The ICF and Coaching Supervision

As a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF), one of the really useful things I get is a regular newsletter giving me updates on training and courses, news and best practice.

As a supervisor, I am always interested in best practice and in the development of coaching supervision and mentor coaching.

It was great to read Claire Palmer had an article in this months newsletter about how the UK Coaching Industry is coming together to work on an agreed picture of coaching supervision.  Claire is a fellow UK ICF Coach, working at the PCC level and we recently hooked up via LinkedIn.

Claire highlights from the work she did as ICF representative on a joint committee, how there is a difference between the UK and the US when it comes to the terms coaching supervision.  Supervision is very well known in the UK and is a burgeoning industry ( a little like coaching in the early days?) along with more provision of training schools for supervisors, whilst in the US you are more likely to hear reference to Mentoring.
From my talking to US coaches, I found this was because there were concerns from a coach licensing perspective, something not an issue here in the UK.  It’s great to know about these differences so we can come together and work in the most effective way for our fellow coaches.

As a supervisor, I do want to know, and know that I can tell my coaches, hand on heart, that we are working to a clear set of guidelines and frameworks to keep the work in a safe environment.  So, to see the focus on how to define supervision in relation to CPD, define out titles for the process, levels of practice and competencies for supervisors, I think will keep supervision both top of mind and enhance the professionalism of the service as a whole.