A well-established coach recently looked me in the eye and said, “I’m MCC, so I don’t need supervision anymore.” This conversation deeply affected me. I often encounter coaches who view supervision as a luxury, or something designed for inexperienced coaches: “If you need coaching supervision, it must be because you’re not good enough.”
This thinking breaks my heart because it’s such a profound misunderstanding of what supervision truly offers. Supervision is not about correction; it’s about expanding our capacity as coaches, and this is exactly why we need to reframe our thinking.
Supervision as a space to unlearn
Traditional thinking positions supervision as a place to learn new techniques, resolve challenging client cases, or complete professional requirements. Although that’s useful for professional development, it’s not exactly inspiring. Grounded in an assumption that there is either something broken to fix or something lacking in our skillset, supervision looms over us as a corrective stick.
But what if supervision's greatest gift is creating space to unlearn? I encountered this concept at the EMCC Global Conference 2025, and it continues to resonate deeply.
In this space, supervision empowers us to question our assumptions, challenge our blind spots, and release patterns which no longer serve our clients or us. Framed this way, as an opportunity to refine and enhance what’s already working, you can be an exceptional coach while embracing supervision.
The mastery paradox: when expertise keeps us stuck
The more experienced we become, the more we risk becoming prisoners of our own expertise. We develop unconscious competence, which is powerful – until it isn't.
Unconscious competence is the stage of learning where you can perform skills correctly without thinking about it. However, those tried-and-tested approaches can easily become barriers to fresh thinking. Confidence can support our coaching, but overconfidence can constrain it if we start believing that our way of coaching is the only way to get results.
The three letters after my name – MCC – aren’t there to prove to anyone what I’ve achieved; they represent my lifelong commitment to an agile way of being and learning. True mastery is an ongoing process, a continuous dance between intuition and not knowing, between confidence and curiosity.
Why do master coaches need supervision?
CC2 in the ICF Core Competencies is "Embodies a Coaching Mindset." Notice the verb: embodies.
This coaching mindset isn’t something we ‘arrive at’ as MCCs and then maintain on autopilot. It’s about living and evolving our coaching mindset from moment to moment. We do this by demonstrating intellectual humility, genuine curiosity and an openness to new ideas. How can we embody these ideals if we avoid supervision: the very space designed to cultivate them?
Like most disciplines, the coaching profession is constantly responding to rapid changes in our environment. New theories emerge, ethical guidelines adapt, and society shifts over time. The risk of becoming complacent or set in our ways is that we fail to keep pace with the changing world, which reduces our ability to help our clients.
Supervision challenges us to expand our thinking and continue the cycle of learning and unlearning throughout our coaching practice. It prevents us from becoming closed off or rigid in our approaches by asking us to critically evaluate ourselves and respond to constructive feedback.
Reframing the purpose of coaching supervision
The most masterful coaches I know – those who truly embody CC2 – are the ones most hungry for supervision. They understand that expertise creates blind spots and actively seek spaces which will illuminate what they can't see.
So, what if we started talking about supervision differently? For example:
"I need supervision" → "I choose supervision."
"Supervision helps struggling coaches" → "Supervision nurtures the growth of coaches who strive for excellence."
"I should get supervision" → "I get to engage in supervision"
A subtle change in the narrative transforms supervision from something we do from a sense of obligation into something we want and highly value. When we view supervision through a corrective lens, it can bring up feelings of shame, self-doubt or inadequacy. Contrast that with the idea that the purpose of supervision is to elevate your mastery (not to judge you). Supervision remains the same in practice, but now you have a far more inspiring reason to do it.
What will you get from supervision?
Supervision offers a rare and valuable space to reflect deeply on your coaching practice and the patterns that shape it. No matter how experienced you are, there is always room to expand your awareness of the subtle and complex dynamics present in every coaching relationship. A skilled supervisor partners with you to explore what you bring into the work—helping you uncover new depth, height, perspective, meaning, and understanding in your coaching.
The process of unlearning becomes truly transformative when you can see, engage in conversation about, and reflect on the beliefs that are no longer useful. Supervisors are trained to challenge you and the coaching rules you’ve created for yourself. This is especially important as you gain more coaching credentials and accreditations. Supervision will pull you out of autopilot and allow you to see things that might be hidden from you.
Leading by example as professional coaches
My appeal to MCCs and aspiring MCC coaches is that we lead by example by embracing supervision. If we're going to wear those MCC credentials, let's wear them with the humility that mastery requires. Let’s demonstrate that, far from distancing ourselves from supervision, we welcome this reflective practice and the challenges that it might involve as a necessary part of our personal growth.
Coaches joining the profession look to us as ambassadors and role models. Those MCC letters come with a responsibility to show the coaching community that the journey toward mastery never ends, and that supervision is one of our most powerful vehicles for that journey.
What might be possible if our most experienced coaches became our most committed advocates for supervision?
An invitation to learn and unlearn
Has this sparked your curiosity about supervision? Or, perhaps it’s helped you see supervision differently?
If you’re ready to start unlearning, challenging and evolving your coaching skills, supervision is an excellent place to start.
My approach to supervision is collaborative and reflective, allowing you to explore all aspects of your practice. Book a discovery call with me to find out more about my 1:1 and group supervision.
And, if you’re a PCC preparing for MCC, I run a twice-yearly Level 3 ICF-accredited course.
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