What is the difference between Mentor Coaching, Coaching Supervision and the Center’s Mentor Coaching Group?

.

With such similarity of terminology things can be a bit confusing, so let’s shed some light on it…

Mentor Coaching

Mentor coaching typically means to support a coach to develop through the guidance, wisdom and knowledge of an experienced coach with the objective of advancing the learner’s coaching skills and competencies.

Often, but not exclusively, this form of coach development is done in the context of the learner coach’s desire to attain a coaching credential. Most credentialing organizations, such as the International Coach Federation, require a certain number of coach mentoring hours as part of their credentialing application process.

The focus of mentor coaching is most often to develop the coach’s knowledge, capacity and skill in a coaching session to meet the competencies, standards and benchmarks set out by the credentialing organization.

Commonly this is achieved is by the mentor coach listening to a number of the learner coach’s sessions, and giving feedback and mentoring on how to improve so that they meet the required standards.

Coaching Supervision

Coaching Supervision is a fairly new form of coach development, but it is gaining popularity as an alternative way to grow as a coach.

In coaching supervision the idea is not for the supervising coach to give direct feedback or even mentoring, but to engage in a reflective dialogue to enhance the coach’s awareness of their own inner experience during a session. Think of it like ‘coaching the coach.’

The supervising coach does not need to have listened to a session in order to facilitate this dialogue, although that can still happen. The emphasis is on providing the coach with an opportunity to reflect on their coaching experiences in a safe environment, including sharing of successes and failures on the road to becoming masterful in the way they work.

The main difference between coach mentoring and coaching supervision is that the latter is less focused on developing the coach to meet a set of externally defined standards, and more on the coach as person, helping them to increase awareness  of their own inner reality as they coach, and helping them to self-define their own areas for learning and development.

Our Deepening Practice course for Deep Coaching Intensive alumni uses a blend of Mentor Coaching and Coach Supervision in order to support the learner’s development, but leans towards the latter to best support the person to make the Deep Coaching approach their own.

Mentor Coaching Group

At the Center we now offer an opportunity to work with the Center’s founder, Leon VanderPol, on a wide range of topics and issues related to transformational work, including transformational coaching, healing, spiritual growth, living your life purpose, crafting a coaching practice, and much more. Not only do you have access to Leon and his years of experience in the coaching and healing field, but you also have access to the group’s wisdom and experience. 

On any given Mentor Coaching Group call, you may receive a blend of mentoring, coaching, coach supervision and peer input depending on the topic, the question being asked, or your own preference.

The group is designed as an informal meeting space designed to give you the personal support you need on your own transformational journey – support that may be difficult to get elsewhere. (You can learn more about Mentor Coaching Group here.)

If any of this is not clear or you have further questions, leave a Comment below or contact us directly!

.