English Chinese German Portuguese Spanish
This provides information and guidance regarding the EMCC Global ‘Supervision Centre for Excellence’s’ perspective on supervision. It is work in progress and open ongoing to input and discussion. It addresses the following questions:
The term ‘practitioners’ refers to internal or external coaches/ mentors/ team coaches/ supervisors/ organisational development specialists, or leaders/ managers/ employees who may be practicing these disciplines as part of their role.
‘Practice’ refers to the practice of coaching/ mentoring/ team coaching/ supervising/ organisational development in this context. The term ‘client’ refers to the recipient of these services.
A pdf of the guidelines for supervision can be downloaded here
The word supervision has a different meaning when used in our context compared with in common, everyday speech. It does not refer to the act of managing or overseeing someone’s work, and the supervisor is not present when the supervisee is working with their client.
Supervision is a form of professional support for the practitioner, and occurs separately from the interaction with the client. It is primarily a dialogue relating to their practice, an opportunity to reflect on and make sense of actual client encounters.
EMCC Global’s definition of supervision is
A safe space for reflective dialogue with a practicing supervisor, supporting the supervisee’s practice, development and well-being.
The purpose of supervision is
Supervision is not limited to reflection on specific client cases. Amongst other things, it can be a forum in which the supervisee
Reflective Practice
First and foremost, supervision is a form of facilitated reflective practice; it is a reflective dialogue that is designed to ensure we are all delivering our best work in the service of our clients, their organisations and all stakeholders.
Professionalisation
Globalisation brings challenges that highlight the importance of supervision. As the definitions of practice areas like leadership, coaching, team coaching, mentoring, supervision and organisational development shift between languages, cultures, industries and geographies, and develop over time, the value of supervision increases, reinforcing a professional approach around the world.
Accreditation
Accreditation supports and regulates an individual’s ongoing professional practice and provides a focus for their ongoing development. A commitment to supervision is a requirement for accreditation as a practitioner.
Professional Assurance
EMCC Global believes that supervision is a requirement for professional practice, and a means by which practitioners can ensure they are acting with responsibility and accountability.
Ethics and Inclusivity
EMCC Global adopts an integrated approach. The Supervision Framework, The Global Code of Ethics and Diversity and Inclusion Declaration sit alongside other resources that contribute to the awareness of the supervisor, whose role includes supporting the supervisee to maintain high, ethical standards in their practice, and maintain an inclusive mindset and approach. More information can be found here: diversity in coaching.
Whilst there are other ‘kinds’ of supervision, EMCC Global believes that the following comprise the three main formats.
Individual Supervision
In this process, a practicing supervisor (ideally trained and accredited) meets the supervisee on a one-to-one basis, either in person or remotely.
When working towards accreditation, e.g. Global Individual Accreditation/s, EMCC Global requires candidates to use this form of supervision because it guarantees individualised attention for the practitioner.
Group Supervision
Group Supervision occurs when there is more than one supervisee in the session and it is being led by a practicing supervisor (ideally trained and accredited).
One of the advantages of this format is that the supervisees benefit from each other’s input, as well as that of the supervisor/s. The role of the supervisor is to engage the collective intelligence of the group.
Peer Supervision (groups)
Peer Supervision is where the group supervises itself. The process is not led formally by a designated supervisor. Peer supervision is most effective when participants also have some training in supervision skills.
EMCC Global believes that experienced practitioners require a minimum of four hours individual supervision per year, evenly distributed across twelve months. EMCC Global also believes that the minimum ratio of practice to supervision, for an experienced practitioner should be 35 practice hours to 1 hour of supervision received.
In the case that the practitioner is carrying out more than one form of work that requires supervision, then EMCC Global recommends that the minimum hours of supervision required per year increases from four to eight. In other words, if someone is delivering any combination of coaching, mentoring, team coaching, supervision and/or organisational development interventions, then the minimum number of hours supervision that they require is eight hours, distributed evenly across twelve months.
EMCC Global also believes that the more work a practitioner undertakes, the more they will benefit from supervision. Practitioners are encouraged to think about the type, duration, and frequency of supervision that they need to be supported in their work and context. After the minimum criteria are met, it is for the practitioner to decide, based on their unique circumstances and needs, exactly how much supervision they require to perform at their best.
You may wish to select a supervisor from the list of ESIA holders. These are individuals who have been accredited as a supervisor with EMCC Global.
EMCC also accredits supervision training programmes. You also may find that one of the ESQA accredited providers will be able to offer you names and contact details of potential supervisors.
EMCC Global recommends that you apply the following criteria in selecting a supervisor:
EMCC also acknowledges that coach/mentor supervision is an evolving discipline and that in some countries it may be difficult for the practitioner to find a qualified supervisor who fulfils all the criteria recommended here.
In the absence of a qualified supervisor who has undergone rigorous training and accreditation, then EMCC recommends that you look for someone with long-term, extensive and relevant experience. EMCC Global therefore supports members making their own arrangements e.g. engaging psychotherapeutically qualified supervisors, supervisors accredited by other coaching organisations/ ESQA approved awarding bodies or supervisors aspiring towards EMCC accreditation.
The EMCC European Supervision Quality Award (ESQA) endorses a number of supervision training programmes. Coaches and mentors interested in pursuing a supervisory career are referred to the list of ESQA accredited providers.
There are other supervision training programmes which do not currently carry the ESQA award. If you are looking at these programmes, you are encouraged to find out what the ratio of taught input vs skills practice vs personal reflection is. We encourage you to select a program in which skills practice occupies a significant proportion of the total qualification time.
Please note:
Qualification refers to the level of your training. You may gain a supervision qualification on completion of a course with your preferred training provider. You may remain qualified many years after you completed this, even if you stopped practicing.
Accreditation refers to your ongoing practice, it relates to the present. Accreditation is a mechanism by which a professional body regulates quality within that profession. Accreditation with EMCC must be renewed every 5 years.
As mentioned above, the European Supervision Individual Accreditation (ESIA) is EMCC Global’s accreditation for individual supervisors.
The following criteria apply to candidates seeking ESIA:
If you are interested in applying for this, please visit the EMCC Global Website.
Getting Involved for a Better World is a free volunteer service offered by EMCC members to people in their country
The EMCC newsletter is one of the ways of keeping members up to date with what is happening in our organisation
A key focus of EMCC is to develop European standards, ethics and a professional code with a view to assure quality in the industry
Read more about being an EMCC International volunteer below and then contact us if you are interested
Search through our database to find an EMCC Mentor/Coach or EMCC Accredited Supervisor near you who matches your requirements. If you are an EMCC mentor/coach or EMCC Accredited Supervisor and wish to edit the basic profile already in place then please log in, go to membership, then choose the option for 'My Account'.
You can also use this search facility to find all our EMCC Global Volunteers, see who volunteers for what, and contact them via their EMCC email addresses. If you are an EMCC Global Volunteer and wish to amend your volunteer profile please contact [email protected]