VIRTUAL PROFESSIONAL NETWORK

Free webinars and resources for supervisors to support their professional development

The Global Supervisors’ Network (GSN) is unique.  It is the first, free, participative network for supervisors across the world who are working in coaching, mentoring and consultancy to provide each other with, and receive, Continuing Personal and Professional Development virtually.  It also supports research in the field of supervision, and has working groups for example in internal supervision, research, supervision of supervision and in supervision and the climate and ecological emergency.  While it collaborates with all the coaching, mentoring and supervision professional bodies, it is not affiliated to any one body.  The guiding principles are at the bottom of this section.

It was set up by Eve Turner in early 2016 and the criteria for joining are that members are qualified and experienced supervisors of coaches, mentors and/or consultants.  There are webinars at least monthly, where more than 240 members from around the world provide each other with excellent learning opportunities on a range of diverse subjects broadly related to supervision and/or personal development.  Recordings and other materials, such as slides, are made available for members of the network.  This is all done at no cost to members to join or attend the webinars with the sole aim of supporting best practice.

GNS members include supervisors working in countries such as the USA, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Kenya, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, India, Oman, Qatar and Turkey, as well as throughout Europe such as Spain, Poland, Portugal, France, Finland, Hungary, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and the UK.  The GSN has established a community that brings together some of the leading thinkers in the field.  To date there have been 140+ webinars.

In March 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic spread further around the world, causing lockdowns in multiple countries, the GSN started running special sessions on “Supervision and the Coronavirus” looking at supervising at a time of crisis.  Fortnightly sessions to share ideas and provide mutual support were arranged and held twice monthly up to cover global time zones, up to December 2020.

Members can also choose to be involved in working groups and research projects and they have participated in research on ethics, contracting, the role generational differences may play in supervision, dealing with bereavement in coaching and supervision and supervision of supervision (led by Julia Menaul).  The innovative research into supervision of supervision, through the workgroup,  began in Autumn 2017 and initial findings were reported in the AC’s Global Perspectives magazine, pages 39-41, in late 2017 and at the EMCC research conference in 2018.

Three more working groups were set up in 2020.  The first is on ‘Supervision and Reflective Practice In The Face of a Climate and Ecological Emergency’ and has a core team of Hellen Hettinga, Anna Casas, Andra Morosi, Rebecca Stevens, Colin Wilson and Dr Alison Whybrow.  There is a group looking at supervising internal coaches, co-led by Cheryl Cooper and Jenny Mitchell and the most recent, a working group that will actively support research into supervision, co-led by Dr Colleen Harding and Dr Michel Moral and with sub-groups looking at different resaerch topics such as the impact and benefits of supervision, team coaching, and ethical practice.

Members are also involved in running aspects of the GSN, including an active Content group with members Anne Calleja, Veronica Wantenaar, Sam Farmer, Benita Stafford-Smith, Fiona Benton and Eve Turner,  setting up sessions.  There is also a coordinating group which includes Jane Cox, Hellen Hettinga, Jenny Mithcell, Sophie Bruas, Jeanine Bailey, Michel Moral and Colleen Harding, and a group developing a bespoke GSN website with Alex van Oostveen, Amanda Horne, Emilia Piera, Angela Dunbar and Fiona Benton.

Publications and conference presentations have involved members such as Michel, Moral, Jo Birch, Carole Whitaker, Kristina Crabbe, Peter Hawkins, Damian Goldvarg and Eve Turner.  This includes a chapter written by Michel Moral and Eve Turner on supervision of supervision in a 2019 EMCC book on supervision edited by Jo Birch and Peter Welch.  Jo Birch has also written an article for Coaching Today (October 2020) based on her experience of supervision of supervision, through a GSN research group.

Members also discussed the state of coaching supervision globally in two sessions in December 2018, chaired by Professor Peter Hawkins.  The results were written up by members Carol Whitaker and Kristina Crabbe: Whitaker, C. and Crabbe, K. (2019).  The global challenges of coaching supervision, in Coaching at Work Vol 14 (2), pp13-16.  They were also the subject of a conference presentation in May 2019 with Carol, Kristina and Peter Hawkins at the 8th international coaching supervision conference held at Oxford Brookes University.

The Global Supervisors’ Network is also proud to have offered to partner with EthicalCoach, the philanthropic arm of WBECS, to support aspiring coaches in Africa with supervision.  Following coach training for the coaches by Professor David Clutterbuck, GSN members have given their time, voluntarily, to supervise the coaches since spring 2018, ending in spring 2021.  The aim of this phase of EthicalCoach has been to support NGO leaders from Ethiopian non-government/civil society organizations committed to tackling humanitarian and environmental challenges, so aiming to transform the lives of children and families in need.  More details of the initiative can be found on the EthicalCoach website.

Please contact Eve Turner ([email protected]) or the Administrator to the GSN, Fiona Benton ([email protected]) for more details on the GSN.  Virtual sessions are held at both 1900 on Thursdays and 0800 on Fridays (UK time) to accomodate time zones, at least monthly.

Guiding Principles

  1. A community for experienced and qualified coaching/mentoring supervisors who have done 50+ hours delivering supervision
  2. No particular affiliation to any one body or organisation, but open to all members of all bodies and other individuals provided they meet the joining requirements
  3. A continued commitment to free monthly webinars and free membership for all
  4. A learning community that supports development in the field so is actively involved in research, writing and pro bono work in coaching, mentoring and supervision
  5. To be accessible from anywhere in the world, and offering webinars in different time zones each month to facilitate this
  6. Respecting each other’s copyright therefore being able to share materials with trust
  7. Not advertising to each other, but promoting, for example, conferences in supervision.

CPD webinar schedule for 2021

29/30 July – Inside The World of Supervision of Supervision. Dr Lise Lewis, Jo Birch, Natalia de Estevan-Ubeda, Dr Damian Goldvarg, Dr Michel Moral and Julia Menaul.

This session will dive into the fascinating world of Supervision of Supervision, its complexities and the findings of the two distinct phases of the on-going Action Research led by a group of GSN members.

Participants will gain an understanding of what happens in SoS from different perspectives.

Note: the GSN SoS Research group is formed by the following GSN members: Dr. Lise Lewis, Jo Birch, Natalia de Estevan-Ubeda, Julia Menaul, Dr. Damian Goldvarg, Dr. Michel Moral.

26/27 August 2021 – Storytelling for Coaches and Supervisors.  Maggie Joao

This interactive webinar will give participants the chance to understand how useful storytelling is as a coaching tool through:

– sharing shorts stories in sessions,

– providing a different lens to the client’s narrative gaining some distance to it.

– the opportunity to explore coaches’ and supervisors’ own narratives and understanding how thesey are serving them.

2/3 September 2021.  Power and the Co-vision/Supervisory relationship.  Dr Louise Sheppard and Dr Henry Campion

In this participative session, including breakout rooms, we will:

  • Explore the nature of power, drawing on motivation theory and neurophysiology to increase our understanding about it.
  • Share the sources of power and uses of it during Co-vision/Supervision and reflect on how we currently exercise power as supervisors.
  • Consider how we can best use a participatory, supervisee-led approach to coaching supervision and what steps we can take to minimise our potential to exert power over others.

23/24 September 2021 – Jackee Holder

We understand and know about the benefits of coaching outdoors. But how do you bring the many restorative and well being benefits of nature into coaching inside?  Discover how expressive writing can add value to your coaching and supervision portfolio providing a much needed creative and dynamic lens into problem solving and amplifying opportunities for future growth.

This is a practical session where you will be invited to engage with a series of expressive writing exercises inspired by a combination of eco-psychology and nature inspired writing and journaling writing prompts. A reading list will be shared at the end of the webinar.

7/8 October 2021 – How does Mental Health show up in Coaching and Supervision? Research outcomes – Natalia de Estevan-Ubeda and Peter Duffell

This session will present the outcomes of the research undertaken on how mental health challenges may show up in coaching and supervision following a global survey. Noting that there is widespread acceptance that mental health issues are on the increase, we undertook a practical survey to determine if this was what coaches and supervisors were actually experiencing. We will present key themes from literature research as well and will offer key discussion points.

Participants will gain insights on the complexities of working with mental health in their practice, its challenges and ethical considerations and will become more aware of their stance and preparedness when working with mental health.

The session will combine data sharing and interactive breakout sessions.

21/22 October 2021 – “So I think I know me – how I show up as supervisor” – Dr Judy Ryde with support from Eve Turner

The Indian philosopher Krishnamurthy said: “You might think you are thinking your own thoughts, but you are not you are thinking your culture’s thoughts.” Against an ever-changing background covering racial, social, economic and climate discussions, this workshop considers some basic questions. To work with difference we believe we need first to understand ourselves, and our own roots as we bring our culture and assumptions into all we do, whatever our role: leadership, coaching, mentoring and supervision. This webinar will take a creative, reflective and exploratory approach to help us understand these assumptions, in a hopefully fun and illuminating way! With a poll and three breakout discussions, we hope that by the end participants will have discovered and challenged often unconscious thoughts that we hold to be truths. We may unearth thoughts and feelings we would rather not own, but by doing so in a safe environment, this may help us understand why we react in certain ways and leave with fresh ideas for working with our clients, supervisees and teams.

11/12 November 2021 – Deepening presence using the ‘hero’s journey’. Mary Britton

This session will explore a process, with participants themselves at the centre as learner/participant, using the metaphor of the hero’s journey to deepen presence. The session will provide you with a useable process to take away to work with others.

Previous sessions:

10/11 December.   2020: a review of ‘That was the year that was’!  Anne Calleja.

In this session we invite you to be creative and bring your stories of your experience, learnings and discoveries through 2020. You will have the opportunity to share in small groups and reflect on ‘the year that was’. Bring along a picture, cake, model, song, poem, constellation, story, metaphor etc.  that reflects the year for them.

7 and 8 January 2021.  Exploring Neil’s Wheel – a simple, free and holistic thinking tool.  How might it be used in supervision?  Neil Scotton. 

In this GSN session with Neil, hosted by the GSN sub-group on the Climate and Ecological Emergency, we will be exploring his Wheel to consider what its role might be in supervision.  The tool is being adopted by coaches across North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia to enable transformative conversations quickly and consistently.  We can use it for ourselves and with clients to:

  • Enable life and work to have a more direct, positive impact in society and on the planet.
  • Become more integrated as a person and with the people and planet around them
  • Enter light, playful and profound conversations that honour the client’s/supervisee’s agenda.

It is just starting to be used in supervision and after outlining the tool and working with it ourselves, we will jointly inquire how it might be used in supervision.  See the following link for further details and how others describe it: https://neilswheel.org/

28/29 January 2021.  Supervision as spiritual practice. Robin Shohet.

There is no spiritual being who can be so useful as a good supervisor. (Rowan, J. The Reality Game).  I often quote Wilfred Bion who suggests going into a session without memory, desire or understanding.  We will unpack this statement together, but basically it amounts to being in the here and now. We will look at some of the beliefs, introjects, conditioning and scripts that might stop this from happening, working towards the idea that when we are open, the answers can come through us.  We get out of the way and move towards what is called in Zen, Beginner’s Mind.

18 and 19 February 2021.  Art-based Supervision with Anna Sheather

This will be an experiential and reflective session where we explore the possibilities and opportunities that using art in supervision gives our supervisees and their clients.  Art based working is an extraordinarily powerful way of communicating the complex and systemic, as well as the hidden. It offers a language for those things we just don’t have the words for.  Anna will share her own approach to art-based supervision that she is currently researching and developing.

18 and 19 March.  Systemic approaches to supervision.  Dr Paul Lawrence.

Paul will share five different ways of thinking about systems and invite participants to reflect on their own practice in that context.  Participants will gain access to different ways of approaching their work, and some practical ideas on how to develop their practice further.

8/9 April 2021.  The push/pull – of Coaching Supervision – working with coachee resistance.  What we can learn from supervising coaches who work in healthcare settings? Dr Sylvie Benjamin.

Coaching patients resistant to change has been proven to bring about cognitive and behaviour change for effective health benefits. We will explore transferable research evidence and experience from Supervising NHS Health Coaches that can be used where there is resistance from any supervisee and/or client.

6/7 May 2021 – Continuing the exploration with Neil’s Wheel – Part 2.  Neil Scotton.

Early in January the GSN subgroup Climate & Ecological Emergency invited Neil Scotton for Part 1: an introduction to Neil’s Wheel – a simple, free and holistic thinking tool. Participants discovered and experimented with the tool and started to explore how it might be used in supervision.  These are follow-up sessions.

In Part 2, we would love to hear about experiments and learnings in your practices and your personal lives related to Neil’s Wheel – and possibly also in relation to climate/ecology. We are hoping to hear your reflections, your stories, anything that you may have tried (what worked, what did not go so well), anything surprising that came up, and collectively move the agenda on further too.  Neil will bring the latest learnings from professional coaches and supervisors globally who have been sharing their experiences with the Wheel.

All are welcome but if you didn’t attend the first we encourage you to familiarise yourself with Neil’s Wheel to make the most of the session https://neilswheel.org/ and watch the short video to familiarise yourself.  Bring your Wheel, and your thoughts, reflections, questions and more to the session.

20/21 May 2021.  Power and the Co-vision/Supervisory relationship.  Dr Louise Sheppard and Dr Henry Campion.

In this participative session, including breakout rooms, we will:

  • Explore the nature of power, drawing on motivation theory and neurophysiology to increase our understanding about it.
  • Share the sources of power and uses of it during Co-vision/Supervision and reflect on how we currently exercise power as supervisors.
  • Consider how we can best use a participatory, supervisee-led approach to coaching supervision and what steps we can take to minimise our potential to exert power over others.

10/11 June 2021.  A Trauma informed Approach to coaching supervision – A Psychological Lens.   Anne Calleja.

We will cover:

  • The key principles to a Trauma Informed Approach.
  • The key indicators and expressions of Trauma within coaching and coaching supervision.
  • Consider how you may bring a Trauma Informed Approach to your work as a Coaching Supervisor. The session will be participative, informative and dynamic.

The context: given we are experiencing multiple shifts globally, politically and economically alongside the challenges we are processing within our own lives in parallel with our clients  and supervisees – being more psychologically minded in our approach has become more significant.

The invitation: this session offers you the opportunity to build your awareness of a Trauma Informed Approach and how you may integrate it into your Coaching Supervision practice.

6 July Finite and Infinite Games.  Robin Shohet special workshop.

The title comes from an excellent little book called Finite and Infinite Games by James Carse.  The purpose of a finite game is to have an outcome and once that is achieved the game stops.  Virtually all sport is a finite game.  Right and wrong are finite games and the law is based on this.  The purpose of an infinite game on the other hand is to play for the love of it and the aim is to keep the game going. So improvisation in jazz or drama would be examples of infinite games as would children’s play. 

To return to a theme of fear and love which I have been teaching for many years, fear is involved in a finite game. The fear of losing something, whether it is the game, a client or a lawsuit.  Love knows itself as infinite and can see life unfolding as it is.  Going to a workshop for the love of discovery would be an infinite game as would seeing a friend for the love of seeing them. Our life is becoming one which is increasingly transactional and outcome driven.  Of course there is a place for such things, but are we being driven by them?  Byron Katie suggests doing The Work for the love of it, not to get a result.  And paradoxically with that stance, I have seen transformation happen in myself and others. 

8/9 July – Working with themes in coaching supervision.  Dr Tatiana Bachkirova.

This topic might appear too obvious for some supervisors, but Tatiana has noticed that supervisors develop a tendency to respond entirely to the requests that come from supervisees. Sometimes they bring specific cases to explore, sometimes more general themes. As supervisors, should we be being more proactive in this regard? For example, if themes are important, should we generate them? If yes, then how might we best do this? Why might we avoid doing this? What are the themes of our own supervision practice? These, and more questions on this topic, will be the focus of this session.

Congratulations to GSN members who are 2019 EMCC Global Supervision Award Winners

Many congratulations to GSN members Dr Damian Goldvarg, Dr Lise Lewis and Dr Michel Moral who have been announced as 2019 EMCC Global Supervision Award winners.

“As EMCC we define the purpose of supervision to enhance the wellbeing, and develop the practice of coaches and/or mentors of all levels of experience, and we consider supervision as a powerful vehicle for deep learning in a systemic way. I’m so proud that all three winners of EMCC 2019 supervision awards are distinguished practitioners doing excellent work extending the reach of best practice in supervision not only in Europe but also in the Americas, Africa, and French speaking countries. It is not only their contributions in terms of raising the professional standards but also their pro bono work that makes a great impact on the future of coaching and mentoring. I should also extend my special thanks to our distinguished jury members for their diligent work in selecting such high calibre winners.”
Dr Riza Kadilar, EMCC President

The full EMCC announcement can be read here.

Congratulations to GSN members at the Coaching at Work awards (July 2019)

Several GSN members were shortlisted for these prestigious annual Coaching at Work magazine annual awards, which is in itself a huge achievement. Some were also highly commended or won awards at the ceremony in London on 3 July 2019.

External Coaching/Mentoring Champion:

Highly commended: Lise Lewis

Comments: “Remarkable energy, championing mentoring and coaching internationally…There are few people who have given as much of themselves to the profession with such huge gnerosity, intelligence and humour!”

Contributions to Coaching Supervision:

Winner: Peter Welch, co-founder of the Association of Coaching Supervisors, now in its 10th year

Comments: “Peter deserves to be recognised in this special year (tenth anniversary of AoCS) for the huge amount of voluntary hours he puts into his roles, with such great passion and vigour.”

Highly commended: Jo Birch

Comments: “Major advocate and promoter of coach supervision and for raising standards…rare global perspective.”

Lise Lewis and Benita Treanor (with Claire Palmer)

Comments: “Far-reaching impact e.g. raising standards & developing supervision in the various bodies, and collaborative multi-stakeholder ventures…their work continues to reverberate a decade on.”

and Elaine Patterson (with Karyn Prentice)

Comments: “Karyn and Elaine have been the most incredibly generous, kind, supportive and amazing women” (Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Trust)

Shortlisted: Carol Whitaker

Best Article/article series:

Joint winners: Jonathan Passmore and Eve Turner for their two part series (with Marta Filipiak) on their research on how coach supervisors respond to ethical dilemmas and tricky issues, research supported by GSN members.

Comments: “Global span…a thought provoking, challenging and important series.”

Highly commended: Elaine Patterson and the 7Cs

Comments: “Inspiring and practical”

Shortlisted: David Clutterbuck Coaching teams of teams; Eve Turner and Peter Hawkins’ on how to use recordings in supervision; Eve Turner’s Tried and Tested on her Halo and Horns model.

(Occasional) Lifetime Achievement Award

Winner: Fiona Adamson

Comments: “Authentic, unsung hero, humble, wise. Utter delight…one of the people the field of coaching supervision owes a debt to.”

David Gray was also posthumously given this Award.

Congratulations to GSN members Tatiana Bachkirova, Angela Wright and Eve Turner at the EMCC 2018 supervision awards (January 2019)

GSN members Professor Tatiana Bachkirova and Eve Turner and Angela Wright, jointly won the 2018 Supervision Award at the EMCC January 2019 Coaching, Mentoring, and Supervision Awards.

Eve says: “I am thrilled, surprised, honoured, and humbled to have received the EMCC Supervision Award, and I am really grateful to those who took the time to make nominations, to the judges for their time, and to the EMCC for highlighting the importance of supervision.  In the decade since my supervision training, I’ve been fortunate to work with the most amazing, supportive people as supervisor, writer, and researcher. When I set up the Global Supervisors’ Network (GSN) to provide CPD for trained and qualified supervisors I had no idea it would grow to the current 150 members globally. By January 2019 we’ve run 80 webinars at no cost to members to join or attend. Volunteering has also provided wonderful opportunities, with the EMCC, and on important humanitarian projects as a volunteer supervisor, like CoachActivism with refugees, and most recently through the GSN as a supervision partner to EthicalCoach for charities and non-profit organisations. Thank you so much for this encouragement.”

Tatiana says: “Thank  you  very  much,  EMCC!  It  is  lovely  to  receive  such  recognition  in  the  professional area that is so close to my heart. Long live coaching supervision for the benefit of the whole coaching field!”

Angela says: “I feel honoured and humbled to receive this award from such a highly regarded organisation as EMCC, whose purpose and vision are so closely aligned with my own. On a personal level, this feels like a milestone in my own journey from a lawyer to coach and coach supervisor , which started over 10 years ago. As a very small lever in this huge system of which we are all a part, I acknowledge those who have supported and motivated me in my work, including my amazing supervisors and supervisees, the wonderful members of our supervision groups, and the enthusiastic coaches who participated in the recent coaching supervision research project. Your openness and generosity provide the impetus and energy for this work. I believe that we are at a pivotal moment in the evolution of coaching supervision, particularly in the USA. It is a privilege to be able to play, even a small part, in its co-creation and emergence in what I hope is a positive and powerful way. Thank you doesn’t even come close to describing the gratitude I feel towards my teachers, mentors, colleagues, and friends at the University of Sydney, who opened up this world to me, and inspire me to be more, and do more, every day. Finally, I’d like to thank my teachers and ‘my tribe’ and Oxford Brookes University in the UK , whose wisdom, guidance (and humour) I cherish.”

Congratulations to GSN members at the Coaching at Work awards (July 2018)

Quite a few GSN members were nominated and highly commended or won awards at the Coaching at Work magazine annual awards in London on 4 July 2018.

Contributions to External Coaching

Winner: Anne Hathaway – for her work on Time To Think over many years.  Anne is co-leading the August 2018 session on Supervision and Time To Think.

Highly Commended: Jackee Holder – for a range of work including around reflective writing and journaling and her work in diverse practice.  Jackee ran the January 2017 GSN session.

Best Article/Series

Winner: Louise Sheppard – for her work on supervisee-led supervision.  This formed a number of excellent articles for the magazine and was the basis of her February 2018 GSN sessions.

Highly commended: Eve Turner and Jonathan Passmore – for research (involving many GSN members) on ethics & supervision and development of their ethical decision-making model.

Contributions to Supervision

Winner: Eve Turner – for GSN, voluntary work, writing and research. Co-leading a GSN session in August.

Nominees: Peter Welch – who co-founded and helps lead the Association of Coaching Supervisors and is involved in a project looking at ethics for the AC/AOCS.  Peter co-led a GSN session in June.

Nominees: Louise Sheppard – for her work on research and supervision presented in part in February for the GSN.

Nominees: Michelle Lucas and Carol Whitaker – who have written two highly rated books on supervision.  Both very active, Michelle leads on supervision for the Association for Coaching and Carol presented the April 2018 GSN session with Angela Dunbar.  Together they have produced a report on “How different kinds of supervision affect experience” which was circulated to GSN members earlier this week.

Congratulations to them all!

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