What Coaching Supervision Really Is (And Why It Matters More Than Ever)

The empty chair in supervision is the silent presence of the client, inviting us to reflect on their voice, experience, and what remains unsaid

When I first came across the term coaching supervision, I wasn’t thrilled. I pictured someone with a clipboard, ticking boxes while I explained myself. “Supervision” sounded managerial. Oversight-y. Something for junior coaches to endure, not for experienced practitioners to seek out.

But I couldn’t have been more wrong.

What I discovered—slowly, and with some help, is that good supervision is nothing like that.

It’s not about being assessed or corrected. It’s about being supported. Stretched. Heard.

Supervision has become one of the most vital practices in my development, not just as a coach, but as a whole human being doing this work day in and day out.

A Simple Frame with Depth: The EMCC Lens

The EMCC (European Mentoring and Coaching Council) offers a beautifully simple yet rich frame for what supervision is for: It talks about three overlapping functions:

1. Formative – Learning and Growing the Craft

This is where supervision helps you evolve as a practitioner. You sharpen your tools. Reflect on your techniques. Deepen your range.

Maybe you notice you’re defaulting to a certain model when you’re tired. Maybe you’ve been skimming the surface of client goals but missing the identity-level work underneath. Maybe you’re coaching “fine”, but you sense you’re capable of more depth, more clarity, more presence.

Supervision creates a space to explore these patterns and possibilities.

It’s the kind of learning that sneaks up on you, not with textbooks or tips, but with reflection, gentle challenge, and insight born of noticing.

2. Normative – Holding the Ethical Line

Let’s be honest: the ethical challenges in coaching aren’t usually dramatic breaches. They’re the subtle moments. The relational edges. The lingering questions.

What do you do when a client starts treating you like a therapist? What’s your responsibility when they want to vent about their boss in every session? What if you feel too invested in their success?

Supervision is where we air these things, not to be judged, but to be witnessed. To ask better questions. To remember our boundaries, our codes, and our humanity.

The “normative” function of supervision is about keeping our work clean. Not perfect. Just accountable and aligned.

3. Restorative – Resourcing the Coach

Sometimes supervision is about tools and frameworks. Other times, it’s about the quiet moment when you admit:

“I’m tired. I’m doubting myself. This one’s gotten under my skin.”

Coaching can be lonely. It requires deep listening, emotional presence, and being okay with not knowing, session after session. It’s no surprise that sometimes, the coach gets depleted.

That’s where the restorative side of supervision comes in.I t’s the holding space. The re-grounding. The gentle reminder that you’re not alone.

It’s not therapy. But it is therapeutic.

Supervision Isn't Just for Struggling Coaches

Let’s dispel a myth right now: supervision is not just for coaches who are stuck, floundering, or “not there yet.”

In fact, the more experienced you become, the more essential supervision becomes. Why? Because your blind spots evolve. Your patterns deepen. Your questions get more nuanced. And because even masterful coaches need a place where they don’t have to hold it all together.

Supervision keeps the work fresh, ethical, and energizing.

How I Hold Supervision

When I work as a supervisor—whether in 1:1 or group formats—I try not to come in with an agenda. Instead, I ask a simple question at the start:

“How do you want me to be today?”

That question often catches people off guard.

But it’s important. Because I don’t believe in “supervisor as guru.” I can be a sounding board, a mirror, a mentor, a provocateur. But how I show up needs to serve your exploration.

The role isn’t fixed. It’s relational. And it shifts depending on what you bring.

If You're a Coach—Ask Yourself:

• Who’s holding space for your development?

• Where do you go to make sense of the stuck bits, the rich bits, the foggy bits?

• When was the last time someone asked you about the why behind your how?

Whether you’re just starting out or well into your practice, supervision isn’t a luxury. It’s part of the work. It helps you flourish; ethically, skillfully, and sustainably.

Curious about starting or re-starting your supervision practice? Let’s have a conversation. No pressure. Just a space to explore.

Because this work we do—it’s too important to do alone.