Clare and Steve explore what we as coaches might be expected to know, or do, when starting work with a client who has a diagnosed mental health condition. 

Even without clinical knowledge, is it possible to contract and move forward in a coaching relationship? How can supervision support you?  What if your client has said nothing, but you have a suspicion that there might be a mental health condition present?  

If you yourself have a diagnosable mental health condition as a coach, what might you expect from a supervisor?

In this episode, Clare and Steve are joined by Ginny Baillie who has much to say about associate work whether that is via a coaching platform or through an associate coaching company. 

We talk about the need for thinkers to have awareness, willingness and responsibility for the coaching to make an impact, and how current models of associate work may not be setting thinkers up for success against these criteria. 

Relationship building is top of Ginny’s top tips for associate work. 

She mentions two useful books: 

The Prosperous Coach https://amzn.eu/d/070wFzOs

and

The Journey of a Prosperous Coach https://amzn.eu/d/06r7fxFq 

You can find out more about Ginny at HOME | Ginny Baillie coaching

In today’s episode, Steve and Clare ask the question ‘who is the customer’ when the organisation is paying for coaching.  The discussion meanders (as always) through

• the coach’s obligations in the three-way contract
• the data (source unknown) suggests that 91% of clients change what they want from coaching part-way through the coaching
• going with the flow
• the coach understanding the leadership development strategy of the organisation by way of context for the coaching
• the coaching custodian’s role in all of this. A term coined by Clare and Sam Humphrey in Clare's new book, Cultivating Coachability 
• the influence that the coach can have on said coaching custodians, once the coach has figured out their own guiding principles

Enjoy dear listeners!


This podcast series is supported by Trusted Coach Directory
In an unregulated industry, where anyone can call themselves a coach, the Trusted Coach Directory exists to raise the profile, credibility and standard of professional coaches and supervisors. Visit  TrustedCoachDirectory.com 

"What if you, the coach, think the learner/client's idea is 'bonkers', do you stick to a coaching frame or not?" - this was a question a coach brought to supervision recently.  Clare and Steve explore this idea, confessing that we might all have guilty imps where we might deviate from the formal 'proper' coaching path. What strategies might you take when your inner imp says "You know this approach isn't proper,  but go on, do it ...." 
This leads the conversation to the benefits of bringing the seemingly insignificant to supervision; also bringing our blindspots - confessing our in-the-moment self-realisation, inspired through the thoughts, approaches and comments other coaches bring to group supervision - being vulnerable enough to admit that we too have a guilty secret.

The conversation turns to the power within bringing simple, small items to supervision -  Less is more often when we come to supervision.  The conversation meanders to right and wrong paths, right and wrong questions and the unconscious bias in our unintentional leading of our clients, which leads to an 'ouch' moment... and a listener award.


This podcast series is supported by Trusted Coach Directory
In an unregulated industry, where anyone can call themselves a coach, the Trusted Coach Directory exists to raise the profile, credibility and standard of professional coaches and supervisors. Visit  TrustedCoachDirectory.com 

Clare and Steve discuss some common challenges for coaches, beginning with feeling inadequate or "not good enough," often stemming from a lack of external feedback after completing coach training. They note this "playing small" mindset typically evolves over time into a desire to "play bigger" and have more impact. And yet, even experienced coaches can doubt themselves. Also, if we play too big we risk reducing the 'size' of our clients or our fellow coaches in group supervision. Right-sizing ourselves is a never-ending quest.  

Contrary to this idea of a quest though, the conversation touches both Clare and Steve in the profound realisation that acknowledgement is the key to supervision.  Acknowledging who you are, where you are, and what you are feeling no matter whether you think this is “big enough” to bring to supervision.  In doing so, the paradoxical nature of change will enable your growth without the need to strive.  We are all good enough!

This podcast series is supported by Trusted Coach Directory
In an unregulated industry, where anyone can call themselves a coach, the Trusted Coach Directory exists to raise the profile, credibility and standard of professional coaches and supervisors. Visit  TrustedCoachDirectory.com 

Clare and Steve are joined in conversation by Angela Jopling.  Angela describes herself as a coach of 26 years, a Supervisor of 15 years, psychotherapy trained who operates in the fuzzy space.  We have all noticed how the space between coaching and therapy is blurring.  20 years ago Angela wrote a thesis on this fuzzy space whilst doing her master's degree in psychotherapy.

Often coaches are cautious about the counselling or therapy space, but as Angela points out, the core of both these disciplines is presence, listening and holding the space. As coaches, we are often comfortable with TA tools such as ego states, drama triangle, parent adult, child. 

Also with Gestalt techniques such as chair work, NLP techniques and behavioural change from CBT - much of this emanates from the world of therapy.  We explore how coaches might find their own way to navigate the fuzzy space whilst recognising how to 'hand off' a client to another specialist if required.  As ever, it's about doing your own work on yourself, to determine where your fuzzy space starts and ends.

Angela is starting a theraputic coaching supervision group.  Find out more here https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/281yr2ry3yh6wz7etskae/Therapeutic-Coaching-Supervision-Group.pdf?rlkey=ud4zirr0dunah6swdewqmtpwr&st=31rbe2c2&dl=0

This podcast series is supported by Trusted Coach Directory
In an unregulated industry, where anyone can call themselves a coach, the Trusted Coach Directory exists to raise the profile, credibility and standard of professional coaches and supervisors. Visit  TrustedCoachDirectory.com 

David Clutterbuck describes himself as a provocateur in our coaching and supervision space.  And that’s how he showed up in this podcast with Steve and Clare, with provocations about politics in organisations.  How does this relate to coaching?  Much more than we might ever imagine.  Every relationship is political in some shape or form, for the benefit or for the detriment of the parties.
Think of the system as a body that is suffering pain: what are the headaches in that system, what are people running away from, what blood (communications) is not flowing etc.

There is a silent conspiracy to ignore, and we must open our eyes as well as those of the people with whom we work.  What do they not want to look at?  What are they ignoring?  What do they not want to say?

Organisational politics and culture are the focus of the discussion, but as ever we drift into all sorts of interesting spaces... for example, what are your beliefs, as a coach, about politics?  How are you building political astuteness?

Useful stuff.  And if you want to learn more, you can read David and his colleagues’ 2023 book "Coaching, Mentoring and Organisational Politics", published by our sponsor Open University Press.  David Clutterbuck, Tim Bright, Lise Lewis and Riddhika Khoosal.

Exploring our work through considering a quote is the topic of the day.  Clare and Steve discuss using quotes as a way to stimulate new thinking and to reflect more deeply on our work.  The conversation delves deep into what does it mean to  'make sense' or 'understand' and what is 'meaning making'?  The use of a quote opens up an inner exploration which travels far beyond simple conscious thinking.

"I am the rails on which the moment passes"

When the personal intrudes on the professional, we might consider bringing that to supervision.  Sometimes that personal stuff may seem really trivial, but if it’s getting in the way of us being the best coach for the people with whom we work, then we have a duty of care to clear the air for ourselves.

In this episode, Clare and Steve talk about our reaction to unsolicited email and LinkedIn junk mail as one such example of where emotions (in both our cases, annoyance and frustration) can get in our way.  It’s a distraction from what matters most, interference in our daily choices and the “recovery time” to get our heads back in gear can be considerable.  Our beliefs and values about politeness are tested.  Thinking about how to respond, indeed whether to respond are all part of the disruption.

This might feel like something inconsequential when it comes to our coaching, but anything that takes us away from full presence is worth time in supervision.  This is just one example of many seemingly trivial and yet sometimes stressing considerations for supervision.

Steve and Clare are joined by Val Hastings, author of "Coaching from the Inside", a book exploring the guiding principles of internal coaching.  Whilst this book is the sum of research into internal coaching from interviewing internal coaches from around the world, Val's book is a must read for all coaches starting out on their coaching journey, whether external or internal.  Our podcasters explore beyond the challenges for internal coaches, how they are perceived, lessons for external coaches, challenges from the inside, ethical dilemmas, coach community, coaching readiness and much more.