Dr Henry Campion  

The quality of relationship is central to both coaching and co-vision practice. Key to its success is an awareness and understanding of the power dynamics within the relationship, by which I mean the flow of power or influence between us as we work together. This dynamic is present in all relationships, whether we are conscious of it or not, and determines key aspects of our behaviour, including how we find our place in the hierarchy of our family, the organisations we are part of, and society at large. For example, the fear of being judged by someone we perceive as being more senior can profoundly affect how and what we communicate about ourselves. 

 

One aim of the term 'co-vision' is to remove the potentially inhibitory implications of hierarchy inherent in the term 'supervision'. It emphasises a desire to share power equitably between practitioner and co-visor as equal partners in learning, and to actively manage the imbalances that will inevitably arise, as they do within any relationship. By making my own ‘principles of relating’ explicit, I hope to start a dialogue which will help us develop a mutual understanding of how we might do this. This, in turn, can be used to inform your work with your coaching clients.