Hey there, great to have you here!
And congratulations! Because if you're reading this then I think I can safely assume that you've made the decision to explore working with a supervisor. That tells me that you're taking your practice seriously and that you're willing to invest in yourself to be the best coach you can be for your clients and yourself.
To figure out whether supervision with me is right for you I'll set aside an hour for us to get to know each other, hear about what it is you're looking for and to be able to decide if and how to continue. At the end of our first meeting I'll make you an offer based on your individual needs and you can make a decision on that basis. We can meet face-to-face in Berlin, online via Zoom or talk on the phone.
If you're not yet "sold" on the concept of supervision per se, I speak with conviction when I say that I believe it is a crucial element of coaching excellence and every coach I respect values the space it creates for reflection, learning and professional development (have a look at the Supervision Manifesto of the Association for Coaching to get a sense for the industry). Our work as coaches can be incredibly challenging with an unlimited number of decisions to make during the course of a single session and few people who really understand the complexities of such a conversation and responsibilities they carry. We all have some challenging clients but even the more mundane ones offer remarkable opportunities for learning and growth once we zoom in a little closer. In my time as Programme Leader of the MSc Coaching Psychology at the University of East London and as part of the Faculty at Cambridge University#s Coaching Masters I've seen coaches grow tremendously over short periods of time and those in regular 1:1 supervision consistently stood out.
Below I've written a fair bit more about how I see supervision and what I believe it can add to your practice. If you're serious about adding professional supervision to your practice, please read on. However, if you're here for a quick fix, a single session or you are not at least considering a monthly investment of a few hundred pounds/dollars (with some exceptions made for students and coaches-in-training) I'll be happy to recommend you one one of my associates. In that case I'd appreciate it if you dropped me a quick email with your phone number instead of booking a discovery session. I'm looking for coaches who are committed to their own growth over time and willing to invest in themselves and I'm offering this session free of charge to make sure that's you. If it is then I can't wait to meet you! If it's not, as much as I'd love to meet ALL the coaches, a consultation wouldn't be the right place for this. Perhaps we can meet in one of my other events or group settings for coaches.
Cheers
Yannick
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About (my approach to) supervision:
The aim of a supervision relationship is to provide support for your professional practice. As your supervisor I will be a fellow traveler on your professional development journey and provide a safe space for you to reflect on the work you do with your clients. My role in this relationship is that of a supervisor (helping you explore your work with your clients) but may at times go beyond to include elements of coaching, training, consulting or even counselling or, in the case of Rocket Supervision, business mentoring (as appropriate within the context of your professional development goals).
The desired outcomes of the supervision vary from client to client and we will agree on this before we start. The role of a supervisor may range from being merely a sounding board to ensure continued best practice (for those who have already established a preferred, proven and effective style without any desire to “change a running system”) all the way to facilitating a transformative dialogue during which your approach to coaching may change in profound ways in order to give way for a more suitable and authentic style to emerge in the process.
Given my belief that every practitioner will achieve best results when practicing their own authentic style rather than trying to mimic best practice of others (“who you are is how you coach”) I will not tell you what to do during supervision or provide solutions to your professional dilemmas. However, at times I may draw on my experience as a coach, coach trainer, former Programme Leader of UEL's MSc in Coaching Psychology and supervisor of many years to illuminate potential blind spots or brainstorm solutions with you. The understanding is that you will evaluate all and any input that I may provide and take full responsibility for your own actions as well as any lack thereof.
While supervision is focused on your professional development, I believe that it is impossible to separate you-as-a-professional from you-as-a-person. Therefore we may also talk about personal matters, but always in relation to your professional practice.
From my experience, possible outcomes of supervision include heightened (self-) awareness, clarity of worldview (your personal as well as professional values & beliefs); knowledge of your strengths, blind spots and triggers; a better understanding of the impact you have on your clients; more effective coordination of professional action; a host of practices and strategies to draw on aimed at being a more effective practitioner; deriving greater satisfaction from your work; a greater sense of authenticity, meaning and purpose and the ability to confidently take decisive, ethical action in moments of doubt.
The supervision relationship between us is founded upon mutual respect and trust. I will hold everything we say during our conversations confidential and will not reveal any aspect of the supervision to any outside party without your express permission .
It is also worth mentioning that during supervision you may be faced with aspects of yourself that you had not been aware of. Experience tells us that any such new learning may be uncomfortable. Entering into a supervision relationship and developing your professional practice may therefore require leaving familiar shores and venture into uncharted waters. The journey may be challenging and your supervisor at times be the voice of such challenge. Rest assured that I will support and guide you through this process and that I have your success and wellbeing as well as your clients’ as my highest priority, yet the process and the results belong to you.
I'd love to go on this journey with you and look forward to getting to know you a little better and ascertain whether we're right for each other.
Cheers
Yannick
PS: Once you've booked yourself in, you'll get a separate email with a link to some pre-session questions. If you don't receive an email with the questions, let me know (or check your junk/spam folder perhaps - sometimes they go walkies).