20/21 January 2022 – How would we supervise if supervision didn’t exist? Ant Mitchell
A collaborative exploration of what we find to be fundamental in our work through which we can help each other renew our thinking and focus.
The aim of the session is to try and free ourselves – to the extent that we ever can – from existing concepts and constraints of what it is we think supervision is, and to help each other explore what else it might also be and become. Less from an abstract or academic perspective of “the profession as a whole” and more from relating to our own lived experience of supervisory work. What takes place, how, and why…and what can we distil from reflection on our experience in developing our own unique approaches to supervising.
17/18 February 2022 – Ethics as a way of navigating novel issues for supervisors. David Lane
An opportunity to consider where ethics sits in our thinking about our purpose, the perspectives we bring and our process for undertaking supervision. Ethics will be considered not as an external code but as a relational encounter.
17/18 March 2022 – Creative supervision – popping out of the box. Jo Birch and Shirley Smith
This experimental and participatory session will explore different ways of bringing a supervision topic and facilitating supervision through a creative approach. (Jo and Shirley have been working together on Creative Supervision over the last two years, providing workshops, articles and input to programmes.)
28/29 April 2022 – A framework for supervising team coaches. David Clutterbuck and Craig McKenzie
What, if anything, are the major differences in the supervision skills and knowledge required to supervise coaches working with individuals and this working with teams. In 2021, a small team of supervisors working increasingly in the team coaching space designed a dual purpose programme: to support supervisors in developing their own practice in this area and to work collaboratively with the supervisors to map out good practice. Unsurprisingly, this was a massive learning journey for all of us — and one we are pleased to share with a view to stimulating even more progress in this complex role.
A collaborative exploration of what we find to be fundamental in our work through which we can help each other renew our thinking and focus.
12/13 or 19/20 May 2022 – Designing supervision specifically for leaders. Benedict Dufrenne
Date tbc June 2022 – Trauma informed approach – a facilitated session. Angela Dunbar
28/29 July 2022 – Supervising across disciplines. Mandy Larcombe and Sam Farmer
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.
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 philosopher Krishnamurti 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.
2/3 December 2021 – panel on supervision globally with contributions from around the world and hosted by Professor Peter Hawkins
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.
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.
