The Coaching Crowd® Podcast with Jo Wheatley & Zoe Hawkins

What changes when the person sitting in front of you is not a coachee, but another coach?
In this episode, we explore the difference between coaching and coaching supervision. Although the two practices share many skills, the purpose, focus and dynamics of each relationship are distinct. Coaching usually supports a client to move towards a goal or desired outcome, while coaching supervision turns the attention towards the coach and the quality of their practice.
As supervisors, we create a reflective space in which coaches can examine how they are working, what may be influencing them and what could help them practise more effectively, ethically and sustainably. Supervision can therefore feel more exploratory than coaching, allowing us to remain curious about what is emerging rather than moving immediately towards a solution.
We discuss how supervision can help coaches look beneath the questions they initially bring. A request for reassurance about whether a session was handled correctly might become an exploration of why that reassurance is needed. Through reflection, the coach can develop greater self-awareness, strengthen their professional judgement and find confidence from within.
We also explore the expanded field of coaching supervision. Coaches bring their own identity, history and professional context, alongside the influence of their clients and the wider systems surrounding them. The supervisor's observations and responses also become part of the work. Holding this complexity requires an awareness of relationships, professional ethics, safeguarding, competence and the sustainability of coaching practice.
Although coaching and supervision remain distinct, learning to become a coaching supervisor can deepen how we coach. It develops our ability to notice patterns, relational dynamics and what may be communicated beyond words. For experienced coaches, supervision offers an opportunity to develop their practice, support other coaches and contribute to the future of the coaching profession.
Timestamps:
00:00 The difference between coaching and supervision
00:29 Why coaching supervision matters
00:56 Becoming a coaching supervisor
01:25 The ethical commitment of a coach
01:55 Client goals and coach development
03:18 Why supervision is more exploratory
04:11 Looking beneath a request for reassurance
05:04 The distinctive focus of supervision
06:01 Understanding the expanded field
07:26 Ethics and professional responsibility
08:20 The systems surrounding coaches and clients
09:38 The supervisor as an instrument
11:30 Supporting reflective practitioners
12:52 Experience and the pedestal dynamic
14:12 Relationships and group supervision
15:57 How supervision develops your coaching
16:55 Visibility and professional identity
17:54 Power dynamics for internal coaches
19:49 Competence, ethics and sustainability
20:19 Discovery rather than destination
21:43 Developing as a coaching supervisor
22:11 Diploma in Coaching Supervision
Key Lessons Learned:
Coaching usually supports a client to move towards a goal, outcome or desired change.
Coaching supervision focuses on how the coach is practising and what will help them work ethically, effectively and sustainably.
Supervision creates space to explore uncertainty without immediately searching for a solution.
A request for reassurance may reveal a deeper opportunity for reflection and professional development.
The supervisory field includes the coach, their clients, the systems surrounding those clients and the supervisor's own observations.
Coaching supervisors help coaches reflect on safeguarding, professional ethics, competence and their responsibility to clients.
A supervisor can bring significant coaching experience without becoming the person expected to provide every answer.
Group coaching supervision requires awareness of several relationships, client systems and interpersonal dynamics at the same time.
Training as a coaching supervisor can deepen a coach's ability to recognise patterns and relational dynamics.
Coaching and supervision may explore similar topics, but supervision views them through the lenses of professional identity, ethics, competence and sustainability.
Keywords:
difference between coaching and coaching supervision, coaching supervision, what is coaching supervision, coaching versus supervision, coaching supervisor, coaching supervision training, reflective coaching practice, ethical coaching practice, professional development for coaches, coach supervision, group coaching supervision, coaching ethics, Diploma in Coaching Supervision, becoming a coaching supervisor, sustainable coaching practice,
Links and Resources:
Diploma in Coaching Supervision: https://www.igcompany.com/supervisiontraining
In Good Company: https://www.igcompany.com

Who supports the coach when they are holding complexity, navigating ethical questions and helping other people create meaningful change?
In this episode, we explore a significant development for the coaching profession: the introduction of the International Coaching Federation's Coaching Supervisor Specialization, known as the CSS. Coaching can ask a great deal of us. We hold complex client experiences, make ethical decisions and remain present through uncertainty. Coaching supervision creates a confidential and reflective space where coaches can examine their work, protect their wellbeing and continue developing their professional practice.
Until now, the ICF has placed greater emphasis on mentor coaching, which focuses primarily on coaching skills and the ICF Core Competencies. Coaching supervision has been more firmly established within organisations such as the European Mentoring and Coaching Council and the Association for Coaching. The new ICF Coaching Supervisor Specialization signals a major shift, bringing supervision closer to the centre of ethical coaching practice and establishing clearer global standards.
We discuss how supervision differs from mentor coaching and why both can play an important role in coach development. Supervision reaches beyond technical competence. It provides space to explore ethical challenges, client relationships, emotional responses, professional boundaries and the coach's own wellbeing. For us, this is one of the most important aspects of the announcement. Coaches continually give their attention and energy to others, and supervision can help make that work sustainable.
The CSS also creates a valuable opportunity for experienced coaches who are considering becoming coaching supervisors. ICF requirements include holding a PCC or MCC credential, completing at least 41 hours of coaching supervision training, with at least 50% delivered synchronously, and undertaking education aligned with the ICF Coaching Supervision Competencies. The forthcoming ICF Coaching Supervisor Registry is also expected to give qualified supervisors greater visibility while helping coaches identify people who meet recognised professional standards.
We reflect on what this development means for the wider coaching industry. When professional bodies move towards a shared understanding of supervision, they send a clearer message about ethical practice, reflective learning and professional accountability. The CSS is not simply another badge. It represents a growing recognition that good coaches need structured support too.
Finally, we share the story behind our Diploma in Coaching Supervision. The programme grew from our own desire to deepen our practice, challenge ourselves and explore the next expression of who we wanted to become as coaches. It is designed for experienced practitioners who want to develop the skills, maturity and confidence required to supervise other coaches while continuing their own personal and professional evolution.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to the ICF supervision development
00:28 Why coaches need professional support
00:58 Introducing the Coaching Supervisor Specialization
01:55 The opportunity for experienced coaches
02:25 Why this matters to the coaching profession
04:15 Supervision and ICF credential renewal
05:34 The supervisor registry and ACTC requirements
06:31 Coaching supervision competency frameworks
07:20 Supervision, ethics and coach wellbeing
08:40 Choosing a qualified coaching supervisor
09:39 CSS eligibility and training requirements
10:28 What supervision training needs to cover
11:42 Introducing our Coaching Supervision Diploma
12:36 How the programme began
13:26 Professional evolution and the future of coaching
14:23 How to find out more
Key Lessons Learned:
Coaching supervision supports ethical decision making, reflective practice, professional development and coach wellbeing.
Mentor coaching and coaching supervision have different purposes, although both can contribute to a coach's development.
The ICF Coaching Supervisor Specialization creates a clearer global benchmark for coaching supervision.
Qualified coaching supervisors are likely to become more visible through the forthcoming ICF Coaching Supervisor Registry.
Experienced coaches can use supervision training to deepen their practice and develop an additional professional service.
Professional credentials help coaches make more informed decisions when choosing a supervisor.
Supervision can reduce professional isolation and help coaches manage the emotional and relational complexity of client work.
The increasing alignment between the ICF, EMCC and Association for Coaching strengthens the profession's focus on quality and ethics.
Coaching supervision training is not solely about acquiring techniques. It can reshape how a coach understands themselves, their clients and their practice.
Keywords:
Coaching supervision, coaching supervisor training, ICF Coaching Supervisor Specialization, ICF CSS, coaching supervision course, Coaching Supervision Diploma, become a coaching supervisor, professional coach development, reflective coaching practice, ethical coaching practice, coaching supervisor accreditation, ICF coaching supervision competencies, mentor coaching versus supervision, coaching supervision for coaches, coach wellbeing, advanced coaching skills.
Links and Resources
Diploma in Coaching Supervision
In Good Company
ICF Coaching Supervisor Specialization
ICF Coaching Supervision

What does becoming a master-level coach actually involve, and is the gap between where you are today and coaching mastery as large as it can sometimes feel? In this episode, we explore the journey towards master-level coaching and why accreditation is about far more than accumulating coaching hours. Whether you are an experienced coach considering your next accreditation or at the beginning of your coaching journey, understanding the pathway early can help you make intentional decisions about your professional development.
We explore three important areas that contribute to coaching mastery: professional maturity, reflective practice and contribution to the profession. Contribution can take many forms, including volunteering with professional bodies, sharing learning, publishing, research, supervision, participating in professional groups or creating resources that help other coaches. The important distinction is that genuine contribution extends beyond promoting our individual coaching businesses and demonstrates an ongoing commitment to strengthening the wider profession.
Professional maturity is also about far more than time served. Different accrediting bodies have different requirements around experience, coaching hours and training, but mastery also involves developing a distinctive professional identity, learning to work with complexity, navigating ethical dilemmas and integrating our learning so that we are no longer dependent on individual coaching models. Our CPD choices gradually tell the story of who we are becoming as coaches and the areas in which we are choosing to deepen our practice.
Finally, we look at reflective practice and the value of building strong habits long before an accreditation application is due. Coaching logs, reflective diaries, supervision and peer reflection all help us understand how our practice is evolving. We also encourage coaches who aspire to mastery to spend time with master-level practitioners. The differences between coaching levels can be subtle yet significant, and the journey becomes far less intimidating when we see mastery not as an unreachable destination, but as the cumulative result of thoughtful development, reflection, experience and contribution over time.
Timestamps
00:09 What does master-level coaching mean?
00:48 Three elements of the pathway to mastery
02:46 Why contribution to the profession should start early
03:56 Different ways coaches can contribute
05:35 Contribution versus promotion
07:23 Coaching supervision as professional contribution
09:00 How supervision can open new opportunities
09:58 Publishing, volunteering and professional bodies
12:00 Planning for mastery before you need accreditation
13:15 Different accreditation requirements
13:42 Developing a distinctive professional identity
15:01 Ethical maturity and experience
16:31 CPD and the story of your coaching development
18:26 Consistency and reflective practice
19:32 Keeping coaching logs and recorded reflections
21:33 Supervision and advanced coach development
22:11 Final reflections and resources
Key Lessons Learned
Master-level coaching is not purely about accumulating coaching hours.
Professional maturity, reflective practice and contribution to the profession are all important parts of the journey.
Coaches benefit from understanding the requirements of their chosen accrediting body well before they are ready to apply.
Contribution to the profession should be genuine, sustained and broader than marketing an individual coaching business.
Volunteering, publishing, research, professional groups and supervision can all provide ways to contribute.
Coaching supervision can deepen reflective practice while also creating opportunities to support the development of other coaches.
Professional maturity includes developing a distinctive coaching identity and becoming increasingly comfortable working with complexity.
Ethical maturity develops through experience, reflection and navigating challenging situations.
CPD is more powerful when it shows consistent curiosity and development over time rather than becoming a last-minute accreditation exercise.
Regular coaching logs and reflective records make future accreditation considerably easier.
Spending time with master-level coaches can make the pathway feel more tangible and achievable.
Accreditation Note
The episode discusses examples of requirements from professional coaching bodies, including the EMCC and ICF, as they were understood at the time of recording. Accreditation pathways and requirements can change, so coaches should check the current criteria directly with their chosen professional body before planning or submitting an application.
SEO Keywords
master-level coach, coaching mastery, master coach accreditation, coaching accreditation, professional coach development, reflective practice, coaching supervision, coach CPD, EMCC accreditation, ICF accreditation, coaching professional development, advanced coach training
Links & Resources
In Good Company: igcompany.com
Coaching Supervision Training: www.igcompany.com/supervisiontraining 
Professional organisations discussed:
EMCC: European Mentoring and Coaching Council
ICF: International Coaching Federation
Association for Coaching
CIPD: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
ILM: Institute of Leadership and Management

What if the biggest limitation on your coaching potential is not the number of models you know, but the parts of yourself you have yet to explore? In this episode, we talk about what it really means to unlock your potential as a coach, leader or manager. Developing coaching skills certainly involves learning and experience, but we explore why deeper growth often starts with an internal commitment to remain curious, continually develop and understand ourselves more fully.
We discuss the idea that our coaching ceiling can become our own psychological ceiling. When a client brings something that activates discomfort in us, perhaps emotions, confidence, imposter syndrome, difficult feedback or conflict, we may unconsciously steer the conversation towards territory that feels safer. Developing ourselves therefore expands the range and depth of conversations we are able to hold. Understanding ourselves becomes an important part of being more fully available to somebody else.
We also explore attention, presence and courage. Coaching potential does not necessarily come from finding increasingly clever questions. The quality of our attention, our silence, body language, breathing and presence can influence what becomes possible in the coaching space. Growth also asks us to move towards discomfort, whether that means seeking supervision, working with our own coach, exploring something that has activated us or stretching ourselves beyond our existing comfort zone.
Perhaps most importantly, we reflect on ego and the coaching relationship. Our clients do not need to leave impressed by us. We would rather see them become impressed by themselves and what they discover they are capable of. Coaching excellence exists within the relationship between coach and client, and our potential expands when we become less concerned with proving our value and more interested in what becomes possible when we are genuinely present, reflective and curious together.
Timestamps
00:07 What does it mean to unlock your coaching potential?
01:02 Commitment to continual development
02:23 Your psychological coaching ceiling
04:15 Recognising the conversations you avoid
06:48 Developing the quality of your attention
08:54 Coaching mastery as mastery of attention
09:17 Courage and personal development
11:37 The client does not need to be impressed by you
13:38 What meaningful client feedback can sound like
14:21 Ego and coach development
17:06 Coaching potential exists within the relationship
19:00 Reframing the idea of a difficult client
20:30 Skills, reflection and our humanity as coaches
Key Lessons Learned
Coaching potential is not unlocked through models and techniques alone.
The depth we can hold for clients is influenced by the depth of our own personal development.
Avoiding certain topics or conversations can reveal valuable areas for reflection and growth.
Self-awareness helps coaches bring less of their own material into the client's space.
Attention, silence, body language and presence can be as influential as the questions we ask.
Courage is required to move towards the areas of coaching and personal development that make us uncomfortable.
Clients do not need to be impressed by their coach. Powerful coaching can help them become impressed by themselves.
Reflecting honestly on ego can reveal where further professional development is needed.
The relationship between coach and client is itself a valuable source of information.
What we experience as a "difficult client" may reveal a limit or developmental edge in our own practice.
SEO Keywords
unlock coaching potential, coaching potential, coach development, coaching skills, coaching presence, reflective practice, coaching supervision, professional coaching, coaching mastery, self-awareness in coaching, leadership coaching, coach training
Links & Resources
In Good Company: www.igcompany.com 
Nancy Kline is referenced during the discussion in relation to listening and attention.

What if the problem your client brings to coaching is not actually the thing that needs coaching? In this episode, we explore what it really means to coach the person rather than becoming absorbed by the presenting issue. A client might arrive wanting help with time management, delegation, boundaries or another practical challenge, but if the solution were purely about strategies and actions, there is a good chance they would already have found one. This is where our curiosity as coaches needs to go deeper.
We explore the difference between transactional and transformational coaching, looking beyond the symptom towards the beliefs, values, identity, attitudes and patterns that may be shaping the client's experience. Using delegation as an example, we consider how a practical problem might actually be connected to fear of failure, responsibility, confidence, relationships at work or even a deeper misalignment between somebody's values and the life or career they are pursuing.
We also reflect on why coaches can become pulled towards solving problems. When a conversation feels stuck, offering ideas or moving rapidly towards actions can create an immediate sense of progress for both coach and client. Yet sustainable coaching is about developing the client's own resourcefulness rather than creating a cycle where they return with another problem to be fixed. There is still a place for actions and accountability, but they can become far more powerful once the person has developed greater insight into what is happening underneath the problem.
Ultimately, person-centred coaching is not about helping somebody create a life without challenges. It is about helping them develop a different relationship with themselves and the challenges they encounter. For us as coaches, that means noticing the internal pull towards solving and replacing the question, "How can I solve this with them?" with greater curiosity about who the client is, what they are learning and who they are becoming through the experience.
Timestamps
00:07 Coaching the person, not the problem
00:39 Looking beyond the presenting issue
01:29 Symptoms versus underlying causes
03:13 Transactional and transformational coaching
04:50 Why the problem still matters
05:51 The delegation example
07:02 When action becomes a sticking plaster
09:26 Identifying patterns in a client's experience
11:40 When the problem is not really the problem
13:41 Avoiding dependency and the fix-it mentality
15:29 When practical problem coaching has a place
17:10 Developing a different relationship with problems
19:12 How to recognise what you are coaching
21:36 Moving from solving to curiosity
22:08 Final reflections on person-centred coaching
Key Lessons Learned
The presenting problem is often a surface expression of something deeper.
Values, beliefs, mindset and identity can influence why a particular situation becomes a problem for one person and not another.
Transactional coaching can support action, but transformational coaching can create more sustainable change.
Practical questions become more useful after deeper barriers have been explored.
Moving too quickly towards solutions can lead coaches towards advising, suggesting or guiding.
Person-centred coaching helps clients build their own capability and reduces dependency on the coach.
Coaches need to notice their own desire to solve, especially when they recognise the client's problem from personal experience.
Great coaching can shift the focus from removing problems to helping clients become more resourceful in how they relate to them.
SEO Keywords
coach the person not the problem, person-centred coaching, transformational coaching, transactional coaching, coaching skills, coaching techniques, coaching clients, professional coaching, coaching questions, client resourcefulness, coaching development, coach training
Links & Resources
My Coaching Course: www.mycoachingcourse.com