups and the beliefs we hold about ourselves, others and groups, have the potential to affect the process that unfolds between us. Much of what we think and feel about groups lies out of our conscious awareness with no obvious need for surfacing in our everyday lives – although, I suggest, it is always influencing our behaviour. As we embark as supervisor on a group experience, it serves us to explore unconscious factors at play as those that remain out of view are potentially disruptive.

These are not the only questions you will encounter. Subsequent chapters will raise issues; later, in your supervision groups, moment-to-moment decision-making and group process manifestations will surface, calling to be addressed or taken to your own supervision.

Here, however, within the following seven pages you will find essential catalysts to help you shape your evolving personal and professional philosophy of your practice as a supervisor working, in this case, with groups. The journey of discovering ‘self’ in groups is likely to be a life-long commitment for the group supervisor.

Figure 1.1 Coaching supervision in groups: Framing the encounter

Figure 1.2 Coaching Supervision in groups: Beginning

Figure 1.3 Coaching Supervision in groups: Attuning

Figure 1.4 Coaching Supervision in groups: Inviting

Figure 1.5 Coaching Supervision in groups: Gathering

Figure 1.6 Coaching Supervision in groups: Co-processing

Figure 1.7 Coaching Supervision in groups: Closing

Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge Louie J N Gardiner for creative and editorial support.

References

Birch, J., & Gardiner, L. J. N. (2019). Seven Simple Rules: An Alternative Lens. In Coaching Supervision: Advancing Prac...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• List of Contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Introduction
• 1 Coaching supervision in groups: framing the encounter
• 2 Group supervision with executive coaches: a psychodynamic approach
• 3 No way is the only way
• 4 Meaning-making encounters: the strength of peer supervision
• 5 The terror and transformation of coaching supervision groups
• 6 Nature as dynamic co-partner in group supervision
• 7 Moving bodies: countering digital disembodiment
• 8 Virtual small group supervision – research informing practice and practice being the research
• 9 Using creative approaches in group supervision
• 10 Group supervision using the Mirror model
• 11 Linking learning: a peer supervision chain
• 12 Tastes of supervision
• 13 Fifty-plus years of supervision: individual, group, peer and community, the development of a distinct profession
• Index