Lifting the Lid on Coaching Supervision

In this episode, Clare and Steve talk about the impact of economic decisions (whether by our own UK government by the US presidency or elsewhere in the world).  This conversation was triggered by a communication from a coaching platform to its coaches, but it became much more wide-ranging, as we talked about ripple effects in all areas of our work.  We ask the question “Who tells coaches what we can and cannot do?” and then we meander into other arenas, including a reflection about the confidentiality and data protection of our virtual software platforms and other coach tech.  As they say after potentially triggering TV shows, “If you are affected by the content of this programme, you can get help by…” talking with your supervisor.  You do not need to face this alone.Get in touch if you need to talk:Clare Norman clare@clarenormancoachingassociates.comSteve Ridgley  steve@illuminateddandelion.co.uk

Clare and Steve explore what we as coaches might be expected to know, or do, when starting work with a client who has a diagnosed mental health condition. Even without clinical knowledge, is it possible to contract and move forward in a coaching relationship? How can supervision support you?  What if your client has said nothing, but you have a suspicion that there might be a mental health condition present?  If you yourself have a diagnosable mental health condition as a coach, what might you expect from a supervisor?

In this episode, Clare and Steve are joined by Ginny Baillie who has much to say about associate work whether that is via a coaching platform or through an associate coaching company. We talk about the need for thinkers to have awareness, willingness and responsibility for the coaching to make an impact, and how current models of associate work may not be setting thinkers up for success against these criteria. Relationship building is top of Ginny's top tips for associate work. She mentions two useful books: The Prosperous Coach https://amzn.eu/d/070wFzOsandThe Journey of a Prosperous Coach https://amzn.eu/d/06r7fxFq You can find out more about Ginny at HOME | Ginny Baillie coaching

In today's episode, Steve and Clare ask the question ‘who is the customer' when the organisation is paying for coaching.  The discussion meanders (as always) throughthe coach's obligations in the three-way contractthe data (source unknown) suggests that 91% of clients change what they want from coaching part-way through the coachinggoing with the flowthe coach understanding the leadership development strategy of the organisation by way of context for the coachingthe coaching custodian's role in all of this. A term coined by Clare and Sam Humphrey in Clare's new book, Cultivating Coachability the influence that the coach can have on said coaching custodians, once the coach has figured out their own guiding principlesEnjoy dear listeners!This podcast series is supported by Trusted Coach DirectoryIn an unregulated industry, where anyone can call themselves a coach, the Trusted Coach Directory exists to raise the profile, credibility and standard of professional coaches and supervisors. Visit  TrustedCoachDirectory.com 

"What if you, the coach, think the learner/client's idea is 'bonkers', do you stick to a coaching frame or not?" - this was a question a coach brought to supervision recently.  Clare and Steve explore this idea, confessing that we might all have guilty imps where we might deviate from the formal 'proper' coaching path. What strategies might you take when your inner imp says "You know this approach isn't proper,  but go on, do it ...." This leads the conversation to the benefits of bringing the seemingly insignificant to supervision; also bringing our blindspots - confessing our in-the-moment self-realisation, inspired through the thoughts, approaches and comments other coaches bring to group supervision - being vulnerable enough to admit that we too have a guilty secret.The conversation turns to the power within bringing simple, small items to supervision -  Less is more often when we come to supervision.  The conversation meanders to right and wrong paths, right and wrong questions and the unconscious bias in our unintentional leading of our clients, which leads to an 'ouch' moment... and a listener award.This podcast series is supported by Trusted Coach DirectoryIn an unregulated industry, where anyone can call themselves a coach, the Trusted Coach Directory exists to raise the profile, credibility and standard of professional coaches and supervisors. Visit  TrustedCoachDirectory.com 

Clare and Steve discuss some common challenges for coaches, beginning with feeling inadequate or "not good enough," often stemming from a lack of external feedback after completing coach training. They note this "playing small" mindset typically evolves over time into a desire to "play bigger" and have more impact. And yet, even experienced coaches can doubt themselves. Also, if we play too big we risk reducing the 'size' of our clients or our fellow coaches in group supervision. Right-sizing ourselves is a never-ending quest.  Contrary to this idea of a quest though, the conversation touches both Clare and Steve in the profound realisation that acknowledgement is the key to supervision.  Acknowledging who you are, where you are, and what you are feeling no matter whether you think this is “big enough” to bring to supervision.  In doing so, the paradoxical nature of change will enable your growth without the need to strive.  We are all good enough!This podcast series is supported by Trusted Coach DirectoryIn an unregulated industry, where anyone can call themselves a coach, the Trusted Coach Directory exists to raise the profile, credibility and standard of professional coaches and supervisors. Visit  TrustedCoachDirectory.com 

Clare and Steve are joined in conversation by Angela Jopling.  Angela describes herself as a coach of 26 years, a Supervisor of 15 years, psychotherapy trained who operates in the fuzzy space.  We have all noticed how the space between coaching and therapy is blurring.  20 years ago Angela wrote a thesis on this fuzzy space whilst doing her master's degree in psychotherapy.Often coaches are cautious about the counselling or therapy space, but as Angela points out, the core of both these disciplines is presence, listening and holding the space. As coaches, we are often comfortable with TA tools such as ego states, drama triangle, parent adult, child. Also with Gestalt techniques such as chair work, NLP techniques and behavioural change from CBT - much of this emanates from the world of therapy.  We explore how coaches might find their own way to navigate the fuzzy space whilst recognising how to 'hand off' a client to another specialist if required.  As ever, it's about doing your own work on yourself, to determine where your fuzzy space starts and ends.Angela is starting a theraputic coaching supervision group.  Find out more here https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/281yr2ry3yh6wz7etskae/Therapeutic-Coaching-Supervision-Group.pdf?rlkey=ud4zirr0dunah6swdewqmtpwr&st=31rbe2c2&dl=0This podcast series is supported by Trusted Coach DirectoryIn an unregulated industry, where anyone can call themselves a coach, the Trusted Coach Directory exists to raise the profile, credibility and standard of professional coaches and supervisors. Visit  TrustedCoachDirectory.com 

David Clutterbuck describes himself as a provocateur in our coaching and supervision space.  And that's how he showed up in this podcast with Steve and Clare, with provocations about politics in organisations.  How does this relate to coaching?  Much more than we might ever imagine.  Every relationship is political in some shape or form, for the benefit or for the detriment of the parties.Think of the system as a body that is suffering pain: what are the headaches in that system, what are people running away from, what blood (communications) is not flowing etc.There is a silent conspiracy to ignore, and we must open our eyes as well as those of the people with whom we work.  What do they not want to look at?  What are they ignoring?  What do they not want to say?Organisational politics and culture are the focus of the discussion, but as ever we drift into all sorts of interesting spaces... for example, what are your beliefs, as a coach, about politics?  How are you building political astuteness?Useful stuff.  And if you want to learn more, you can read David and his colleagues' 2023 book "Coaching, Mentoring and Organisational Politics", published by our sponsor Open University Press.  David Clutterbuck, Tim Bright, Lise Lewis and Riddhika Khoosal.

Exploring our work through considering a quote is the topic of the day.  Clare and Steve discuss using quotes as a way to stimulate new thinking and to reflect more deeply on our work.  The conversation delves deep into what does it mean to  'make sense' or 'understand' and what is 'meaning making'?  The use of a quote opens up an inner exploration which travels far beyond simple conscious thinking."I am the rails on which the moment passes"

When the personal intrudes on the professional, we might consider bringing that to supervision.  Sometimes that personal stuff may seem really trivial, but if it's getting in the way of us being the best coach for the people with whom we work, then we have a duty of care to clear the air for ourselves.In this episode, Clare and Steve talk about our reaction to unsolicited email and LinkedIn junk mail as one such example of where emotions (in both our cases, annoyance and frustration) can get in our way.  It's a distraction from what matters most, interference in our daily choices and the “recovery time” to get our heads back in gear can be considerable.  Our beliefs and values about politeness are tested.  Thinking about how to respond, indeed whether to respond are all part of the disruption. This might feel like something inconsequential when it comes to our coaching, but anything that takes us away from full presence is worth time in supervision.  This is just one example of many seemingly trivial and yet sometimes stressing considerations for supervision.

Steve and Clare are joined by Val Hastings, author of "Coaching from the Inside", a book exploring the guiding principles of internal coaching.  Whilst this book is the sum of research into internal coaching from interviewing internal coaches from around the world, Val's book is a must read for all coaches starting out on their coaching journey, whether external or internal.  Our podcasters explore beyond the challenges for internal coaches, how they are perceived, lessons for external coaches, challenges from the inside, ethical dilemmas, coach community, coaching readiness and much more. 

Prompted by Steve asking 'Are we losing the truth?' Our podcasters notice how our relationship to the truth is being pulled in multiple directions - be it government, social media, mainstream media - we are, it seems, simultaneously hunting for the truth, but also easily persuaded into believing anything is the truth. Clare and Steve take this hypothesis into the coaching and supervision space and ask what happens if we as the coach or supervisor chase the truth?  We explore what it might mean to 'lean out' to see more and to 'bathe in the not knowing'.

Today Clare and Steve explore the topic of ethics - please don't switch off! Our podcasters challenge the notion that ethics are clear and that there is an answer as to what is right or wrong when we coach.We explore how ethics and moral codes are inter-connected, and how what might be the right or wrong way forward in an ethical dilemma might be more a function of your personal moral code, your client's, the relationship and the contextual situation than it is anything else. It certainly may not be as simple as your supervisor's view, what the coaching bodies say, what your training taught you or a chapter in a book.There are many shades of grey - we couldn't comment on how many !

Steve and Clare have a wide-ranging conversation with Yannick Jacob about the question “Who are you?” Why is this important? Because who you are is how you coach. And being your authentic self is how you differentiate yourself from the other coaches in the marketplace; and how you make connections (or not) with potential clients. We talk about the role of supervision in supporting this exploration, the role of reflective practice and the role of our initial training. You can connect with Yannick via his:Website for coaches: www.RocketSupervision.comCoaching Lab: www.GoCoachingLab.comCoaching website: www.existential.coachFree resources for coaches: https://rocketsupervision.com/free-stuff/ (including my Positive Psychology for Coaches eBook)Yannick Jacob is a coach, trainer and supervisor with a master's degree in existential coaching and applied positive psychology. He is part of the teaching faculties at Cambridge University and the International Centre for Coaching Supervision, and he's the course director of the School of Positive Transformation's Accredited Certificate in Integrative Coaching, for which he gathered many of the world's most influential coaches and earliest pioneers.Formerly programme leader of the MSc Coaching Psychology at the University of East London, Yannick now presents at conferences internationally and his book, An Introduction to Existential Coaching, was published by Routledge. Committed to helping other coaches be the best coaches they can be, Yannick founded and hosts Yannick's Coaching Lab which gives novice and seasoned coaches an opportunity to witness experienced coaches live in action, and he is the host of Animas Centre for Coaching's popular podcast Coaching Uncaged, as well as his own podcasts Talking about Coaching and Talking about Coaching and Psychedelics.

In today's episode, Steve and Clare talk about the confusion that can happen – for both coach and thinker – when the coach changes hats. That might be moving from:consultant or mentor to coach and backleadership trainer to coach and backemployee to coach and backpsychometrics feedback giver to coach and backWe talk about how to make that clean such that the thinker knows which role you are playing – and so that you avoid a repositioning of power in this relationship of supposed equals. We also talk about the hats that supervisors might sometimes be invited to wear by supervisees – and which of those hats we hand back as soon as we can! What does Mr Benn have to do with it? If you grew up, like us, in the seventies in the UK, you will remember him going into the changing rooms and coming out wearing different outfits – not just different hats - then going off on an adventure based on that outfit. We found it funny anyway!

Clare and Steve are joined by Charly Cox from Climate Change Coaches and together we explore working with climate change.The largest single topic for us all as human beings today, Charly talks about her work training and guiding coaches to deal with the enormity of this vast subject area and the emotional connection that can come with it for both client and coach. We notice how collusion and judgement can be present and how emotions such as fear and guilt can emerge, yet we also reflect on how, with the support of supervision, coaches can discover patterns, resources and learning in their work, which can help them both to thrive with their clients, and also to develop their own approach to coaching and change.This is a topic we all need to embrace, so why not start here?Some links from our guest...https://climatechangecoaches.com/our-book/ ( a free chapter download on this page of our book and it has links to where to buy it )https://climatechangecoaches.com/coaches/ (coach training programme. beginning mid March)https://www.linkedin.com/in/charly-cox-co-founder-climate-change-coaches-cert-b-corp-907bb719/ (Charly on LinkedIn)

Clare and Steve explore how to evaluate our coaching (and also our supervision):How do we balance our needs with whether we are meeting those of our clients?How do we know?What can we pay attention to, and how can our self-awareness and self-development be used to support this process of evaluation?And what about feedback?Exploring this topic leaves our podcasters with new learning and a sense of gratitude.

In today's podcast, Steve and Clare discuss ways to start a coaching session. We've talked a good deal about endings, but less about beginnings. Here, we notice how the first minute in a coaching session provides rich data and that if we meet them where they are at that time, we can support the thinker to talk out loud and iterate in the moment about what's most important to bring to this coaching session – much more than going into a standard question such as “what do you want to work on today?”

Prompted by a supervisee, frustrated with where the coaching went after they asked a nice broad open question, Clare and Steve explore how to decide whether your next question should narrow the focus or broaden it out. Do you consciously decide and how sure are you of what your question is doing? Do you have a favourite focus; are you more comfortable going one way?

Coaches sometimes give homework to their clients. Clare and Steve discuss their own experiences of this, revealing their personal belief systems about it. But is homework just one topic which shines a light on bigger questions for us as coaches, and would exploration of your take on homework, with your supervisor, prove useful? Perhaps it would?

"How does one know to say you're not fit for a session as a coach?" This was the group supervision question raised recently that Steve and Clare explore.Maybe you are physically, mentally or emotionally not at your 'best' level, but don't want to cancel with your client as they may judge you, you may feel guilty, or maybe you simply need the money? This a great topic for group supervision because we will all, as coaches, experience physical, emotional and mental 'dips' because ... we are all human.

Clare and Steve talk with Salma Shah about how to coach under-represented and minority groups in a majority space. We can all learn to listen more intently to what is going on for the people we work with, so as not to make any assumptions about their life experience or entanglements. Salma helps us to pay more attention to the subtleties of difference, no matter whether that is about being an introvert in an extroverted world or being from a working-class background in a middle-class organisation (to name just two that are less frequently talked about). But that in itself is a simplification, given the intersectionalities that exist within all of us. You'll find Salma's book here: https://amzn.eu/d/2tYPWF3 Salma is the Founder and Director of the award-winning Mastering Your Power, a certified coach training programme designed with a wider systemic lens of diversity, inclusion, belonging and equity. Based in London, UK she works with clients at a senior level in public, private and voluntary sectors; supervises and trains other coaches; presents at events both in the UK and internationally.

At some point, we will all transition to working less or not at all. This sometimes comes to supervision. Given that the word comes from the French retirer, to withdraw (back to a place of safety), Clare and Steve discuss the importance of ending well in order to make a great, safe new beginning, finding one's (new) identity; what it takes to shut down a business safely and satisfactorily.

Clare and Steve talk with Michelle Lucas about stimulating ways to build reflective practice into your schedule. They discover that they all dislike journaling as a form of reflection, but that prompts that are auditory, visual, kinaesthetic and metaphorical approaches that can bring much more joy to reflective practice, and much more insight, compared to simply playing back what happened. Michelle's book, Creating the Reflective Habit: A Practical Guide for Coaches, Mentors and Leaders, is on Amazon and in all good bookshops: https://amzn.eu/d/aEGHjyQHer monthly reflective practice sessions, where you reflect individually yet in community, can be booked on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/greenfields-reflective-practice-space-tickets-129774419783?aff=ebdsoporgprofileAnd you can connect with Michelle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-lucas-a542223

Arising from Transactional Analysis, the idea of game-play originated by Eric Berne is the subject of this episode. In any human interaction or exchange, game-play is possible. Clare and Steve explore examples they have experienced in coaching and supervision. They refer to the social and psychological messages that lie underneath games and how our need for strokes might unconsciously draw us into games.Something to explore with your supervisor!

Clare and Steve wonder whether the anxiety that coaches, and clients, feel about the state of the world, leads to lower levels of courageous intervention in our coaching. This episode takes us through a model called BANI, developed by Jamais Cascio to replace VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous), which Jamais suggests is becoming obsolete as the pace of change has become even greater. BANI stands for:BrittleAnxiousNon-linearIncomprehensibleYou can read more about it here: https://thinkinsights.net/leadership/bani/ As always, we encourage you to bring anything to supervision when you feel brittle or anxious and when the situation feels non-linear or incomprehensible. Given the complexities, this may need to be a theme for your supervision for a while.

Clare and Steve welcome Georgina Woudstra to the podcast to acknowledge the growth in team coaching and to ask, what is good team coaching and how do we get good supervision for the challenges that arise for a team coach?Georgina is a leader in the development of team coaching. She leads the Team Coaching Studio - https://teamcoachingstudio.com/ Georgina's book, "Mastering The Art of Team Coaching: A comprehensive guide to unleashing the power, purpose and potential in any team" is on Amazon and in all good bookshops:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Art-Team-Coaching-comprehensive/dp/1838467602

Clare and Steve ponder this perhaps taboo subject. Taboo because it doesn't rear its head in supervision very often, yet we suspect that there is more of it in the system than coaches like to admit to. We ask questions such as:What has shifted?What are you experiencing?What patterns in other parts of your life might be having an impact?What might it be like if you looked at it through a different lens?What agency do you have?If you sense that you have fallen out of love with coaching, listen in. Or even if something is wrong but you can't quite put your finger on it. These same questions can apply. With thanks to Tatiana Bachkirova and her book Coaching and Mentoring Supervision: Theory and Practice, which prompted this exploration.

Prompted by a discussion in Steve's supervision group, Clare and Steve explore what it means to sack a client. Maybe this is more relevant to the corporate client, but maybe we can also do this with a private client? Do we cover this in our terms and conditions?Where in the lifecycle of our work might we end our arrangement? Early, part way through, before we have started even? What is our response to the word, 'sacking'? What other words might apply - ending, terminating?What might be the trigger, the basis for us choosing to sack a client? Could it be our values, relationship conflict, failure to meet their commitments, or maybe their terms and conditions? Steve suggests a red light green light exercise.We chew the cud as usual, delving into the self reflection and exploration that supervision offers us as coaches.

Clare and Steve talk about breaking out of our coaching comfort zone, to do and be something that we are not normally, for the benefit of our thinker. Being and doing the same old routine, holding back or playing it safe, will not serve our clients as they are all unique and deserve diverse and discrete interventions from us, to meet them where they are. But what do we risk when we stop playing it safe; when we hold back?We also talk about whether you bring diverse, vulnerable and particularly shame-based aspects of your coaching into the supervision room.

In this episode Clare and Steve explore disruption and interruption. Whether they be third party, client or coach interruptions, auditory or visual interruptions in the 'Zoomworld', or disruptions we plan to spark new learning for our clients; how are you impacted by disruptions and interruptions? Do you even think about your relationship to disruption and what beliefs or mindset might lie behind that? Could you explore this more in supervision? We think we certainly could!Here's the link to Clare's latest book, newly published in September. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Transformational-Coach-Thinking-Through-Coaching/dp/1912300826/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2WZJXYQ1KZW79&keywords=the+transformational+coach+clare+norman&qid=1666002157&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjAwIiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=the+tran%2Caps%2C75&sr=8-1

Steve and Clare are joined by Tatiana Bachkirova, academic, educator, author, coach and supervisor. They discuss Tatiana's latest book; Coaching and Mentoring Supervision - Theory and Practice - exploring as they chat, working pluralistically, the variation that can be found in supervision, models, current research in the field of coaching and coach supervision, including the multiplicity of self and… Tatiana's elevator pitch to describe coaching supervision. Tatiana leads a developmental supervision group at Oxford Brookes, so if you're inspired by what you hear in this podcast, check out availability by mailing Tatiana at tbachkirova@brookes.ac.ukThe book we refer to is “Coaching and Mentoring Supervision - Theory and Practice”.

Taking their lead from Forrest Gump's expression “Life is like a box of chocolates”, Clare and Steve muse around the statement starter “Supervision is like…” What's the metaphor you would use?

Steve and Clare ask, Have you ever thought about your transitions into and out of supervision? How choiceful are you about these beginnings and endings? How do you make them good for you and good for your supervisor and/or group?

Steve asks - “How is it different if we come to supervision as a coach or if we come as a supervisee?” Clare and Steve explore how changing the name of the role we hold in the coaching and supervision relationships can impact how we come. Some supervisors refer to the coaches as supervisees, some do not. How do you think of yourself as you come to supervision, and if you try on the other ‘role' how is it different for you?

Clare and Steve talk with Charlotte Wilding, whose journey to coaching came via a career in teaching as a modern languages teacher. Charlotte now works with teachers and pupils to bring coaching skills into the local schools. We explore the undoubted merits of this, for the young people experiencing coaching as they make choices early in life and how that might lead to them extolling the virtues as well as returning to this form of growth as their career develops. We also touch on things to be mindful of, if you find yourself working with a client who isn't yet an adult. Charlotte shares her own journey and the important part supervision has played, then and now.

Clare and Steve explore bringing life to supervision. We tell our clients that it's not just about work, not just about the goal; that sometimes life gets in the way and that we are working with the whole person. So why is it we, as supervisees, don't always take all of ourselves to supervision? Health, parenting, burnout, menopause, retirement...

Clare and Steve look at all of the ways that we, as coaches and as supervisors, might get stuck in an echo chamber. We encourage ourselves, and you, to spread our wings and find different viewpoints or lenses through which to see the world and coaching, all in service of being a more rounded coach.

Clare and Steve talk with John Anderson about his non-traditional route into executive coaching, from being an RAF personal trainer, through personal and pastoral development for the RAF, alongside representing GB in canoeing and then on to coaching athletes through five cycles of Olympic Games. We talk about how this journey informs his coaching beliefs and profile today. And we all agree that we wouldn't be without supervision (of course we do, that's what this podcast series is all about!)

Clare and Steve discuss bio writing and what gets in our way, whether we are writing our bio for the first time or revisiting it to test whether it still describes the coach we are becoming. We notice how important it is to differentiate ourselves in our bio to make it stand out from the crowd – and we how tricky that can be, when our mindset tells us we are not any different from anyone else, or we can't sell ourselves, or we can't say a certain thing for fear of putting people off, or we haven't figured out what we don't want by way of clients. It's this work that you might bring to supervision: what is it in you that gets in your way of writing a high impact bio? And if you ever want to bring this or anything else to supervision, please do get in contact with one or both of us. You can find out more about our supervision services on our websites:Steve: https://idcoach.co.uk/supervision/Clare: https://www.clarenormancoachingassociates.com/

Clare and Steve, inspired by the Animas blog post of Nick Bolton, explore the place where empathy meets collusion. We seek to be empathetic as coaches, but when might that cross the line and become collusion with our clients? And collusion of course doesn't have to be expressed (even inadvertently), it can be implied by what we don't say or indeed by a smile, a facial movement or a shift in our posture. Our podcasters conclude that coaches should be reflecting on their work and any propensity to get this balance out of kilter is probably a trip to supervision.https://www.animascoaching.com/blog/separating-empathy-and-collusion-in-coaching/

Clare and Steve play in the somatic sandbox with experienced somatic coach Caroline Quaiffe. Derived from Soma (Grk), somatic refers to the body in all its intelligences - including emotional intellect, moral intellect as well physical/body intellect. We also explore the field - the 'intelligence of the system' (Hellinger - family systems). Working this way is a more spacious approach which honours what is, as well as the client's desire to grow and to shift something.Caroline's website https://coach.quaifeassociates.com/Somatic Coaching Programme – leaflet and link https://quaifeassociates.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1126998. With the code somaticcoaching it's £199 down from £360 - for one month from the podcast release date.

Clare and Steve discuss how grief and loss show up in coaching and in supervision, with Madeleine Lankston who finds that much of her coaching has elements of both. As we discussed it, we realised that living loss (vs bereavement) is all around us and it behoves us to process that loss so that we don't carry the baggage of it into our future. The experience of grief and loss is different for everyone and it can accumulate, layer upon layer of loss over the course of a lifetime. Leaning into it can be affirming, validating and normalising.

Clare and Steve talk to Nicky Chambers about her history pre-coaching (it's fascinating!!), and how she brings this previous experience and ways of being into her coaching work. She champions connectivity in all she does. We got onto one of Clare's soapboxes, around learning to learn. Of course, we ask her when she started supervision as well, and how she has used it right from the word go to support her practice.

Clare and Steve begin with Steve telling a story about preparing a check-in for supervision - what emerged was a check-in question, “What's distracting you?”. From here they wander into being ready to learn and trying versus emergence - can we try too hard and does emergence serve us well sometimes? What if as coaches we tried less hard to move our client forward or to ask the right question? Is this being fully present? Following a gruesome question from Claire (yuk!), they meander towards trust and stillness in an episode where the pace simply slows as we go.

In a rich, insight packed episode, Clare and Steve chat to Sorrel Roberts as they continue their mini- series of episodes with coaches who have come from a non-traditional route into coaching. Sorrel voyaged from Club Med through Lifestyle Management and working in a high net worth private family office to working at Comic Relief. Sorrel notices how much her past career has supported her in relationship management in her coaching. Sorrel, a parent herself, now works supporting working parents and grew up in a family where her mother, a coach, took a coaching approach to parenting. Sorrel is now training to be a supervisor and shares what has taken her to this step on her learning journey and what she is learning as she does so.

If you have ever worked as a sole trader for corporates, you will likely have encountered the agony that Clare and Steve discuss in this episode. In particular, they talk about the processes and practices which corporates adopt to streamline their own business processes such as procurement or payment or contracts, but which make little sense – and take lots of time - for a sole trader or limited company with one director. Listen in to hear the trials and tribulations, the additional administrative headaches that seem to come with the territory. Clare and Steve don't have all the solutions, but they do recognise that this energy drain could be something to bring to supervision, just like the myriad other energy drains that might occur in coaching or in business.

This episode continues our mini series of conversations with coaches who have come to coaching via unusual routes. Steve and Clare talk with Alun Bedding about his journey into coaching and then into supervision. We talk about what an internal coach might bring to supervision, in order to stay safe and stay sane. We also talk about the triumvirate of professional and personal development that is coaching, mentor coaching and supervision. Thank you Alun for being our guest.

Steve asks - "do you have a strategy when you start work with a client?" Clare and Steve explore the idea that we might have a strategy and how that might still leave space for the client to make choices and guide their own coaching. Who is leading and what are they leading on in the relationship? Is this about a strategy for the how, rather than the what?

Clare and Steve are joined by Anne Archer to explore mental health in the coaching space. As great listeners, why are we often reluctant to open up a conversation about mental health? Are we uncomfortable because of our understanding about the boundaries between coaching and therapy? Could it actually be unethical to not have the conversation? The spectrum of mental health is broad, from short-term tiredness to someone with suicidal thoughts, yet at both extremes people might appear to be functioning fully. How might supervision help? What's going on for the coach who might be avoiding approaching a client?https://annearcherassociates.com/

Clare and Steve explore losing work. Can we frame it differently - rather than I've lost work, I've gained space? They discover it's not just about work; what about losses more broadly? How we respond to the idea of loss - our relationship to loss - may say something about us as a coach? Some losses offer new opportunities - such as stopping the commute which used to be our downtime. How does losing work offer us the opportunity to explore what we really value?Blog post on losing my jobhttps://illuminateddandelion.com/2017/11/28/the-search-for-lost-things/