Coaching Supervision in the world and in Spain
Reflections on the state of coaching supervision in the world and in Spain.
In the last 20 years following the explosion of Coaching and Mentoring worldwide, we have also seen the value of supervision within these professions grow. Thanks to the seeds originally sown from psychotherapy and social work, today there is a wide range of training available internationally to become a Coach Supervisor and Mentor, both individually and in groups.
The accreditation requirements of professional coaching and mentoring associations stipulate the completion of a minimum number of hours of supervision for each year of professional life. Supervision offers protection for all stakeholders (client, coach/mentor, organization, universe) on ethical issues, maintenance of standards and personal/professional safety on wellness issues.
The definition of EMCC supervision is:
A safe space for reflective dialogue with a practicing supervisor that supports the practice, development and well-being of the supervisee.
Supervisory training programs started in the early 2000's in England and Germany. The first people interested in training were, and are, senior coaches, looking for the next challenge and a new stage in their own professional growth.
In a recent Webinar organized by the "Global Supervision Network" GSN, a round table was held to share successes and challenges among Supervisors from all over the world. Thanks to the efforts of some pioneers, there is activity in 6 of the 7 continents. The latest to start up have been the Middle East, Kenya, South Africa, Australasia, South Korea, and Latin America. The countries with the longest tradition of supervision are the United Kingdom, Germany, Benelux and France. In the last 7 years the situation has changed in the USA, and supervision is growing in its impact. The network of supervisors in the Americas is very active with meetings in English and Spanish.
What are some of the impediments?
When a person decides to train as a coach in a program recognized by a coaching association, supervision is an integral part of the learning process. But once the coach or mentor receives their certification, their priorities are more about growing their new business model. Many see supervision as an added expense, especially when clients are lacking.
Once a certified coach accumulates hours of experience, they begin to seek recognition for their practice. The best way is to follow an accreditation process, with one of the Coaching and Mentoring Associations. The interested party realizes the need to demonstrate a record, not only for their coaching or mentoring hours, but also for their supervision hours.
In Spain, there is a growing awareness of the advantages of attending supervision. But finding an accredited Supervisor is more difficult. Until now, to train as a supervisor you had to go "outside" or study virtually in a school with roots in another country. There is still no Spanish "body of wisdom".
In addition, the standards and language related to supervision among associations are different. Some call for Mentor Coaching and others for Supervision. Now they are getting closer, but these differences and the lack of representation of associations bidding for supervision result in a snail's pace of growth.
In Spain, as the community of certified and accredited Supervisors is very small, many Coaches/Mentors turn to their "Senior" colleagues for their Supervision, without them having received training in the subject.
In the last 3 years in Europe, between 10 and 15 new books have been published on the subject, most of them in English. The lack of a selection of books written or translated in Spanish is another brake on the expansion of know-how south of the Pyrenees.
Looking to the future
Things are changing and the subject is beginning to have more visibility. There is a small community of Overseers, as mentioned above, trained abroad, who wish to spread the word in the Iberian Peninsula.
Thanks to the efforts of EMCC Spain, AC and the work of some pioneers, we started to receive invitations for webinars on the subject.
A new training program organized by "Supervision Space will offer a first training module in May in May.
We want to create our own community of supervision, where there can be collaborative projects, exchanges of experiences and research projects. The seeds have been sown, there are already webinars in Spanish at international level but we need to do more.
In the short term, the opening of more supervisory schools, with recognition by associations, is a priority. The translation of more books to inspire and guide trainees and the development of our first generation of "Made in Spain" supervisors are the next steps.
