Supervision as a Practice

In this episode of Reaching Minds: Thoughts for Your Life Journey, we explore supervision as an essential yet often overlooked pillar of ethical, sustainable practice.

When we work as coaches, facilitators or consultants, we are frequently the container for our clients’ complexity, emotions and organisational dynamics. But the question rarely asked is: who holds the space for the space-holders?

I’m joined by Steve Hearsum, consultant, supervisor, coach and author of No Silver Bullet, a book that challenges organisations’ addiction to quick-fix solutions for complex problems. Steve is also a board member at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations and former Co-Chair of the Organisation Development Network Europe.

Together, we unpack what supervision really is — and what it is not. We explore why supervision is more than a check-in or business review, how it supports ethical decision-making, protects against burnout, and helps practitioners work consciously with power, shame, projection and unconscious dynamics.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why supervision remains a blind spot in coaching and consulting

• The difference between supervision, coaching and mentoring

• Parallel process and unconscious dynamics in client work

• How supervision supports clearer boundaries and ethical practice

• Why supervision becomes more important, not less, as we become more senior

• What to look for in a supervisor who will challenge, not collude

• How supervision benefits not only the practitioner, but clients and organisations

This episode is for practitioners who want to deepen their work, organisations who care about ethical practice, and anyone curious about what happens beneath the surface of professional helping roles.