Group supervision on location

More and more of us, as coaches and supervisors, are taking our clients out of their comfortable or familiar office environments into the open air, into nature, walking and talking, exploring and discussing, moving towards outcomes and goals, both literally and metaphorically.

From Aristotle to the present day, people have engaged in dialogue and reflection while they’re on the move, opening themselves up to be influenced either consciously or subconsciously by the changing environment. Rachel Ellison has used this practice to inform her coaching philosophy, in which she fosters ‘creativity, depth and emotional self-analysis, using visual cues, places or environment as a stimulus’ (Rachel Ellison, Global Leadership and Coaching, 2019).

So, if you are wondering about any of the following questions, my next supervision group, Group supervision on location, may be of interest to you:

How does your familiar, regular work location constrain or compound your self image, purpose and effectiveness as a coach or supervisor?

How might the environment impact on and inform how you show up in a group for supervision?

How might different locations surprise and deepen your awareness, reflection and learning in group supervision?

On 1 April 2019, I’m starting this new group for four or five experienced executive coaches/supervisors to join me in this inquiry. We’ll be using different London locations as the contexts for reflecting on you in your practice. We’ll meet for six ‘short days’ (10am to 4.30pm) over the next year, at two-monthly intervals. The subsequent five dates will be negotiated after the first session in April.

Group supervision on location will be an opportunity to learn more about ourselves in a group, in motion, and in different locations. We’ll have time to walk and talk, reflecting on and considering new ways to engage with our clients, tapping into our own and our clients’ curiosity and imagination. Participants will share in selecting the different locations, based on their individual learning and development intentions.

See my reflection on a recent group supervision day at Tate Modern, London.

If you’d like to know more about Group supervision on location, and you’re free on 1 April for the first session, please phone (07583 494358) or email Charlotte Ryan. She will be delighted to arrange a Zoom or phone call with me.

Photo by Christian Battaglia on Unsplash