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Co-vision (and Metavision)
I see supervision - or as I prefer it, 'co-vision', to avoid the sense of hierarchy - as a way of 'looking together' at coaches' and supervisors' experience of their work with clients with the aim of deepening their skills and expertise. (For my full definition of co-vision, see below.)
Purposes
Benefits
Co-vision will give you a clearer understanding of how you are and how you could be as a practitioner by creating a safe space for you to:
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refine and draw on your vision of how you want to be as a coach or supervisor, developed in alignment with your values and purposes in life.
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be curious about and learn from all the thoughts, emotions, feelings and intuitions that arise when working with clients - the moments of knowing and not knowing, fear and elation that we all experience - in a safe, confidential and, importantly, non-judgmental setting of equality and trust.
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become more aware of your habitual patterns of communicating and relating (see Attachment and Power pages) and how these play out in practice.
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explore new ideas for enhancing your coaching or supervision practice.
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boost your confidence and self-esteem in what can be an isolated role.
The outcome will be the ongoing development of your skills and expertise for the benefit of yourself, your clients and the wider system. It will also provide reassurance to coaching and supervision buyers that you are committed to sustaining and enhancing your skills in an unregulated marketplace.
When working with fellow coaching supervisors, I prefer the term 'metavision' rather than the rather clunky 'supervision of supervision'. This, like co-vision, removes the sense of hierarchy, which is even less appropriate when describing what is effectively a peer relationship. It also reflects the greater experience supervisors are likely to bring to their reflective practice, often causing them to 'look beyond' the presenting supervisory issue to its implications for the nature of coaching more generally. See Supervision of Supervision, ‘Metavision’ - and Wisdom? on Articles page, posted 5/12/22.
* Co-vision: 'an open-hearted and equal learning partnership between co-visor and coach or supervisor, ‘looking together' with curiosity, playfulness and compassion at our experience of working with clients to generate insights which can lead to new, more grounded thinking and behaviour for the benefit of ourselves, our clients and the wider system'. For my reasons for adopting the term, see https://www.co-visor.com/post/the-case-for-rebranding-supervision-as-co-vision
Metavision