Free webinars open up the essentials of supervision for coaches and mentors

Free webinars open up the essentials of supervision for coaches and mentors

hand in hand

A new series of webinars (free to EMCC UK members) on the essentials of supervision starts on 5 May. These four one-hour webinars set out the basics of supervision for coaches who have little or no experience of using supervision as part of their practice.

The series will be facilitated by Professor Bob Thomson of Warwick Business School, who is an EMCC accredited coach and supervisor. He regularly runs webinars for students from across the globe who are studying for a distance learning MBA. Bob has written a number of books, including How to Coach, which was published in February.

Says Bob: ‘The intention of the webinars is to make supervision better understood, to demystify it, and to support those who are new to it, helping them make the most of supervision for their development.’

Each webinar will contain ideas and models explained via PowerPoint slides, plus questions and exercises designed to help participants reflect on their practice, and an interview with a coach who has had little experience of supervision.

To get the most out of this series we encourage you to attend all four webinars. Here are summary details of all the webinars in the series, plus links for more information and booking:

Webinar 1 (5 May): What is supervision? This webinar will explore three different functions of supervision: the developmental function is about developing skills and competence; the resourcing function is about processing the emotions and issues that arise for the coach through their work with clients; and the qualitative function is about ensuring that the coach’s work is appropriate and ethical.

Webinar 2 (26 May): Reflecting on practice – Supervision offers a place where a coach can – in conversation with a supervisor – reflect on their practice. The webinar will explore David Kolb’s cycle of learning from experience and the importance of reflective thinking. It will go on to discuss the difference between reflection-on-action, which takes place after a session, and reflection-in-action, where the coach reflects on what is happening during a session.

Webinar 3 (9 June): The relationship between coach and supervisor – This webinar will begin by discussing the importance of the relationship in coaching itself, looking at a number of metaphors for this. It will consider ideas from transactional analysis, discussing the difference between a parent-child and an adult-adult relationship. It will go on to consider rapport and trust within a coaching or supervision relationship, and the balance between support and challenge.

Webinar 4 (23 June): The practicalities of finding and working with a supervisor – The previous webinars in the series have viewed supervision as a one-to-one relationship. This fourth webinar goes on to consider the pros and cons of group supervision. It also explores finding and selecting a supervisor, and how to prepare effectively for a supervision session. Practical exercises enable participants to translate ideas into their own context.

This is a fantastic opportunity to experience and understand supervision, and we are grateful to Professor Thomson for facilitating this learning.

Photo: Rémi Walle/Unsplash