Contents

Book Award for Amanda Ridings: ‘Pause for Breath’.

CSA Diploma dates in UK, France and Australia – booking now.

Free Article:  ‘Three Keys to Mindful Leadership’

New Article by Lisa Rosetti:  ‘The Role of Supervision in developing resilience in coaches’.  

Working with Horses – Northamptonshire

Second International Supervision conference held at Oxford Brookes

Beyond Partnership programme

CSA Graduate Wins Award for Book

CSA graduate and executive coach Amanda Ridings has received a Nautilus Silver Award in the ‘conscious business and leadership’ category for her book Pause for Breath: bringing the practices of mindfulness and dialogue to leadership conversations.

Based in the USA, the Nautilus awards recognise writing that promotes conscious living and growth, while stimulating the imagination and offering the reader new possibilities for a better life and a better world. Nautilus look for distinguished literary and heartfelt contributions to responsible leadership and positive social change, alongside contributions to the worlds of art, creativity and inspirational reading for young people.

Nautilus award winners are carefully selected in a unique three-tier judging process by experienced teams of book reviewers, librarians, authors, editors, book store owners, and leaders in the publishing industry.

A former Director of Finance in the NHS, Amanda was inspired to write her book when her work as an executive coach and her experiences as a t’ai chi practitioner sparked her curiosity about frustrating conversations in the workplace. Making connections between principles and tools from approaches to dialogue, the way energy is redirected in martial arts and the steadying practice of mindfulness, Amanda began to work with leaders to support them to connect more deeply to their body and spirit and to understand how these factors influence the conversations they have. Pause for Breath sets out some of this work in a conversational way and invites the reader to become deeply curious about themselves, in a kind and reflective way.

The book was made possible by a fresh approach from small publisher Live-It Publications. As a first-time author, without a profile and writing about atypical matters, Amanda was unable to attract attention from a mainstream publisher. Live-It use advances in technology such as print-on-demand publishing to enable books such as Pause for Breath to be published.

Praise for the Pause for Breath comes from Edna Murdoch, founder of the Coaching Supervision Academy: ‘Amanda’s authentic voice offers us a compelling conversation, one that encourages centred, embodied, conscious dialogue – dialogue that will hugely increase our collective intelligence.’

Amanda is delighted by the recognition the award confers and hopes that it will help extend the reach of work such as her own, adding ‘I want my book to inspire leaders, coaches and other practitioners to develop their full potential and to more often inhabit their finest leadership spirit. I hope to contribute to stimulating change in organisations, one leadership conversation at a time.’

Further information

The Nautilus Book Awards are named for the mollusc whose beautiful,
pearl-lined shell contains chambers of increasing size which the sea creature
constructs for itself as it grows. The nautilus symbolizes both ancient wisdom
and expanding horizons; both the elegance of nature and a continual growth
of understanding and awareness.

http://www.nautilusbookawards.com/

About the book: http://www.liveitpublishing.com/publish/home/digital/47-personaldevelopment/102-pause-for-breath-ebk

About the author: http://www.liveitpublishing.com/publish/authors/author-interviews/56-personal-development/115-an-interview-with-amanda-Amanda
 

NEW  – ICF Approved Diploma in Coaching Supervision in Sydney

Huge Interest in the FIRST Australian Coaching Supervision Training Programme – starting October 2012 in Sydney

We launched the CSA Coaching Supervision Training Programme with a highly successful Taster Workshop in Sydney in April.   Alison Hodge was joined by 16 coaches from States across Australia.  Together we explored the whole subject of coaching supervision and its relevance in supporting coaches, particularly in our current, turbulent economic and political climate.  It seems that many of the issues faced by the coaches in Australia are similar to those in the UK and beyond.   After two live demonstrations, working with creative cards, we then discussed the training programme.

“It was great to be at the Workshop – it really whetted my appetite for learning more!  I am definitely keen to take up the Diploma course.  I’m just waiting on final costing, dates etc” Lisa Taylor-Forder, Executive Coach,Sydney

“Thank you for your generosity of time and spirit – for showing us your well honed craft and for inspiring in us the desire to choose supervision as a magical part of our calling.   I do sincerely hope to be able to join the “chosen few” for the course later in the year. Can we discuss the “how” to make this possible, so I can find a way to get my ducks in a row”  Pete Barr, MCC, Brisbane.

The new Coaching Supervision Training Programme, which is ICF recognised, and which Alison will be co-facilitating with Leanne Lowish, starts in October.   Already we have received a lot of interest from those who came to the workshop.   Click here for more details on the programme…….

Australia is ready for its first Coaching Supervision Training, and we are delighted that this established course is attracting interest across Australasia.  Please feel free to share our contact details anyone who might like a conversation with us about the training.   If  it interests you, then do let us know, and we can arrange a Skype conversation where you can get to know more about this very successful programme.

CSA Goes French

As you probably know, CSA, in partnership with Formation Evolution et Synergie,  is offering  the  ICF Approved Coaching Supervision Diploma in Farance.  The course begins in September this year, and booking for the course is going well.  If you are interested , or know anybody who would be interested, please pass on the details of this course.  For more information click here.

2nd International Conference in Coaching Supervision 2012

Oxford Brookes University is hosting this conference on the 23 June 2012 building on excellent feedback received from all participants of the 1st International conference in coaching supervision last summer.

We hope you can join us for an exiting programme with a number of international speakers and fascinating workshop topics to explore and experiment with: http://business.brookes.ac.uk/commercial/coaching-mentoring/coaching-supervision-conference/

Three Keys to Mindful Leadership Coaching by Douglas Riddle

There are countless executive coaches I would never hire for myself, no matter how wise, insightful, dynamic or experienced. Admittedly, I’m a hard guy to please, so what I require might not be a good guide for others. However, if a coach can’t create an environment that dissolves the limitations of history, expectation, and assumption, I’m not interested.

How does a coach do that? By creating in the conversation with the coachee a sense of open, reflective exploration. The coaches who expand my mind, emotions and performance come to the coaching relationship from a place of inner calm. They have quiet minds. They are not beguiled by fancy techniques or elegant coaching models. They are midwives for the narrow, messy emergence into a larger world – and they rely on habits of mindfulness to accomplish that.

As you may have noticed, there’s been an explosion of information in recent years on neuroscience and how the brain handles change – and it’s fueling an interest in mindfulness. If you are a coach or are searching for one to boost your performance, remember this rule: mindful coaching is better coaching. And mindfulness practices have shown benefits for clients in health, decision-making and leadership.    Read on……….
 

The Role of Supervision in Developing Resilience in Coaches by Lisa Rosettie.    

Here’s a taster:…….

 “A person who intuits the ways of the heart stands a better chance of living well.” (Lewis, Amini & Lannon. 2001)

Resilience is a topical issue in learning and development these days. But should we also be considering resilience skills as vital developmental for coaches, as well as for business managers and leaders?  Supervision may prove to be the best tool in a coach’s toolbox to develop these skills.

Whilst the client organisation will naturally be interested in the quality assurance that supervision brings to coaching provision, this article explores the part that supervision has to play in developing resilience in coaches and why this is important.

Coaching supervision is a best practice process with three main functions: developmental, qualitative and resourcing (or restorative). Whilst its focus is primarily in service to the client and client organisational needs, it also supports the coach’s performance and wellbeing.  Supervision provides a regular space for the supervisees to reflect upon the content and process of their work, ensuring their performance is effective, and their work ethical. A vital aspect of supervision is therefore to examine coaching relationships, ensuring they are healthy and uncompromised.

Most people readily agree that these difficult economic times are placing unprecedented demands on our business leaders. Coaches can be equally affected by the prevailing tough climate, and face similar challenges and even the possibility of burnout.  Of course, this is not necessarily entirely negative; fiercer competition and client demands may mean coaches must develop a more critical awareness of their work and more professional practices, such as demonstrating ROI. They must also pay attention to their own self-care.

Relationships are clearly under strain in the current workplace. This affects coaches no less than incumbent staff as coaching work is primarily relational. Many coaches will be facing more stressed clients than ever before. This can sap a coach’s inner resources and undermine their resilience in the face of such pressure.

Click here for full article…..

Want to work with horses??  Read on!

“Leading with Impact” “Connecting to the Wisdom of your Body”

Tuesday 22nd May 2012 9.30am – 5.00pm

The Old Dairy, Bunkers Hill Farm, Moulton Road, Pitsford, Northamptonshire NN69BB

“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man” – Winston Churchill

Horses for Courses® and Aurora 4 Success are showcasing our unique approach to developing impactful leaders.

For full details please see:  www.horsesforcourses.co.uk

Beyond Partnership Programme

NLP & Neuroscience with Dr Andrew Curran and Marie Faire, 7 June 2012, Wiltshire

Working with Somatic Intelligence with Paul King, 9/10 June 2012, Wiltshire

Leadership Lessons from Horse Whispering with Marie Faire & Hilary Miles, 19/20 June 2012, Sussex

For full details of these and other workshops please visit:  http://www.thebeyondpartnership.co.uk/

AOCS  Edinburgh June Workshop with Robin Shohet.

The Use of Parallel Process in Supervision   –  getting to the heart of supervision

Contents

CSA News

Free Article: Working with the Narcissistic Personality

Book Review of Coaching and Mentoring Supervision

Groups/ offers

CSA News:

ICF Approved Supervision Diploma Programme

Since our last newsletter, CSA has been busy – and growing!  The middle two days of the Diploma programme were completed in February and it was amazing to see how much the group have developed since we began the training in October.  The group enjoyed learning and practising new supervision tools, and extending their skills through input on Transactional Analysis, Gestalt tools and a powerful focus on using the body and intuition in supervision.  The work of Wendy Palmer (Conscious Embodiment) and Glendlin (Focussing) were central in bringing new depth to the supervisory conversation.

The ICF Approved Diploma in Coaching Supervision is now booking in UK and France –it will be the 7^th annual programme in the UK and our first programme in France. Both courses are filling up nicely, so if you or your colleagues are interested in training to be a coach supervisor with us, please contact Monica Ross at monica@csa.uk.net.  In addition, we have been invited to run a programme in Australia and this will start early in 2013 – please alert your Aussie colleagues and watch this space for details. One of our key trainers, Alison Hodge, will be in Sydney in March (2012) speaking with potential delegates and offering a taster workshop.  So, if you or any of your colleagues would like to meet her there or have first–hand information about the Australian Diploma in Coaching Supervision, please ask them to email either Alison at alison@csa.uk.net  or Leanne Lowish at leanne@csa.uk.net

US coaches are currently signing up for a two-day supervision skills programme in late March, run by our US graduates.  The course is almost full but, if you know of any US coaches who might still be interested in joining or in getting to know more about coaching supervision, please ask them to email Sam Magill at sam@csa.uk.net   CSA has trained several top US coaches and the interest in coaching supervision over the pond in growing. We will be bringing a full training to the US probably next year – watch this space!

CSA CPD day.

All CSA graduates complete a rigorous annual assessment, which includes a morning presentation on themes relevant to coaching supervision. This time, Amanda Ridings, who published ‘Pause for Breath’ last year (highly recommended and now available on KINDLE!), took the graduates through a splendid programme of embodied learning that added to our understanding about Advanced Dialogue Process in supervision. Amanda is working with leaders and coaches and if you are interested in this original and insightful work, please see:  http://www.originate.org.uk/

FREE Article: ‘Recognising and Working with the Narcissistic Personality’

Please seeclick here for an article which outlines the features of the narcissistic personality and how to work safely and successfully with clients who may have a mild form of this disorder.

Book Review of Coaching and Mentoring Supervision: Theory and Practice. Bachkirova, Jackson and Clutterbuck. 2011.  Please click here for this fine review of an important book on Coaching Supervision, by CSA graduate, Ken Smith.

Groups

Miriam Orriss, Director of CSA, will be setting up a NEW telephone supervision group in April. Please click here for full details

If you would like to attend this group, please email Miriam at miriam@csa.uk.net  with details of your coaching experience.

Edna Murdoch  March, 2012

This rigorous, ICF Approved, 9-month  programme is now in it’s 7th successful year. The course is supported by a superb team of 15 tutors and trainers - all experienced Executive coaches and highly trained and experienced coaching supervisors!

Contents:

CSA News and Reflections on 2011

Article - Coaching and Food

Chapter on Presence from AC’s book on Coaching Supervision: 

Article - Tree of Executive Coaching

Article -  ‘Mindfulness at Work’ Margaret Chapman

NEW: Supervision Groups and Leadership retreats

Groups and offers

CSA News 

It’s been a great year at CSA – our graduates are working in many countries and the current cohort of students on the supervision Diploma programme are enjoying their training. We already have a lot of interest for the 2012 course; so if you are thinking of training with us, please get in touch.  Our 2012 course in France is already taking bookings and we are establishing courses in the US too.  The 15-strong Training Team at CSA is busy!

In addition to running courses we are glad to see our graduates and trainers in print: Amanda Ridings has produced an excellent book  – ‘Pause for Breath’, backed up by retreats on that theme – see below. Graduates have contributed to two new supervision books this year and CSA graduate, Kate Lanz, with her partner, has published on Psychodynamic Coaching – a superbly clear account of how the unconscious works in supervision.  CSA is currently writing a book on supervision, with our distinct take very much to the fore.

We are have been selected to be in an EMCC pilot scheme to accredit coaching supervision programmes; this is a new departure in the profession and signals that coaching supervision is here to stay and is making a real difference to coaches and mentors.

At a difficult time for everyone, we are delighted that we are busy and that the work of coaching supervision so ably supports professionals who are out there doing important work. Coaches need courage more than ever – there is fierce competition for contracts and once ‘in’, there is more distress and fear around organizations, than I have known before.

We hope that you all take the time you need to re-new over the holiday period and that you enjoy the articles below, which we have gathered for this newsletter.  And if you are looking for a new supervision group for 2012, there are two below – one on the telephone and one in London.

CSA wishes you all a very Happy Christmas and a successful  2012.  May it be all that you wish it to be.  We look forward to connecting with you in the New Year.

Coaching and Food:  by Karyn Prentice        www.fletcherprentice.com

Recently, on the first day of the 2011 CSA programme we were all invited to pick a card as a way to introduce ourselves in the group. The cards had a wide variety of images of all kinds and colours. With almost no hesitation I dived in for the one with a plate of food on a table with a chair; a scene ready for someone to come, sit and enjoy. For me this card represented the pleasure of “eating” together (metaphorically) on this 9 month learning journey for teachers, tutors and students. Gathered as we were, with the abundance of experience represented in the group was like sharing good food that nourishes us separately and collectively.

If I take that metaphor a little wider I think I can apply it to explore the differences between coaching, coach mentoring and supervision.  Read More……..

Chapter on Presence from AC’s book on Coaching Supervision:
Chapter by Elaine Patterson

Presence: A designer luxury or an essential “must have”…??

Just to let you know that Elaine Patterson – one of our CSA graduates and member of our CSA tutor team – has just had a chapter published which explores what the gift which presence and being present can bring to our work.

The chapter is called “Presence in Coaching Supervision” and is published in “Supervision in Coaching: Supervision, Ethics and Continuous Professional Development” – a collection of 17 essays on different aspects of supervision, ethics and CPD – which was edited by Jonathan Passmore and was published by Kogan Page in the summer.

Elaine’s chapter explores whether or not presence a “designer luxury” or an essential “must have” if we are to work creatively with compassion and courage. The chapter

•  Offers some working definitions for the widely used term “presence”;
•  Explores what presence can bring to the role and tasks of supervision;
•  What “presence” – and its opposite the “absence of presence” – can mean for supervisory practice;

as well as

•  Offering some practical hints and tips on how coaches can enhance their own state of presence in their life and work.

Copies of Elaine chapter can be downloaded from the CSA website or from Elaine’s own website www.ep-ec.com

Introducing the “Tree of Executive Coaching”
..An Organic Framework For Enabling Inspired Coaching Conversations…
Elaine Patterson

I qualified as an Executive Coach with The OCM in 2006, went on to qualifiy as a Coach Supervisor with the Coaching Supervision Academy in 2009,  became accredited as an EMCC Master Practitioner in 2010. But my journey has never been about external labels but about finding a definition of coaching and a framework for coaching which expressed me, who I am and what I want my practice to offer my clients. My wake up call came in 2008 when I was finally challenged by my supervisor who said “.. and so Elaine .. what is your model of practice? ” .. and looking around I found that my library yielded some clues but not my whole picture.

And so I realised I needed to get out of my head and into my heart with what inspired and motivated me……. and looking up from my Studio window I discovered that it was actually my oak tree at the bottom of our garden which had always energised and guided me whenever I needed to re – connect with my presence, spaciousness and inspiration, with potential and possibility both my own and the people I was working with.

Grabbing my sketch book I then started to design my own Tree of Practice ………… Read more

‘Mindfulness at Work’ by Margaret Chapman

Many thanks to Margaret Chapman for her kind permission to include her excellent article in this newsletter.

‘I am aware as I sit down to write this article that the first book on the application of mindfulness- based interventions in organisations is due for publication(1). This follows an Association for Coaching conference in July (2), where the workshop delivered by the book’s author, Michael Chaskalson, attracted the largest attendance.  Chaskalson, along with Mark Williams, Ruby Wax and others from the world of business, entertainment and academia are due to speak at the first mindfulness in the workplace conference in Cambridge, in February 2012 (2).  It seems therefore that there is something of a fuss around mindfulness.

This crossover of mindfulness into organisational practice is embryonic, yet ‘this fuss’ confirms Jon Kabat Zinn’s observation in Mark Williams and Danny Penman’s new book: Mindfulness: a practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world, that ‘… the world is abuzz with mindfulness’(3)……………….Read on

NEW Supervision Groups and Two Retreats.

London EC4 NEW Supervision Group starts 16  January

Karyn Prentice, Executive accredited Coach, accredited Coach Supervisor (CSA),  Senior Tutor on  CSA Diploma in Coaching Supervision.

Join us for a small supervision group meeting lunchtime in the City of London. There will be an opportunity for individual time as well as plenary discussion to enhance the learning for all. This can also be a space to co-create the topics of greatest interest as well as trying out different tools and techniques. Please call for more information.  The session will last for 2 hours £50 per person with a group of 4 people.  Call 07721 312 377  karyn@fletcherprentice.com  (www.fletcherprentice.com)

New Telephone Supervision Group starting late January early Feb (dates to be agreed) by Miriam Orriss

Miriam Orriss, Executive Coach and Director of CSA, will be running a small monthly coaching supervision group , starting January/February 2012. The group will be limited to five participants and will last for one and a half hours. This structure will ensure that everyone has individual time and that we maximise the learning opportunities that this type of group offers. The group will run initially for four sessions.

Areas covered will include:

• Exploration of issues around contracting, working in Organisations, complex systems, and parallel process.
• Case study focus.
• Reflection, learning and support on all aspects of coaching.
• Teaching and Practice on all of the major Core Coaching Competencies.
• Teaching on powerful coaching tools e.g. Karpman Drama Triangle, Energy Management.
• Focus on Relational issues in Coaching.
• Coaching Psychology.

CSA Graduate Amanda Ridings Recommends………………..

ALIA (Authentic Leadership in Action) Leadership Intensive 6 day programme Netherlands March 26th – 31st 2012.

Dear Friends and Associates

Many of you will know that I have raved about ALIA (Authentic Leadership in Action) after participating in their leadership intensive in the Netherlands in 2010 and 2011. The programme is returning for 2012 and information can be found here.

I am unable to go in 2012 because I had already set dates for my Pause for Breath retreat – however, I can’t recommend it highly enough. To me, aside from the content in the programme, I came away with a warm feeling from knowing that there were 120 people in and around Europe that I hadn’t known of before and that are supporting, or engaged in, deeper work (in many different guises) – as the invitation says:

‘In these turbulent times, leadership is a journey without final destination and with few reliable maps. More than ever, leaders, managers, and entrepreneurs find that they must build the road as they walk it. To do this they need to be creative, resilient, resourceful, and courageous. They need tools for working in complex, shifting environments.’

I believe that ALIA programme walks the talk and hope you will help spread the word in your networks, or perhaps even consider joining the 2012 intensive. My ulterior motive is that the 2012 programme will be a success so they are able to return in 2013!

Warm regards

Amanda Riding      01337 858820

Pause for Breath: a Leadership Retreat   19-23 March 2012, Scottish Borders

Amanda is running her own Leadership retreat in Scotland from 19-23rd March.  If you are intersted in attemding a Leadershio Programme, and can’t go to the ALIA one you may be interested to learn more about Amanda’s programme; we have had superb testimonials about this one.

Imagine a week with time and space to take stock, reflect and connect with your deeper wisdom.

Imagine reconnecting with your senses and refreshing your mind, body and leadership spirit and presence.

Pause for Breath. Pause…and bring the practices of mindfulness and dialogue to your leadership.

This purposeful time out is for leaders, coaches and others caught up in relentless activity.

Intrigued? For more information see www.originate.org.uk or my supporting book.

CONTENT:

CSA news

CSA France

Coaching Supervision news

ICF/EMCC statement

Twitter/CSA

Coaching people affected by cancer

Supervision groups

CSA news.

We begin the sixth cohort of in the CSA ICF-Approved Diploma in Coaching Supervision in October. It’s a tribute to the CSA Training Team and to the 90+ marvellous coaches who have trained with us, that six years on from our first group, this programme has developed into one of the main courses of choice in the UK for trainee coach supervisors.  This course has grown in many ways since the ‘early days’ and we keep in touch with all that is best in coaching, so that our students and the graduate community are well resourced.

CSA France

We are delighted to announce our first programme in France that will begin next year – click here for details and please pass on this information to your French colleagues. This course signals a phase of international development for CSA and we are currently preparing programmes in several countries – watch this space.

Coaching Supervision news

Coaching Supervision is hot at the moment – two books on supervision have been published since our last newsletter:  ‘Supervision as Transformation’  Ed R Shohet and ‘Supervision in Coaching’ Ed J Passmore. Both of these feature CSA graduates and also the CSA Full Spectrum Model of Supervision. This model is used internationally and offers a comprehensive picture of the range and depth of supervisory work.Click here for details.

There will be another book on Coach and Mentoring Supervision out next month:  http://www.mcgraw-hill.co.uk/html/0335242987.html .  This is great news for coaches and for the coaching industry.  It’s been quite a slog over the past twelve years for those of us who have been pioneering the practice of coaching supervision and working to develop an understanding of what supervision really offers coaches – one which undoes the old fantasies of supervision as some sort of tick box activity or a form of policing. What is now obvious is how superbly this profession develops coaches because of its generative, supportive and resourcing functions  – as this recent literature on supervision, amply illustrates. I was also delighted to see Tatiana Bachkirova’s comments in Coaching at Work (Vol 6 Issue 5) where she proposes supervision as a non-mandatory support for coaches, one where supervision becomes: ‘our professional conscience in practice. It would be a regular and multi-level exploration of or work, chosen by us and not out of fear or for self-promotion, but as a personal commitment to self-improvement.” She further suggests that this rigorous, engagement in our own learning and development would serve the profession better than ‘crude and static accreditation systems’.  Yes, indeed.

ICF/EMCC statement regarding professional conduct.

This recently published code focuses on ICF and EMCC’s coming together to agree on-going professional development for the coaching profession and therefore has implications for coaches at all levels and for the use of supervision.

Common Code of Professional Conduct

TWITTER 

Please note that CSA is now using Twitter. Follow us for updates, resources and latest postings:   http://twitter.com/CSA_EdnaMurdoch

Coaching people affected by Cancer

CSA graduates, Caroline Doherty and Fay Young, are offering excellent, informed coaching specially designed for those affected with cancer. They also offer on-going supervision or a ‘one-off’ consultation session for coaches working with people affected by cancer

For further information about any aspect of this work, please click here or  contact Caroline or Fay:

Email:  caroline@carolinedoherty.co.uk Tel: 07970 968495

Email: fay@fayyoung.co.uk  Tel: 07770 970882

CSA Coaching Supervision Groups

Edna Murdoch f-to-f  Coaching Supervision Group in Brighton  - October start

For more information click here.

Miriam Orriss Telephone Coaching Supervision Group starting October 2011.

For more information click here

Karyn Prentice Face to Face Supervision Group based near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire

For more information click here

Contents:

• BACPC conference report.
• Article from IONS – Institute of Noetic Science – by Rick Hanson on Self-Directed Neuroplasticity
• New Book – free excerpt
• New Article
• ICF Approved Coaching Supervision Diploma
• NEW: Presence Under Pressure workshop
• NEW Coaching Supervision groups
• Coaches in the Park
• NEW: Creative Supervision workshop

BACP Coaching Conference, June 2011

There is so much happening at CSA these days that I will take only a short time to tell you about the special BACPC conference.(British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, Coaching section)

“This was one of those special days when, ‘every single presentation offered something fresh and different – engaging and energising people. I have rarely seen so many people at one conference just glowing with enthusiasm. People were inspired, delighted”. (Linda Aspey, Chair BACP Coaching)

Yes, it was one of those days! Stunning presentations from Nancy Kline and Paul Brown (at last, a presentation on neuroscience which we could all understand and enjoy!), were the highlights of conference. Miriam and I were delighted to present a session looking at how the fields of clinical and coaching supervision were both similar and different. A great start for BACP Coaching!

Article from IONS – by Rick Hanson on Self-Directed Neuroplasticity

As we mentioned in the write up of the BAPC conference , Paul Brown did a wonderful presentation on neuroscience.  Unfortunately we don’t have any articles by Paul which we could share with you. However, there is some great writing on the subject on the IONS website, and we thought you might be interested in reading  the following article by Rick Hanson, on Self-Directed Neuroplasticity.

By the way, if you’re not familiar with IONS website – do check it out. http://www.noetic.org/about/overview/

“Ed. Note: In the following dialogue, excerpted and edited from the Institute of Noetic Sciences’ teleseminar series “Exploring the Noetic Sciences.” IONS Director of Research Cassandra Vieten talks with neuropsychologist and meditation teacher Rick Hanson, author with neurologist Richard Mendius, MD, of Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom. Rick will be speaking at the upcoming IONS International Conference taking place this July in San Francisco.

Vieten: What exactly is contemplative neuroscience?

Hanson: Broadly defined, it’s the study of what happens in the brain when people are doing contemplative practices, how the brain changes with such practices.

Although the word contemplative sounds fancy, everyone has been contemplative – you know, looking up at the stars, going to the ocean and getting a sense of the enormity of it all, or looking into your baby’s eyes and thinking, Holy Moly, how did I get you and how did you get me? All of that is contemplative. In addition to that, all the major religions have formal contemplative practices. But people can engage in contemplative activity without framing it in terms of a relationship with God or something like that.”    Read More

NEW BOOK: ‘A Pause for Breath’ – Bringing the Practices of Mindfulness and Dialogue to Leadership Conversations, by CSA Graduate, Amanda Ridings.

CSA is delighted to announce the publication of a splendid addition to our growing knowledge about how we are, in conversation. This detailed anatomy of dialogue, will benefit all coaches, mentors and supervisors. We will be adding this book to our required reading list for the CSA Supervision Diploma – it’s that good! If you’d like to read an excerpt, the link is:
http://aliainstitute.org/blog/2011/05/02/accidental-mindfulness/

The book is available through Amazon, through Waterstones.com or by placing an order in your favourite bookshop.

NEW ARTICLE – free! – from CSA graduate, Keri Phillips: Coaching the Shadow and the Transition Curve. This is the latest in a series of excellent, thoughtful and informative articles from Keri. just to wet your appetite – click here for a short excerpt from the introduction.  If you’d like a copy, just email Keri at: keri@keri-phillips.co.uk

CSA’s ICF Approved Diploma in Coaching Supervision – now over half-full. Starting in October. See website for full details or email: edna@csa.uk.net if you’d like to apply for this well established training.
Here are some testimonials from our June graduates:

” prepare to be astonished…….enriching, empowering….the CSA faculty take real responsibility for providing and supporting robust and sustainable learning for practitioners…..rich and many-layered learning…rigorous approach…supportive staff…a wonderful privilege…….”

NEW CSA workshop – “Presence Under Pressure” – watch this space!

CSA has created a new workshop designed with resilience in mind. Already some of our graduates have experienced the power and depth of this workshop, which has been specifically designed to support individual coaches to be resilient and clear-headed, no matter what pressure they come across.

We will be taking this workshop ‘up north’ in November – full details of venue and dates will be published shortly. This one-day workshop will have personal impact as well as theoretical input. If you would like to be notified of the PUP programme, please email : miriam@csa.uk.net

NEW Coaching Supervision Groups

Miriam Orriss – telephone supervision group starting October. Full details on CSA website. www.coachingsupervisionacademy.com/supervsion/supervisiongroups

Edna Murdoch – Brighton coaching supervision group starting in September see CSA website. Venue, 1 minute from Brighton station.
www.coachingsupervisionacademy.com/supervision/CSAsupervisiongroups

Karyn Prentice – Central London Face-to-face, Supervision Group- FLEET STREET starting in September, for a lunch -time group once a month.
Please contact Karyn Prentice www.fletcherprentice.com if you would like more information.

WILD COACHES . Coaches in the Park are moving to a bigger playing field – meet us there, as the poet Rumi says. Kew Gardens, Saturday 24 September 11 -4pm £40 (not including entrance to the Park)

With the background of this wonderful garden we will be offering a wide range of activities inspired by Nature, the changing seasons and the connection to our sense of vision, purpose and insight. Mindfulness, presensing, walking and creativity tools for you and your clients! For more information contact either Karyn Prentice (karyn@fletcherprentice.com) or Ian Mackenzie. (ian@ian-mackenzie.co.uk) Ten places, maximum.

NEW: Creative Supervision Workshop, London – using creativity in coaching supervision – Alison Hodge. For full details, please see

http://alisonhodge.com/blog/pdfs/workshop_sept_2011.pdf

Letter from CSA

‘Balcony and Dance floor” Leanne Lowish

ICF Approved Diploma in Coach Supervision

Choice magazine

Coaches in the Park

Forthcoming conferences

ICF UK conference presentation, April 9th.

We have just had a marvellous day with ICF UK!  On April 9th, Miriam and I joined Aboodi Shabi (Newfield) and Liz McCann (BBC) in addressing the conference theme of ‘The Art of Mastery in Coaching’. What emerged, as a group of about 100 coaches participated in this very successful event, was a shared desire to attend to the deeper enquiry that is possible in our work and the hunger for coaching ‘beyond technique’.  There was great engagement in the room as we co-created a space in which coaches could explore core aspects of their practice. We acknowledged the primacy of presence, the profound possibilities in the coaching relationship and the miracle that occurs when the ‘gods and goddesses of coaching’, sit among us.

I was reminded of Martin Buber’s work, which established the principle of the ‘I-Thou’ – the mode of connecting when we are attuned to one another in a spirit of honour and awe. The ‘I – Thou’ occurs only as we meet with our whole being – as Buber said, ” All real living is meeting”. In the reflective practice that is coaching supervision, we aim to foster a ‘real’ dialogue, which enables the coach to return to their work, resourced and refreshed.  This level of supervisory input enables coaches to converse with their clients with much more awareness, clarity and impact. This happens especially when coaches attend to what wants to emerge in the life of the client or the team with which they are working, while still holding the overt focus of the contract. It requires that coach supervisors ‘let go’ of our fantasy of what ‘should’ be occurring and play our part in co – creating an exploration that is real and open and which surrenders to a dialogic process that has meaning and muscle beyond what coach and supervisor may know at any given moment.

The day at the ICF conference reminded us all that in these fast-moving, highly-pressurised times, there is a huge hunger for real human engagement. As the poet David Whyte, puts it in Loaves and Fishes:

This is not

the age of information…….

Forget the news,

And the radio,

And the blurred screen.

This is the time

of loaves

and fishes.

People are hungry,

and one good word is bread

for a thousand.

Edna Murdoch

‘Balcony and Dance floor ‘ Leanne Lowish CSA Senior Training Team

“You are a member of your culture, you participate in it everyday, yet you also influence it. To achieve this you must be able to both participate and observe your own participation, being both on the balcony and dance floor” (Carolyn Taylor – Walk the Talk)

As a dancer I love being in the middle of the action and spinning and twirling and strutting my stuff with the best of them, I also love going up onto the balcony and watching other dancers in action….. After reading this I tried to put into practice – being in the dance and on the balcony at the same time…metaphorically speaking! And what that allowed me to do is to see me in action and how I influence and impact the world around me… real time.

Some of you may already know the writing of Schon, of particular relevance to us is his emphasis on ‘reflection on action’ and how valuable it is to write or speak about our experience after the fact – indeed supervision is hugely helpful for providing the space for reflection on action. However, he also talks about ‘reflection in action’ and how valuable it is to reflect during the acting…. CSA refers to this element in their work on the development of the internal supervisor. It takes practice to see the water from inside the goldfish bowl and what a fascinating world it invites us into when we do.

For me it allows that slight bit of distance so I don’t fall into the hole with my clients, it enables me to be aware of the other dancers, the music, mirror ball, air, lighting, atmosphere and not be caught in the emotion of the moment and swept away by that.

This skill is becoming increasingly important as the economic, political and environmental change threaten our very existence; that sounds dramatic and usually I shy away from proclamations such as the end of the world is nigh… but things really are happening. I am sure many of us have clients or maybe even ourselves who are currently facing despairing situations and the challenge for all of us is to stay present and on the dancefloor with their despair, disappointment, loss, fear and yet also be on the balcony noticing what is going on within us and in the field…. (for CSA Grads there is a workshop on June 4^th to explore this very topic).

In times of turmoil and stress we are challenged to make very difficult decisions and as coaches we help people navigate these decisions by enabling them to touch into their values and helping them to locate their true north. Victor Frankl in his book ‘Mans Search for Meaning’ talks about people in prison of war camps in the face of not having the choice over whether they would live or die could still choose how to be with their situation. They could choose to live in integrity, in alignment with their values.

When I ask myself if I live in alignment with my values, I see a difference between my espoused values (what I say my values are) and my values in action. In The Happiness Hypothesis the author talks about a study in which people were asked to predict their behaviour around donating money to a charity and then when actually asked to donate, the amount donated was not as much as was predicted. This result was then told to the next group of participants who despite prior knowledge also predicted more than they actually donated. When both groups were confronted with the findings, all said that it must have been someone else in the group and it wasn’t them.

One way the balcony and dance floor metaphor is useful is to help myself and my clients to close that gap between espoused values and values in action. When we reflect in the moment we can become more conscious of the decisions we are making and whether it is in alignment with the values we have espoused.

The way I reflect in action is through my body as our bodies are always in the moment. My body also gives clear signals when I am out of alignment with my values. Ironically going into my body to notice what is there, actually brings me back into the moment and onto the dance floor and the noticing allows me to be on balcony at the same time. Hey presto!

Leanne Lowish

CSA ICF Diploma in Coaching Supervision October 2011 – booking now!

Delegates are already gathering for the sixth year of this rigorous, successful supervision programme. We are currently interviewing coaches for the October course – if you want to know more, please see our website and/or email me to find out how this course works and what makes it both successful and special: edna@csa.uk.net

COACHES IN THE  PARK is off and running!

We had our second outdoor event yesterday in the glorious sun of Green Park.

We meet 1-2pm in Green Park for an hour of mindful walking exercises, using nature and the seasons as a companion to guide us being the best we can be as coaches and coach supervisors.

We believe that even a small time outdoors is like a solar panel for the soul- even when the weather is less than optimal. We connect with a wider teacher and bring our presence into a fresh focus before going back indoors.

It’s a walk in the park! It’s FREE. And takes place the first Wednesday of every month whatever the weather ( or nearly!)

Where we meet: Exit Green Park Tube station with Marks and Spencers behind you. Cross over to the  Park. There are green construction hoardings there but walk into the Park and directly behind the hoardings in the park is a snack stand. We meet there. Join us!

Also watch this space for the first WILD COACH walking event likely to take place on the South Downs later this year. Let us know if you are interested in more details

Karyn Prentice Karyn@fletcherprentice.com or Ian Mackenzie: learning@redbuddhahouse.net

Choice Magazine

Do have a look at this international on-line magazine for coaches – there’s lots of good material in here for coaches at all levels. If you want to sign up for this magazine, just add the code FRIENDSOFCHOICE ~ upon checkout to receive a $5 USD discount!

http://www.profcs.com/SecureCart/SecureCart.aspx?mid=747C9BB2-2E40-468E-AE7D-829ABA2BDE6D&pid=f82f0b6d7ee0400cea36fba4c1db0a3e

Forthcoming conferences:

BACPC June 17^th Therapist/Coach: Coaching for a Changing World.  Edna Murdoch and Miriam Orriss will present on Coaching Supervision. http://www.bacpcoaching.co.uk/conference.php

Oxford Brookes Conference. July 1^st First International Conference for Coaching Supervision.  See you there!

BASPR (British Assoc for Supervision Practice and Research)  July 29-30  “Transformations through Supervision”  St Mary’s College Twickenham.   Contact Amanda Shribman:  0208 4441110

We unwittingly depend on this rhythm and there is always a semi-conscious note of relief when the weather turns around as it is meant to. Recent extraordinary weather in Brazil and Australia has brought more than a tremor of concern to everyone.  In addition, we have huge political uprisings in the Middle East and global economic conditions, which are affecting us all – even coaches.  I would say especially coaches, since we interface with global organisations and businesses that are directly affected by this turbulence.  This is creating more pressure for coaches – pressure which plays out right in the heart of our work.

One of the themes that CSA is working on right now is how we remain present and resourceful under pressure like this.  Our Diploma Senior Training Team is combining Relational Presencing, Mindfulness and Conscious Embodiment processes to develop training for our supervision students in this vital area.  Watch out on this website for Advanced Courses which aim to support and develop coaches’ resilience – we all need some!

What exactly is Coaching Supervision?

There are many ways of describing what coach supervisors do, so I thought that I’d share this latest one from Sam Magill, one of CSA’s Accredited Graduate Supervisors.

Supervision: the act of waking up to what happens in practice.

As coaches, we are regularly immersed in the world of our clients. We are called to be fully present and connected in such profound ways that we can evoke questions in ourselves and in our clients that have only crouched beneath the surface activities of their / our lives. Whether we are new to coaching or have been at it for a very long time, it is utterly natural to, in a sense, fall asleep to the effects of these connections, to the intentional practice of being present. In the process, we become less aware of our own practice and, while acting instinctively is very often a good thing, over time we develop unconscious patterns that may or may not be right for our current client.

Supervision of coaching is like climbing up in a tall tree, or standing on a hilltop looking out over the sea and the landscape around us. It is also like polishing a mirror that has become fogged with activity. It is also like revisiting our truest self from which our best coaching emerges.

Unlike coaching for performance or to build a new strategy or life, coaching supervision has no intention to go anywhere. On the contrary, it is about the coach coming home and turning on the lights again rather than bumping around in the dark. It is a balancing antidote to the very legitimate demand for concrete results expected by coaching clients.

Sam Magill,  January 2011 (please note that Sam Magill will co-lead the  CSA Diploma in Coaching Supervision in France in 2012 – details will be posted in this newsletter.)

Some Supervision Themes

Here’s some more information about what coach supervisors do. These are some of the themes that have been present in my own supervision practice over the last six months.  Here’s a list:

• Working with clients’ aggressive challenges
• Managing the coach’s own responses to challenging clients and client situations.
• Support with websites, statements for accreditation (language, theory, style resources.)
• Ensuring clear contracting and on-going contracting – staying present in the conversation.
• How to develop EQ with brilliant, but low EQ, clients.
• Supporting the coach to be patient, when patience is necessary.
• Coming back to presence – coming home to coach’s own thinking.
• Ensuring that clients’ expectations are realistic.
• Offering new tools for coaches.
• Combining theory with intuition – valuing the coach’s own knowing about their clients.
• Developing coaches’ confidence and competence.
• Working with clients’ who are at a cross roads in their working and personal lives.
• How to work with clients who are facing major life changes:  loss, change and death.
• Enabling the coach to recognise and access their next level of competence.
• Self care for the coach – protecting the instrument of the work.
• Supporting reflections on working with difference
• Matching clients’ intensity as a way to avoid disengaging.
• Suggesting interventions.
• Teaching the coach about unconscious factors in coaching and how to ensure that coach is not caught in unuseful ‘games’.
• Supporting coaches’ observations and ensuring that coaches use them to intervene   usefully.
• Building and valuing the coach’s Internal Supervisor.
• Clarifying complex multi-party conversations and re-contracting in the light of this.
• Working with ‘armoured’ clients.
• Unravelling parallel processes.

Boosting your creativity – article by Karyn Prentice

“There is no use trying,” said Alice; “one can’t believe impossible things.” “I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. ”When I was your age, I always did it for a half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

-Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland)

Where does impossible end and a prototype begin? How many times do we use the words ‘’ It can’t be done’ and cut off any chance we might have of finding out whether there is something to salvage, to nurture or to fan the flame of possibility over? Too often our rational thinking might miss out the seeds of potential options. History is littered with one generation saying ‘can’t be done’ and the next one saying ’look again, it’s happening.’

Children are good examples to learn from. In play all ideas are up for grabs  and using imagination is second nature. My six-year-old granddaughter is up for that. If I say, “let’s build an interplanetary home for lost dragonflies,” she would say, “where shall we put the bedrooms?” Not “Are you nuts?” Or “what is ‘interplanetary’, give me a break, I’m only six!”………….read on in the Resources section of the website!

CSA EVENTS

BOOKING NOW:

ICF Approved, 9-month Diploma in Coaching Supervision – a superb, rigorous programme now in its sixth successful year.  See www.coachingsupervsionacademy.com/Coursesandworkshops. Please email/call me for further information about the course:  edna@csa.uk.net 01323 897 344

Advanced CPD for coaches:  Brighton, Saturday March 26^th – Who you are is how you Coach. Feedback on this work from a recent EMCC conference:

“brilliant session…original learning…firmly grounded in ground-breaking research….  helped me tap into inner resources…. I felt in very safe hands….. lovely style and pace..relaxed and engaging..made sense of my experience… wonderful to learn so authentically…completely relevant…without doubt, this is going to become part of the ‘new wave’ of coaching.

See www.coachingsupervsionacademy.com /Events for details.  Or email me at edna@csa.uk.net

NEW: COACHES IN THE PARK- FREE MONTHLY EVENT, 1-2pm Green Park, London

Come and join for a lunch hour in nature whatever the weather

(or almost)

1pm on the first Wednesday of every month,

This season’s cycle beginning 2nd March 2011

Meet: take the Parkside exit (same side as Ritz Hotel). We meet at the

coffee stand just inside the entrance behind the current green construction

area!)

.            Refresh yourself by connecting

.            Walking mindfulness practice

.            On the spot supervision by experienced coach mentors

.            Be in nature and develop strategies that bring that awareness into

your work by being in nature

Hosted by Ian Mackenzie and Karyn Prentice: karyn.f@virgin.net

NEW: Supervision tele-class in the comfort of your own surroundings

Coaches and mentors supporting individuals and teams save money by using telephone super-vision by experienced and qualified ICF Coach, Tele-class Leader and CSA Accredited Coach Supervisor.

Listen to others in the supervision process, learn through them, ask questions and give sensitive feedback.  Enjoy this confidential professional space to reflect on and develop your skills.

Commencing Monday March 7^th every 4 weeks for 6 months from 4pm – 6pm

Fee: £240 for 6 x 90mins sessions  Min:4  Max:6 per group.

Payment by cheque by Feb 25th to : Jackie Arnold 18 Grinstead Lane, Lancing BN169DY or by BACS on request.  Telephone link and password will be provided.

Brighton & Hove Supervision Group for mentor coaches and supervisors

Face to face facilitated coaching supervision group starting in Hove.

Commencing March 2011 please email for further details. Only 6 places at £240 for 6 x 2 hour sessions so be quick!

Find out more: Jackie@associationofcoachingsupervisors.com www.associationofcoachingsupervisors.com

Edna Murdoch  February 2011

EMCC conference Dublin –November 2010

We have returned from the EMCC conference in Dublin, restored, and invigorated!  Whether it was the wonderful Irish hospitality, the spacious hotel or a very well balanced programme, we are not sure. But the general agreement seemed to be that this particular conference really hit the spot. What was particularly interesting for CSA was that there were so many excellent workshops which focussed on the ‘soft’ side of our work – sessions which valued creativity, mindfulness, working with energy and with systems and which encouraged coaches to go beyond the familiar.  There were, for example, two workshops on constellations coaching – see information about John Whittington below – and the one we attended was excellent.  Our own workshop  – ‘Who you are is how you coach’ – was well attended and we had a terrific response to this topic, which explores the pivotal role of relational presence and the being of the coach.

Below are some of the events you might want to look out for next year.

Events

Pause for Breath with Amanda Ridings, 4-8 April 2011

“Every day I find myself pausing to find balance, imagine the space around me, breath, relax and find a little more compassion to deal with some situation.” Participant feedback

I am on a mission to bring the practices of mindfulness and dialogue into leadership conversations! I do this in a number of ways, in coaching and coach supervision sessions, in dialogue practice development groups and in my flagship leadership retreat, Pause for Breath. The joy of Pause for Breath is that there is time to foster the notion of practice, a key aspect of both mindfulness and dialogue. As a T’ai Chi teacher, my particular delight is that the retreat week is a perfect setting for the deeper insights that emerge through using movement and embodied approaches to discover our patterns in conversations.

Pause for Breath is for leaders and coaches and offers purposeful time-out for anyone caught up in relentless activity. In a week together, in the Scottish Borders, we will explore mind, body and energy approaches to cultivate our leadership presence and become more resilient in our interactions with others. As we work, talk, live and laugh together, you will be prepared to risk changing your breathing, your thinking and your habits of conversation in service to deepening and sustaining your leadership spirit.

For more information, see http://www.originate.org.uk/Pause%20for%20Breath.pdf

One-day Workshop for coaches, mentors and coach supervisors in Brighton

Who You Are Is How You Coach. Brighton  Saturday  March 26^{th 2011}

‘Coach and client are engaged in a process of reciprocal influence….thus the person of the coach must be fully involved.’ Prof B Critchley

Concepts from quantum physics, mindfulness, neurocardiology and the work of Sharmer/Senge (TheoryU), will be used to illuminate our understanding of self-as-instrument in coaching.  This multi-dimensional look at coaching presence brings a much deeper sense of how the person of the coach affects coaching outcomes. This unique workshop focuses on what goes on within the coach as they coach and what goes on between the coach and coachee.  It also touches on the development of valuable awareness about the coach’s Internal Supervisor where cognitive, somatic and intuitive data can inform and guide interventions.

Learning how to be present to this  degree quickly brings elegance, and efficiency to our work. It also begins to offer clarity of thought when transference issues or parallel processes are operating. The ideas in this workshop are in alignment with current explorations in coaching research and practice. Coaching  is now recognizing how central our presence and the coaching relationship are to successful outcomes and to  the development of first class practice.

Miriam Orriss and Edna Murdoch are looking forward to facilitating this powerful and enjoyable workshop. For more information, click here.

Constellations work comes to Coaching and Coaching Supervision!

CSA is delighted to highlight the work of John Whittington, one of a growing band of excellent facilitators of constellations work.  Next year, John will be presenting for CSA at one of our CPD days for CSA Accredited Graduates. If you want to now more about this work and about John’s workshops, please see:  www.coachingconstellations.com

Coach Supervisors – something for you.

2011 will see several initiatives, which will support and promote coach supervisors.  Below you will find information about a new venture:

ASSOCIATION OF COACHING SUPERVISORS (ACS)

REPRESENTING THE NEEDS OF COACHING SUPERVISORS

AND THE BUYERS OF COACHING SUPERVISION

As you are aware Coach Supervision is increasingly being demanded by global organisations, buyers and accrediting bodies, yet it is still at its pioneering stage and often receives insufficient attention and focus from the large coaching organisations.  This is why we have set up the Association of Coaching Supervisors (ACS).

The aim is to be the only association in the coaching industry which offers a supportive platform exclusively for coaching supervisors and buyers of coaching supervision, and its remit will be to:

• provide exclusive focus for coach supervision for all types of coaches, both external and internal
• raise the profile of coach supervision amongst coaches and buyers of coaching
• inform and educate coaches and buyers of coaching about coach supervision and its benefits
• lead a movement that influences the role and value of supervision, by developing an authoritative voice amongst the coaching profession
• position coach supervision as accessible, professional, desirable and be seen as a “must have” resource, and to eliminate negative connotations often associated with the word “supervision”
• provide a membership directory for supervisors – with members meeting minimum standards and operating according to a code of ethics – accessible to buyers nationally and across Europe.
• create an attractive and appealing range of member benefits for an annual membership fee
• provide opportunities for CPD and for supervision exchanges

Read More…….

NEW YEAR OFFER for two coaches:  If you have NOT experienced coaching supervision before and would like to try it out, you can have a one-hour telephone session with Edna Murdoch, at the reduced fee of £100.  Just email jilly@csa.uk.net, putting New Year Offer in the subject line. Please note, this offer is open to two coaches only!

Finally……….we wish all our readers the very best for Christmas and the New Year.

Contact us for more information