Coaching Supervision articles
Explore our insightful articles and discover their relevance to you
Brené Brown’s Rising Strong – How to fall, learn from failure and bravely stand again
The American researcher and internet phenomenon Brené Brown’s popular book, Daring Greatly, explores the importance of not giving up. Her ideas are inspired by a speech by Teddy Roosevelt, Citizenship in a Republic, delivered at the Sorbonne in Paris way back in 1910. You can read it at the end of this post.
Discover the power of single, double and triple loop learning
We are creatures of habit, so learning and change can be a tricky thing to drive. Some kinds of change are harder to implement than others. Single, double and triple loop learning, as defined by Argyris & Schön in 1974 can be a helpful way of understanding how we become stuck, and why, when, and how transformational learning is more likely to occur.
About Narrative Fallacy – And how to stop it running your life
Humans adore stories. We also love the idea of cause and effect, and that's why we create narratives to explain and justify the way we are, the things we do and the way we feel.
Working with three horizons in mind – shaping new futures
We are living in such uncertain and volatile times. Everyone is searching for some ‘handle’ on the future? We are seeking to see what emerges and how to shape different futures - find a way forward through all the uncertainties and complexities.
Stages of Creativity and Coaching – Part 1
The idea of creativity having developmental stages is not new. It has been around for a long time. It is as relevant now though, as it was in the past. Creativity and innovative outcomes are always needed in business. Concepts that work in reality have great value.
Cultivating Deliberate Creativity in Teams – Part 2
In this blog, I continue to explore how creativity is best understood as a collective effort. One that always involves other people. I describe how this understanding can help groups to think differently and become more deliberately creative. Describing what they need do to get the creativity juices flowing.
The Scarf Model – David Rock’s take on social threats and rewards
You’re a business manager, leader, change agent, mentor, or coach. Your working life is all about having significant conversations that encourage collaboration, and a big part of that is influencing others. It’s a constant challenge.
The Paradox of Luck – Part 1
What are the chances of you existing at all? This was the question that Ali Binazir, the critically acclaimed author and self-described ‘Happiness Engineer’ asked himself. The answer he arrived at: 1 in 102,685,000. Or 10 followed by 2,685,000 zeroes.
Maximising return on luck – Part 2
In this blog, I take a closer look at what Jim Collins and Morten Hansen, the American researchers, authors, and consultants have contributed towards our understanding of luck. Then in turn, how we can apply this understanding to recent events related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adopting A Lucky Perspective – Part 3
In this blog, I will take a closer look at examples I have already touched upon in the last two blogs, to help us understand and shape events before they happen in the future.
Solution Circles – Harnessing Group Creativity
Solution-focused approaches to coaching advocate that people are inherently resourceful and creative. It therefore stands to reason that, under the right conditions if we can facilitate groups effectively and in a collaborative way, the potential for even better ideas and outcomes will follow.
Challenging your ‘Righting Reflex’ in coaching – the trap of offering your own solutions
As coaches we want to make a difference. We want to see our clients grow and develop. We are motivated to see clients become unstuck, to achieve their goals and be successful. Sometimes subtly though, our great intentions can go awry.
Harness the power of Solution-Focused Coaching – Part 1
Do more of what works! This is why Solution Focused approaches in both therapy and coaching have gone from strength to strength since its genesis in the 1970s. Here are some of the fundamentals of solution-focused approaches.
The solution in Solution-Focused work: Why does it work? – Part 2
This article explores why solution-focused techniques are useful. The table below is a reminder of the basic principles and takes a deeper look into some of the reasons why these techniques are known to be effective.
Do all clients begin at the same starting point? Understanding the Stages of Change – Part 3
Previously, I outlined how adopting a solution-focused mindset and using some of the techniques associated with Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) can be a powerful approach to incorporate into your work as a coach. This blog highlights the importance of being mindful of nature of change itself.
When the solution is in the listening. The gift of being heard – Part 4
In this series of blogs I have discussed what Solution-focused coaching looks like, including some of the common techniques associated with this approach and why it works. When it works, it feels like magic. Whilst these techniques are key ingredients of this magic, there is a danger that it can overlook a more fundamental element that is needed: Listening.
Leading with Solution-Focused Eyes – Part 5
In this series on the Solution-Focused approach, we have explored the underlying principles and some of the techniques that flow from working in this way. We have also described why they are useful. One of the key aspects is that a coach grounded in solution-focused principles can more readily and effectively support clients in moving towards achieving their goals.
Know the signs – Does your client need coaching or therapy?
Life can be extremely challenging at work and at home. It can get the better of us all at one time or other. As a result the World Health Organization says that depression and anxiety disorders, including stress-related psychiatric issues, are set to become just as prevalent as cardiovascular diseases.
Gathering around a roaring telly – The science of storytelling
In the 1970s parents told children they'd get 'square eyes' from watching too much telly. There's still some snobbery around the idea of hunkering down in front of the TV, which is seen as somehow less worthy than the theatre, opera, film, books, even radio.
About the Drama Triangle – And how to escape it
If you've ever found yourself trapped in a personal Drama Triangle, you will already know how detrimental it can be to relationships. But it also rears its ugly head in a business context, and it's something well worth watching out for.
How different nationalities see the world differently – And why it matters
Tip a waiter in the USA and you'll get a smile, but tip a waiter in Korea and you can cause offence. In a country where people take a lot of pride in their jobs, extra incentives to get it right the first time are an insult.
What makes a great mentor?
Have you ever enjoyed the support of a skilled mentor, someone whose qualities and attitudes have helped you become the best you can be? Maybe you've been lucky enough to have had more than one fantastic mentor helping you reach your goals?
The joy of connection and completion – About Gestalt theory and coaching
The principle of figure and ground in Gestalt describes the way we all move to complete things, the strong human desire we feel to create a neat whole.
Mastering the ‘experience economy’ – How customers or clients get what they want
The theory of the ‘Experience Economy’ gives us a powerful way of understanding how people get what they want in any ‘marketplace’. It matters because structuring your business around the idea will change the way you look at what you are doing, and how your clients experience it. If it sounds exciting, it is. Here’s an introduction to the experience economy.
The exciting benefits of a multi-generational workplace
As the brilliant Chip Conley says in his Ted Talk about intergenerational workplaces, “It’s hard to microwave your emotional intelligence”.
Executive Coaching Supervision – What isn’t said, what is said, and why both matter
It’s important to explore and develop a breadth of narratives during executive supervision. Stories, especially when told from different perspectives, can either loosen the initial first draft narrative, hold or strengthen it’s shape or even shift to an entirely different theme.
Getting creative in Executive Coaching Supervision
Creativity enhances all sorts of situations. Creative thinking often delivers sparkles of brilliance, amazing and unexpected insights. And a creative slant gives executive coaches some real advantages, helping them re-imagine situations, dream up unusual solutions, and see things very differently. Here’s how creativity in executive coaching supervision can be a real game-changer.
Go to the balcony in coaching supervision – Find a different perspective
As an executive coach, one of the most useful aspects of regular coaching supervision is that it helps you to think differently, to find important and exciting new frames on what's happening in your practice.
How to make the most of your coaching supervision sessions.
Every coach is different, and every effective coaching supervisor understands how important it is to get the practical side of things right from the start. Setting up the right context for yourself and preparing well pays enormous dividends, enhancing the quality of your sessions
About Executive Coaching Supervision – Being your very best
As this century progresses, the workplace is steadily becoming more challenging. The skill set you need as a leadership coach today is broader and deeper than it has ever been.
How to choose a coaching supervisor
How will you choose the best coaching supervisor for you? Who might stand out from the crowd for you? How will you know for sure that you have found that person? Here are some ideas that may help you make this crucial decision.
Golden threads in coaching
There is power in simplicity. If you can articulate the core principles in a way that others can quickly grasp, it makes running a coaching practice so much easier.
