Very few organisations have developed a coherently planned structure for providing coaching supervision to their internal coaches. One of the few is the BBC, who provide coaching for senior and executive managers through a network of 60 trained volunteer internal coaches, and where coaching supervision was first introduced in 2001.
Supervision was seen as a way of closing the gap between the capability of the internal coaches, who had received six days' training, and experienced external coaches also being used by the BBC.
'I was concerned that the coaches wouldn't be able to remember all that they learnt on the coach training. We wanted to ensure that our coaches were providing a consistently high level of coaching comparable to external coach providers.'
The experience of establishing coaching supervision at the BBC has led Liz Macann, Head of Executive, Leadership and Management Coaching, to see the importance of five key aspects of the process:
1 Be clear about your purpose
Macann urges HR or coaching managers to consider what they want from supervision. 'Is it primarily for embedding learning? Is it for offloading? Is it to develop tools and techniques? Or is it for reflection and thinking about oneself, the client and how to improve your coaching practice? Supervision can be all of these. It will evolve, but it helps to be clear about your purpose.'
2 Design a framework that provides consistency and flexibility suited to your context
BBC coaches must have a minimum of six individual supervision sessions and participate in at least four group sessions a year to maintain their 'right to practice' and contribute to the BBC's coach accreditation process.
Coaches have two types of supervision. Each coach has an hour of individual supervision with their lead coach at two-monthly intervals. Individual sessions are usually face to face, but they can be over the phone. Normally, the session will focus on one or two coaching clients.
On alternate months, coaches participate in a half-day of group supervision with 10–12 coaches in each coaching set. By design, the group supervisor is not the same person as the individual supervisor. This ensures all coaches have two independent sources of ongoing supervision. In addition to the individual and group supervision, coaches may contact any lead coach/supervisor for particular needs arising between sessions.
3 Develop trained supervisors
With the wisdom of hindsight, Macann observes: 'I would introduce supervision training earlier if I were to do it again.' Several lead coaches went on coaching supervision training in 2004. 'The training helps the supervisor to help the coach shift so the coaching becomes more transformational.'
4 Maximise continued learning and development in the supervision process
Typically, the group supervision sessions at the BBC includes:
- check-in regarding their coaching work
- sharing new tools and techniques learned from books and/or attending courses
- co-supervision in threes
- coaching 'book club' recommendations from group members.
5 Maximise organisational learning while protecting individual confidentiality
Group supervision sessions frequently raise organisational issues or trends worth noting. Occasionally, they use a 'talking wall' technique to identify organisational themes discussed in coaching.
In this way, group sessions provide an 'emotional and behavioural monitor for the organisation'. Themes are fed into the Leadership Team of the Leadership and Development function and may also be used as feedback to the Leadership Board.
Client confidentiality is protected in both individual and group supervision. People work with a 'no names or grades' rule. If there is the possibility a client could be recognised, the coach camouflages the details. By using these guidelines, they haven't experienced any confidentiality difficulties.
Macann notes a number of positive outcomes from coaching supervision, including:
- a sense of community and connectedness with other coaches
- a belief in the coaching process being stimulated
- ongoing personal development that informs coaching practice
- more effective working with 'sticky' clients
- confident coaches who are better equipped to deliver high-calibre, time-effective coaching
- an organisation safety net to help coaches maintain boundaries and minimise any organisational risk.
However, Macann is quick to mention that their use of coaching supervision is more about the developmental aspects and being more effective than about the avoidance of risk.