23 June 2023

This July, the topic for our monthly EMCC UK Spotlight theme is supervision. Paul Heardman, the EMCC UK Director for Supervision Practice, guides us through what is on offer.

I am really pleased to share news of some great content and events about supervision that we have planned for July. We hope there is something here for everyone, whether you are just starting out as a coach or mentor, are a seasoned supervisor, or anything in between.

We focus this month particularly on the supervisee’s perspective on supervision. As a coach or mentor, what might you wish to know about how to get more value from supervision? Perhaps you might even be wondering ‘why bother’ with supervision at all? And if you are a supervisor, this month’s Spotlight resources could spark new insights around how you offer supervision to your clients and perhaps even inspire you to look afresh at your own supervision.

A quick plug also for a short survey we are running to seek your views on what you want from EMCC UK on supervision going forward. We are planning to set up a new Special Interest Group on supervision and are keen to know what you would like this to focus on. So please do take 5 minutes to respond. The survey is here and is open until Monday 31 July.

So what do we have planned this month?

We have two great events coming up which explore supervision through the lens of the coach or mentor, both with brilliant guest speakers. Firstly, on 18 July, Lise Lewis will be exploring the benefits of supervision and why this forms a key part of our CPD. Lise brings huge experience as a coach, supervisor and trainer. She is an EMCC Global Special Ambassador and past President of EMCC Global.

Then on 2 August, our Conversations with Authors series hosts Erik de Haan to discuss his new book, Being Supervised: A Guide for Supervisees. Erik is the Director of the Hult Ashridge Centre for Executive Coaching, and author of many excellent books on coaching and supervision. You can book now for both sessions on our Events page.

Look out also for other articles in our July newsletter on supervision. We have a lovely piece, Supervision – what’s your flavour? by members of our EMCC UK board where they share their own personal approaches to how they organise their supervision, how they choose between 1-2-1, peer and group supervision and when they decide to change supervisors. These vignettes show the rich variety of possibilities that supervision offers and also how our supervision needs as coaches or mentors evolve over time.

EMCC UK member Kevin Cowley also blogs about his personal journey with supervision: Supervision: ‘I have no idea what is going to happen, and I love it!’ This includes both sharing his initial fears of feeling judged by his supervisor, a common concern for many, and how over time he has fallen in love with the deeper possibilities of what supervision offers.

For podcast fans, the final two episodes of our series on internal coaching supervision, hosted by Katharine St-John Brookes and Jeremy Gomm, are released this month. We hope you have enjoyed these first six episodes. Katharine and Jeremy are already planning the second series!

I also offer a short article, Five books for coaches and mentors about supervision. Each of the books help demystify the supervision process and can upskill us as coaches and mentors in the important art of how to be supervisees. This is a skillset sometimes underplayed on training courses. So these books are valuable additions to the bookshelves of any coach, mentor or indeed supervisor.

Finally, we have recently updated our pages on supervision to make it easier for you to find useful information on all things supervision – such as on the different ways to use supervision, how to find a supervisor, and the EMCC requirements in terms of how often you should access supervision. This also includes some great new discounts we have recently gained for EMCC UK members on supervision-related books. So do take a look.

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