Coaching Supervision – Who Needs It?
That was the question addressed in a recent half-day EELGA workshop designed to explore why, what, how and when to offer Coaching Supervision in an organisation.
At West Suffolk House on 12 November 2019, 10 Coaching Champions from 8 different Authorities took time out of their busy schedules to join Master Coach & Coaching/OD Supervisor, Jane Cox. The workshop provided an opportunity to review their knowledge about the role and benefits of Coaching Supervision, fill in some of the gaps and to experience a variety of approaches for themselves before starting to plan supervision support to suit their own organisation.
Jane set the scene for an experience-rich morning, by facilitating the participants in checking in with themselves and each other, using a creative approach that they could easily use themselves. The experience of coaching and supervision in the room varied from ‘not much’ to a well-trained coaching pool with supervision already on offer. Given this span, Jane engaged the group in reviewing what coaching supervision means in the organisational context, how it supports coaches and what different forms it might take.
Participants went on to experience individual and group activities for themselves and finished up by reviewing their learning and applying it to their own situations. Feedback on the morning was very positive. Participants particularly enjoyed the experiential nature of the workshop, and Jane’ s capacity for understanding their context and offering approaches that could make coaching supervision enjoyable and useful, rather than just necessary.
Everyone made the most of the opportunity to develop a network of peers and they have already set up a WhatsApp group to keep this going by sharing their ideas etc.
The session was highly valued by all who attended, and delegates said it was “inspiring”, “absolutely worth investing the time; you will leave with such invaluable insights and food for thought”, and “this session provided time to reflect, understand and build a network’’.
The only criticism, voiced by several of the participants, was that the workshop could have been longer!
ILM coaching packages and bespoke coaching options are now available to purchase via the East of England LGA Marketplace. The Marketplace is an online service for members to purchase skills and services without the need to go through a lengthy procurement process.
To see what the Marketplace can do for you, visit https://marketplace.eelga.gov.uk/ and review the range of expertise available.
If you have any questions about Coaching in the workplace, please contact emma.grant@eelga.gov.uk