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Caroline Montague, DBM Executive CoachNextThankyou CSA! I just wanted to say thank you for the supervision programme. As an executive coach I have discussed a number of challenges with you. Your feedback, insight and support have been invaluable. I have been able to take away practical approaches to use with my clients and have also developed my own coaching style and level of awareness. Thank you for your sponsorship and challenge.
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The Role of Supervision in Developing Resilience in Coaches by Lisa Rosetti
“A person who intuits the ways of the heart stands a better chance of living well.” (Lewis, Amini & Lannon. 2001)
Resilience is a topical issue in learning and development these days. But should we also be considering resilience skills as vital developmental for coaches, as well as for business managers and leaders? Supervision may prove to be the best tool in a coach’s toolbox to develop these skills.
Whilst the client organisation will naturally be interested in the quality assurance that supervision brings to coaching provision, this article explores the part that supervision has to play in developing resilience in coaches and why this is important.
Coaching supervision is a best practice process with three main functions: developmental, qualitative and resourcing (or restorative). Whilst its focus is primarily in service to the client and client organisational needs, it also supports the coach’s performance and wellbeing. Supervision provides a regular space for the supervisees to reflect upon the content and process of their work, ensuring their performance is effective, and their work ethical. A vital aspect of supervision is therefore to examine coaching relationships, ensuring they are healthy and uncompromised.
Most people readily agree that these difficult economic times are placing unprecedented demands on our business leaders. Coaches can be equally affected by the prevailing tough climate, and face similar challenges and even the possibility of burnout. Of course, this is not necessarily entirely negative; fiercer competition and client demands may mean coaches must develop a more critical awareness of their work and more professional practices, such as demonstrating ROI. They must also pay attention to their own self-care.
Relationships are clearly under strain in the current workplace. This affects coaches no less than incumbent staff as coaching work is primarily relational. Many coaches will be facing more stressed clients than ever before. This can sap a coach’s inner resources and undermine their resilience in the face of such pressure.
Nowadays a coach may also be coming under increasing pressure from HR personnel to deliver value against even more stringent criteria. Increasingly, coaches need to manage their own resilience and energy reserves, without “toughening up” at the detriment of their responsiveness and flexibility.
However, as a recent CIPD report shows, proportionately very few practising coaches, whether internal or external, are receiving specific coaching supervision.
The report lists the consequences as including:
On 14 July this year, the Association for Coaching hosted a conference, which specifically addressed resilience issues for coaches, including the need for supervision. Keynote speakers confirmed that supervision is a vital support for developing a coach’s resilience and their presence under pressure.
What is resilience?
The term “bouncebackability” is often used as a popular term for resilience. Those of you familiar with Aesop’s Fable, The Oak & The Reeds, will remember how the strong oak fought against the force of the wind but was eventually uprooted, whilst the smaller reeds bent and survived.
This well-known fable gives us a clue to our popular understanding of resilience, ie as a character trait of flexibility in tough times. Moreover, many believe that resilience is an inherent quality to be found only in certain individuals.
However, recent research shows us that this belief is too simplistic. Resilience is made up of multiple “thriving” behaviours and attitudes. These include being caring, thinking creatively, acting collaboratively, being proactive, choosing a path of wellbeing and tolerating ambiguity, to name a few. The good news is that these resilient behaviours can be developed, especially by relationships which encourage us to learn from life’s challenges.
Dr Chris Johnstone presented his workshop, Evoking resilience in Times of Uncertainty, at the Association for Coaching conference on Resilience. He advocates resilience strengthening practices for coaches. Dr Johnstone contends that resilience is transmissible, and that coaches can become “infectious agents”, passing on their learnings to their clients.
Supervision as a Reality-Check
Diane Coutu, Harvard Business Review’s senior editor, has identified three unique traits of resilient people:
Dr Brene Brown’s research into shame and vulnerability is relevant in helping us understand resilience more fully. Coaches may be experiencing shame, for example feeling powerless to effect any meaningful change in their clients’ lives, or being overwhelmed by negativity and low morale prevalent within the client organisation. Supervision allows us to step back and see the bigger picture, and provide what Dr Brene Brown calls a “reality-check” on our feelings.
Dr Michael Carroll, a leading figure in the field of supervision and founder of the Supervision Centre, describes supervision as a dialogue conducted “in an atmosphere of mutual influence and vulnerability, each open to discovering themselves.” This conscious act of vulnerability allows supervisees to embrace uncertainty and move to deeper questions about their work and their place in the world. It is from here that we can transform our thinking and develop resilience skills.
Energy Management
Self-attunement through mindfulness and other energy management techniques has huge benefit for developing resilience, and has been well researched and documented. Daniel Siegel, researcher, neurologist and author of Mindsight, states that “tuning into the self also promotes a foundation for resilience and flexibility”. A supervisor trained in these techniques can help coaches develop a programme of self-care to improve their resilience.
The need to address not just mental agility but energy management has been incorporated by Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK), into their global initiative for employee health, Energy for Performance. To date, over 1,500 senior leaders and employees from GSK have taken part in the initiative, the goals being to become more:
The fourth goal in GSK’s initiative is transpersonal: to become more “spiritually aligned”. We might interpret the inclusion of this fourth goal as a timely acknowledgement of another type of energy affecting performance; one that perhaps we more easily understand as “Purpose and Meaning”. That is, when one is aligned with a higher purpose in one’s work, one is better equipped to meet life’s challenges with courage and determination. For example, the employee who understands and values his company’s corporate social responsibility mission will be willing to go the extra mile to achieve its objectives despite adverse conditions.
Executive and life coaches will be the first to recognise that the absence of purpose and meaning in a client’s life leads to a decline in their ability to face each day with fresh enthusiasm and “bouncebackability”.
In her recent publication, The Gifts of Imperfection, Dr Brown also stresses the link between purpose and resilience. She says,“Without exception, spirituality – the belief in connection, a power greater than self, and interconnections grounded in love and compassion – emerged as a component of resilience.”
Thus a supervisor is well advised to pay attention to “spiritual alignment”, and to understand its relevance in resilience work with their supervisees.
Resilience and Uncertainty
One of the characteristics of resilient behaviour is to ability to hold paradoxical thinking and cope with uncertainty. Strengthening our ability to be comfortable with uncertainty builds resilience to cope with an increasingly complex world.
Coaches entering new fields of coaching, or transitioning from eg life coaching to executive coaching, may face cultural and relationship challenges. A coach recently told me that one of the most helpful aspects of supervision is that it allows her to see how effective she can be as a coach, as she ventures in to new areas of coaching where considerable uncertainties exist for her. Improving her resilience through supervision has helped her to be comfortable with that uncertainty and be more effective in her work.
Resilience Undermined by Unconscious Processes
Sir John Whitmore, a pre-eminent thinker in coaching, leadership and organisational change, emphasises the need to be aware of unconscious processes. Whitmore says, “I am able to control only that which I am aware of. That which I am unaware of controls me. Awareness empowers me.”
When we become more self-aware we improve our ability to cultivate resilient behaviours. Supervision creates that safe learning space for mindfulness and self-reflection, so that we can understand what might sap our resilience and confuse our work. As Jung says, that which we do not understand in ourselves we do not understand in another.
Supervisors trained in meta skills such as systemic awareness, psychodynamic principles, energetics and mindfulness will be able to address the energy management aspect of resilience development.
Two Models of Supervision
To understand why this is important in a coaching relationship, it will be useful to refer to two well-respected models of supervision, the 7-Eyed Model of Supervision and the Full Spectrum Model.
The 7-Eyed Model (Bath Consultancy Group): The model provides seven “eyes” or lenses for supervisor and coach to explore the coach’s work in the context of relationships and systems. Within this, Parallel Process is a component of the fifth eye. Briefly explained, if a client has been withdrawn and uncooperative with the coach, then the coach may display similar behaviour with their supervisor. The supervisor will have their “antenna” trained to pick up any nuances to explore with the supervisee. The phenomenon of Parallel Process provides us with an explanation of how a coach may play out dynamics and energies they have absorbed quite unconsciously from their coaching relationships.
There exist underlying transference of attitudes, unresolved issues and emotional energies in relationships; a well-recognised phenomenon to which coaches are no less immune. Supervision helps coaches become aware of our “drivers” and unconscious processes within these relationships, helping to correct any inappropriate boundaries or responses. Furthermore, as we have said, by developing the awareness and resilience of the coach, these qualities are transmitted within their client relationships.
The Full Spectrum Model (Coaching Supervision Academy): This model has at its core “Coaching Presence”. It is an integral model utilising knowledge gained from traditional models of supervision as well as attending to the realms of body, mind and spirit. This perspective brings new understanding to all the relationships that lie at the centre of coaching. The model further clarifies how a coach can be affected not only by what is happening in the direct coaching relationship but also by the wider field of prevailing energies operating within the organisational culture and indeed beyond.
The diagram below illustrates the breadth of meta skills and energy management tools that can be used within supervision. Amongst other benefits this supervisory approach will strengthen resilience in coaches.
Fig 1 here
Two Supervision Case Studies
In both these case studies, unconscious processes had affected the coach’s work, and their own resilience compromised, impacting on their coaching relationships and performance.
Coach A felt very threatened by tough-talking clients, and was unable to weather criticism. When one client asked for a refund, she became over-anxious about her ability to coach. By talking this through in supervision, she became more aware of her emotional state, identifying that she still held fear from her past that had been triggered by the critical client. Through sharing her vulnerability in supervision and receiving supportive honest feedback, Client A was able to form healthier and more professional relationships with her clients, and become more resilient in the face of criticism.
Coach B took on a life coaching assignment that seemed straightforward at first (she was not in supervision at the time). After a couple of sessions, she found that her client was unwilling to set any goals and never followed through with interim “homework”. Coach B finally terminated the coaching after five sessions with little progress.
When she entered supervision some four months later the confusion of the client relationship was still vivid in her mind. Through supervision she came to understand her unconscious processes. She accepted that she had adopted the role of “Critical Parent” (cf Transactional Analysis) and was able to learn from the incident and move on. This new understanding helped Coach B to increase her emotional resilience and effectiveness with future clients.
Managing Burnout in the Helping Professions
According to the Institute for the Integration of Technology and Education (IITE), burnout is very prevalent within the helping professions, in which we can clearly include coaching.
The IITE defines the behaviours which predict burnout, including:
In many organisations, the emotional field is likely to be charged with unexpressed or expressed cynicism, fear, anxiety and frustration. Coaches may now be working in complex or even “toxic” environment. Furthermore, a coach’s work can be confused by unclear contractual obligations and muddied boundaries.
Such influences in the workplace can impact on a coach’s resilience, so that they are unconsciously pulled into defensive behaviours.
By learning how to be attuned with others and have empathy, we also gain insight into ourselves. Supervisors trained in energy management can help their supervisees learn practices which increase their self-awareness and resilience, such as somatic awareness and breathing techniques. In turn, the coach can pass on these techniques to their clients.
Fiona Adamson, transpersonal coach supervisor and contributing author to Supervision as Transformation (Shohet (ed) 2011), advocates interpersonal neurobiology and mindfulness as important learning.
Dan Siegel, neurobiologist and author, describes the neural circuits of the mind as being composed of Relationship, Reflection and Resilience. In his latest publication Mindsight, Siegel explains that the practice of certain techniques can help people connect with others and be aware of themselves.
Limbic activities such as these are the most effective processes we have to build connection, self-awareness and resilience. The reflective listening, which characterises the supervisory relationship, is a limbic activity. Notably, when we experience reflective relationships, we also create resilience.
Conclusion
Dame Carol Black’s Review, Working for a Healthier Tomorrow, identifies the strong and growing evidence that work, health and wellbeing are closely and powerfully linked and need to be addressed together. This is equally true for coaches as it is for their clients.
As Gill Smith, Head of Marketing, Association for Coaching (UK), says in the Association for Coaching Bulletin (April 2011),“Supervision and CPD play a part in maintaining the resilience of coaches and increase their capacity to also be a better resource for their clients”.
Supervision therefore is important not only for coaches themselves but for those organisations investing in coaching services, whether these are provided by internal coaches, managers who have been trained in coaching skills, or independent coach practitioners.
Organisations need to ensure that they hire coaches who demonstrate a commitment to supervision and also make provision for their own internal coaches, to ensure that coaches are resilient enough to perform safely and effectively.Black, C. (2008)Working for a Healthier Tomorrow. The Stationery Office (London)
Brown, B. (2010) The Gifts of Imperfection. Hazelden
Coutu, D.L. (2002) How Resilience Works. Harvard Business Review, May 2002.
Lewis, T., Amini, F., Lannon, R. (2001) A General Theory of Love. Vintage Books; Reprint edition (2 Jan 2001)
Shohet, R. (2011) Supervision as Transformation. Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Siegel, D. (2010) Mindsight. Oneworld
Online Resources
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coaching-Mentoring-Organizational-Consultancy-Supervision/dp/0335218156/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1313664358&sr=8-2
http://www.associationforcoaching.com/
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/health-work-and-well-being/case-studies/gsk-stress/
Three Keys to Mindful Leadership Coaching by Douglas Riddle
There are countless executive coaches I would never hire for myself, no matter how wise, insightful, dynamic or experienced. Admittedly, I’m a hard guy to please, so what I require might not be a good guide for others. However, if a coach can’t create an environment that dissolves the limitations of history, expectation, and assumption, I’m not interested.
How does a coach do that? By creating in the conversation with the coachee a sense of open, reflective exploration. The coaches who expand my mind, emotions and performance come to the coaching relationship from a place of inner calm. They have quiet minds. They are not beguiled by fancy techniques or elegant coaching models. They are midwives for the narrow, messy emergence into a larger world – and they rely on habits of mindfulness to accomplish that.
As you may have noticed, there’s been an explosion of information in recent years on neuroscience and how the brain handles change – and it’s fueling an interest in mindfulness. If you are a coach or are searching for one to boost your performance, remember this rule: mindful coaching is better coaching. And mindfulness practices have shown benefits for clients in health, decision-making and leadership. Read on……….
Mindful coaches perfect a form of conscious and comfortable simultaneous attention to themselves, their coachee, the relationship between them, and the mental, emotional, and relational dynamics occurring in the moment. There are three aspects of mindfulness that have particular pertinence to leadership coaching:
1) an empty mind
2) non-reactivity
3) permissive attention
An empty mind. For the coach, mindfulness is characterized by an empty mind, a stilling of the persistent chatter and the cognitive ticker-tape of commentary. This is a challenge for most Westerners because of our devotion to activity and terror of being alone with ourselves. An empty mind is key to letting something happen in someone else. It is the essence of coaching. Like falling in love or falling asleep, it can’t be achieved through greater effort or more action.
As coaches, a busy mind sabotages our efforts to let others express themselves. Think about your conversations with co-workers or with family. How often have you had the feeling that someone was not really hearing you, not really attending to you? You may have told someone about the challenge you were facing, only to find that they couldn’t keep themselves from telling you how youshould think about it, or that it shouldn’t bother you so much, or how they have had similar experiences.
Alternatively, when someone hears us with an open, empty mind, we sense our own substance and value. No matter how ‘helpful’ someone wants to be, advice or correction always implies that we lack something. We have to persuade ourselves that someone cares when they give us the impression that they think we can’t figure it out for ourselves. Unfortunately, more than a few coaches enter the profession because they’ve never been heard themselves. They picture themselves giving important advice to powerful people and receiving their gratitude. That guiding image will never benefit the coachee.
Non-reactivity. Meditation and quiet thoughtfulness help coaches sense that, as they work, they are operating in a vast mental and emotional space with clients. No reaction is required, no matter what the provocation. Instead, coaches are free to perceive the needs of their clients and respond – without escalating the emotional content or misinterpreting any intent. Still, fostering a non-judgmental attitude as a coach does not mean surrendering judgment. Mindfulness in fact leads to wiser judgment about what’s important and what is not. A coach who practices mindfulness doesn’t make things worse Non-reactivity on the part of the coach gives the person being coached room to roam from perspective to perspective, from one incomplete thought to another until they begin to become whole thoughts and the basis for growth.
Oddly, non-reactivity is often experienced quite positively by people who are being coached. I say, “oddly” because so much energy is expended in our culture in empty encouragement that does not actually encourage. Coachees often find that space to think and feel and explore while staying in relationship is invigorating. In addition, this dynamic makes true collaboration possible. The mindful coach creates an emotional space without land mines, where the coachee isn’t worried about being manipulated or controlled.
Permissive attention. A brilliant – and almost pathologically internally-focused – engineer was sent to me for coaching. In the first session, he assured me that he could never benefit from coaching because he couldn’t tolerate a conversation with someone longer than a couple minutes. When he predicted the demise of our session, I let on that I was quite curious to see that, and that we could both be watching for it. “Do you suppose you will see this change as it is coming along, or do think you are likely to be surprised by its sudden dramatic entrance?” I asked. He was made curious by my curiosity and new possibilities were suddenly available to him. I call it permissive attention because I chose to draw our attention to his certainty of this coming disaster as a matter for discovery rather than trauma. He went on to a productive and long-lasting coaching engagement because the spotlight was never on him, but on his growth.
A mindful coach can draw a person into a moment of connection in which all distractions disappear. It doesn’t matter whether the distractions are in the room or in the street outside or in unbidden thoughts or feelings from within the coachee. The ultimate challenge for most leaders is staying focused for more than a moment on any serious line of thinking, perceiving, judging or acting. The coach is repeatedly able to draw the attention of the coachee to those things of importance to him and return the attention to it without coercion.
Modern brain research has shown that we move in and out of various states of focused or unfocused attention throughout our day. Coaching allows someone to stay on a line of thought until it yields new perspectives and answers. It proves especially powerful when these are questions that might have stymied us for a long time. The coach wants to create an encounter in which the two people are in synchronized attention and vast amounts of mental and emotional energy can be directed at the development of the person being coached. This is a kind of mutual trance state, along the lines of being “in the zone” in sports, and most people have experienced it only briefly. The mindful coach can elicit this state and maintain it for the growth of the coachee.
As coaches, we are privileged to serve as midwives to human change – and can impact the performance of entire organizations. How do we contribute to the possibility of change? How do we serve as catalysts for turning experience and reflection into more effective, meaningful lives? Mindfulness offers a powerful alternative to the coercive and linear assumptions that have dominated our thinking. It might be that individual change is not so much driven as permitted. The question for the coach is this: how can I prepare myself to create a mental, emotional, and relational space in which someone may grow and develop? Mindfulness practices prepare coaches to really help instead of just trying to be helpful.
Douglas Riddle is director of the global coaching practice at the Center for Creative Leadership, a top-ranked, global provider of leadership education and research.