Supervision Coaching: Supervision, Ethics, and Continuous Professional Development
Supervision Coaching: Supervision, Ethics, and Continuous Professional Development
Article Type: Resources From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 11, Issue 1
Ed. Jonathan Passmore with the Association for Coaching,Kogan Page,ISBN: 978-0-7494-5533-0
Coaching supervision is a relatively new field and the amount of current literature on the subject reflects this, so Jonathan Passmore’s Supervision in Coaching offers a welcome contribution. This latest in a series of coaching books edited by Passmore on behalf of the Association for Coaching is an eclectic collection of contributions. In fact, it soon becomes clear that this book addresses the broader subject of CPD for coaches in some depth, of which its exploration of coaching supervision forms only a part.
Coaching comes of age
The focus on coach learning and development in this book is indicative of the coming of age of the comparatively young profession of coaching, as Katherine Tulpa outlines in the foreword. Coaching is now considered an essential contributor to organizational learning and development, and is widely embraced. Buyers of coaching services, and those who develop coaches within their organizations, are looking to maximize their results from coaching and are keen to see best coaching practice. Coaches themselves wish to learn and develop and increase their professional impact. Supervision in Coaching addresses how this can be achieved.
Passmore’s book includes a number of perspectives on coach development,from different types of supervision, to reflective practice and other forms of professional development. There are also thought-provoking presentations of the ethical issues within coaching – an unregulated field – and the presentation of a practical coaching ethics model for coaches to guide their continued learning in this important area.
A range of insights and approaches
The contributors to Supervision in Coaching offer a wide range of insights and approaches to coaching supervision, and expound tried and tested coaching supervision models from some of the leading developers in the field such as Peter Hawkins. More than just an interesting read and valuable source of material on the subject, Passmore’s authors bring much of the debate around coach development to the fore. It challenges the reader to consider what constitutes supervision, to assess the value of self-supervision and reflective practice versus supervision by another, to evaluate group supervision experiences alongside one-to-one supervision, to consider other forms of professional development and to confront the need to develop ethical robustness.
This book is a worthwhile read for anyone using coaching, interested in return on coaching investment and the professional development of coaches. It also provides valuable insight into learning for coaches wanting to maximize their on-going growth and performance, and useful thinking, techniques and models for coaching supervisors.
Lynne CooperExecutive coach, coach supervisor, Change Perspectives Partnership
