It’s vital that coaches stay sharp and stay safe through supervision, for their own and their clients’ wellbeing. When I reflect on my time as an internal coach, and the kinds of things I took to supervision, they focused mostly on boundary management. Supervision questions For example, how did I start and maintain an adult to adult relationship with
Tag: supervisor
The power dynamics in supervisor/supervisee relationships
I write a lot about the power of conversation. So let’s talk about something that can get in the way of those courageous conversations . That is the power dynamic between a supervisor and supervisee. First off, there’s the power vested in the supervisor, purely because of their rank – and they can pull rank at
The David Brent Effect: managers think they are better than they are
I read this article this week, and it reminded me why asking for feedback is so important, to give us a reality check. Take a read, and see what you think. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/9241721/The-David-Brent-effect-managers-think-they-are-better-than-they-are.html Do you think you are better than you are, as a supervisor? Or are there things you could do differently, better, more of, less
Lost in Translation
Sometimes we lose ourselves in translation. I’m thinking particularly about when we move from being an individual contributor to a supervisor of people. It can be daunting. We can feel completely lost, no longer certain about what is expected of us. It happens at other key turning points in our career journey, for sure, but
Structure, Stimulation and Strokes
I’ve been reading (and have shared some via twitter if you want to check them out) a lot of blog posts in the past few days about New Year’s Resolutions. Anyway, in a similar vein, I’d like to encourage all of you supervisors out there to adopt a New Year’s Resolution to give your people more structure,
Going for Gold
Ok, I admit, I was a complete cynic about the Olympic Games coming to Great Britain. I’m not a sports fan, and I hate crowds. So I didn’t buy any tickets; and I declared that I would be staying away from London for the duration. But now I’m kicking myself. What a fool. It’s not
The dog and the shadow
Aesop writes: It happened that a Dog had got a piece of meat and was carrying it home in his mouth to eat it in peace. Now on his way home he had to cross a plank lying across a running brook. As he crossed, he looked down and saw his own shadow reflected
The Bat, the Birds and the Beasts
You know, when I looked at a website of all the Aesop’s Fables, I was amazed at how many there are. And there are so many that I never heard in my childhood – like this one today. I don’t know whether you’ll keep commenting on them if I post all of them, but for now,
Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Here’s our next Aesop’s Fable for you to consider, as it relates to our work as supervisors: A Wolf found great difficulty in getting at the sheep owing to the vigilance of the shepherd and his dogs. But one day it found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed and thrown aside, so
The Progress Principle
I recently read a new book, called the Progress Principle, by Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer. They have done years of research into what motivates people to higher performance, using daily diaries to elicit how people are feeling as a result of events. If you’ve previously read Drive by Dan Pink, you’ll also recognise some of the
The Bootstrapper’s Guide to Employee Engagement
Today I’m going to point you to a brilliantly written, and very useful article for supervisors about how to engage your people. Many of you wonder how to motivate others….and this paper will help you with some really practical ideas. It’s from a company called Kinetix. Go on, take the time to read it, digest it,
Letter to new managers
I got this idea from a couple of books I read this year – Execution by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan; and Fierce Leadership by Susan Scott. Both great books if you like to learn by reading. Here’s my own version of a letter to new managers (also relevant for experienced managers, so keep reading).
How was Two-Day?
Do share in the comments box how your conversations went on Two-Day. How does it feel to have closed that conversation gap? If you didn’t get the chance to have the conversation on Two-Day itself, there’s still all the time in the world….and yet, there isn’t. What I mean is that the longer you leave
Today is Two-Day: time to fill that conversation gap
So it’s time to have that conversation that you’ve been putting off. Time to hold yourself and your supervisor or career counsellor accountable for higher standards. But if you can’t have the conversation today, don’t make that an excuse not to have it. These conversations must happen if we are to feel better engaged, and
Fill that conversation gap: Two-Day Storybird
Just one day until Two-Day (22/2/2012). In celebration, and as a reminder for you, Bob and I created this Storybird, a short electronic picture-book to encourage you to fill that conversation gap. I’m really proud of it; I hope it inspires you to schedule a conversation – either with those working for you, or with
Trust and the conversation gap
We’ve been talking about conversation gaps, and using Two-Day (22/2/2012) to fill those conversation gaps. If you’ve missed the previous blogs about this, catch up here: What will you do to celebrate Two-Day What is a Conversation Gap? Which conversations are most “gappy”? One of the reasons that there may be a gap in
