Why have only 15% of European (team) coaches a coach supervisor?

Leen Lambrechts
13 augustus 2018

A recent international study reveals that only 15% of the European coaches has a coach supervisor …

“Coach supervision” is a relative new profession because the (team) coaching profession is not that old itself.

A qualitative offer of good supervisors is hard to find unless we find our way through our own coach training institutes or via a professional supervision body such as www.associationofcoachsupervisors.com

Besides this, there are may be a lot of limiting beliefs and misunderstanding about “coach supervision” and it may be confused with mentor-coaching or coach-assessment services.

We put some thought provoking hypotheses on paper and invite you to explore what might be holding coaches back from professional coach supervision:

  • Do coaches fear a supervisor ‘who knows better’ and do they imagine they will feel less competent afterwards?
  • Do coaches love their freedom so much that it has become a pitfall, so that they have to do everything alone?
  • Do coaches fear that they will have to do a coaching demonstration followed by feedback and that they will be assessed?
  • Do coaches not have the courage to observe themselves with fresh and critical eyes?
  • Do coaches rather keep their moments of shame and doubt for themselves?
  • Are coaches not open to a transformational process for themselves? Do they rather stay in their comfort zone, connected with the illusion to have everything under control?
  • Do coaches fear to lose face in a group with other coaches when they reveal something that was not good enough?
  • Are coaches afraid they will get out of balance when supervision might cause turbulence?
  • Do coaches rather stay hidden with their doubts so that their self-image will not be touched?
  • Are coaches fearing that their colleagues from group supervision will influence their reputation in the market?
  • Do coaches rather choose to follow additional training through which they feel more free to conclude what to change or not?
  • …

What could be other reasons for NOT chosing supervision?  

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

A paradox …

As coach we like to invite our clients …

… to make conscious choices and keep on progressing;

… to measure their progress and results ;

… to build on their network to find support in their change process;

… to look through the lens of sustainable growth;

…

… and yet

… we don’t make time enough time to critically review our work and discover our hidden patterns and blind spots that influence the quality of our work with clients?

 

How will we explain this to our clients? 

I like to read your comments on this!