Supervision and the Future of Coaching

William Carrier and William Bergquist

[Guest Editor: Vikki Brock]

Welcome to this issue of The Future of Coaching magazine, whose purpose is to add more substance to the discourse of coaching—and to do so in a flexible and positive way.  Our intent with this issue is to present a balanced perspective on coaching supervision, mentor coaching, and peer consultation within the coaching profession.

• The Problem of Competence in Coaching by Bob Garvey
• Supervision and Mentoring: A Distinction That is Arbitrary and Contrary? by Marcia Reynolds
• We’ve Lost Our Way and Our Soul in The Process by Michael Stratford
• Lost Souls? [Inspired by Stratford] by Bob Garvey
• What is the Soul of the ICF? by Jay Perry
• Supervision or Peer Consultation: An Op-Ed Blog by Patrick Williams
• What Is Coaching Supervision and Is It Important? by Paul Lawrence
• The Future of Coaching: Trends That Illustrate The End Is Near by Rey Carr
• Gold Rush Coaching Supervision by Vikki Brock
• Supervision of Coaches in Europe: Situation and Trends by Michal Moral
• ICF Approach to Mentor Coaching: A Competencies Applied Model by Damian Goldvarg and Laura Zuvanic
• Book Shelf: Supervision In Coaching by Vikki Brock

It wasn’t all that long ago that when we wrote about coaching, our metaphor was of the Wild West.  The ongoing joke was that, if you could hang a shingle with your name on it, you could be a sheriff or a coach.  Sometimes, we now write about those days with a sense of loss (and sometimes with a sense of good riddance, too).

Our profession, it is clear, has evolved and is evolving.  For one thing, when we say “profession” no one blinks or laughs because we are now a multi-billion dollar industry.  More importantly, for most of us, our collective impact magnifies the output, the potential, and the joy of many other industries and many other leaders.

We will explore in this issue one of the ways coaching is changing:  a current trend toward “supervision.”  We’ll look at the term itself; we’ll check out the larger trends in which it occurs and some of the ramifications of supervision’s possible growth; we’ll explore some alternatives and some accomplishments; we’ll hear from the pros and the cons.

One of us, in particular, our Guest Editor, Vikki Brock, has invested a good amount of time in charting this trend.  It’s particularly appropriate, since one of her claims to fame in our profession is her extensive and impressive charting of the history of coaching.

We’re now talking about the future of coaching itself—appropriate, don’t you think, given our magazine’s title—and some may say that future is a Bureaucratic Wasteland or an Island of Order, the Wild West Returned or Camelot by Coaching.  Regardless, it will serve our clients, our profession, and ourselves to make sure we know where we want to go and where we are headed—and if they are the same thing or not.