Agile Coaching Supervision
It's not what you think it is...
A conversation came up on our Moose Herd the other day around the questions of—
What is Coaching Supervision
And
Do Agile Coaches need it?
The Moose who asked the question was in a Professional Coaching class at a local university. They were describing two “supervisions” that had happened to them. The first was related to their instructor reviewing recordings of their coaching sessions to assess whether they followed standard coaching conversational skill practices and flow. It was a critique with feedback to improve the coach’s execution of their coach-client conversations.
The other supervision was monthly, during which the instructor met with them and provided feedback on their coaching journey progress.
As I considered what they said and my own experience with coaching supervision, I realized neither fell under the supervision definition. They seemed more related to the class and validated the students’ progress. I shared in the Herd that there were more Validations than Supervisions.
Why this post?
It occurred to me that there was a lot of confusion around the terminology, even for me, so I thought I’d spend a little time researching it and sharing my learning in a post.
The Source
I know a few people in the Agile Coaching space who cross between Professional Coaching and Agile Coaching. Erin Randall is one of the leaders I respect and trust in that space. It so happens that Erin has written about the differences, and I’ve found she clarified the distinctions.
Here’s a great set of figures from one of her posts—
https://www.admelioracoaching.com/coaching-supervision
Erin identifies three types of coaching in this example—
Coaching—I would liken it to Professional Coaching, Life Coaching, or ICF-based coaching. It is NOT Agile Coaching. It is focused on the coach-client and their agenda. It can be of any duration, from short to long term.
Coaching Supervision—is when a coach approaches another coach, usually more experienced, to assist them in reflecting on, strategizing, and improving their client coaching activity. It can be of any duration, from short to longer term.
Mentor Coaching—this is when a coach approaches another coach for mentoring. The focus is more on competency/skill growth in a general sense. It can be short—or long-term.
Here’s a webinar video where Erin explores more details.
Personal Note
As an Agile Coach, I can provide all three coaching services to an Agile Coach client. I do a fair amount of that for pro bono and paid clients.
In my case, it’s more of a blending of Coaching Supervision and Mentor Coaching. From an Agile Coaching Growth Wheel perspective, I operate mainly from the Leading, Advising, Mentoring, Agile/Lean, and Transformation stances.
Another Source
Another coach who provides coaching supervision is Lennie Noiles. He talks about it in this Agile Uprising podcast with Andy Cleff. Here’s an adjoining post.
Wrapping Up
For the past ten years or more, I’ve been known as the agile coach of coaches. I’ve earned that nickname by being someone that agile coaches come to for help in situational coaching, mentoring, career strategy, and entrepreneurship, usually when they’ve hit a challenge that is vexing them and stretching their capabilities.
I now realize I’ve been doing a combination of Coaching Supervision and Mentor Coaching. Thank goodness there’s a term for it now, and please don’t get stuck on the word Supervision 😉
Back to the original questions—
What is Coaching Supervision
And
Do Agile Coaches need it?
I hope I’ve answered the first question, or more accurately, Erin has.
As for the second question, I would say that most do. That said, many lack the self-awareness to seek supervision. Perhaps it’s the term itself.
Anyway, if you need an Agile Coaching guide, mentor, and partner when the going gets tough…
Stay agile, my friends,
Bob.
Bob, I’m just seeing this post and want to thank you for the shoutout.
You did a great job trying to explain the complexity of Coaching Supervision for Agile coaches. I agree with your closing statements. Most (if not all) Agile coaches need Agile coaching supervision. Yes the term supervision has some preconceived biases. We need more exposure in the community to dispel those biases. And we need to help build self awareness amongst Agile coaches to create the desire of self-awareness. ("If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” - Antoine de Saint Exupéry)
Keep doing the wonderful work you are doing for the Agile community and the larger world.
Peace