Shortly before the ALS meeting, one of my supervision clients asked whether they could coach me as part of their application for coaching accreditation. I agreed to do this and chose to work with exploring my lurking tension around the next phase of the Research Project - the data
analysis phase. I now realised clearly my emerging patterns in the doctoral process (discussed in Chapter 9). The process of dialogue (Isaacs 1999), and thinking aloud with “another”, was proving vital in helping me to develop my thinking, to plan and to resolve doubts and anxieties.
“I’m struck by the parallel process of dialogue to enable me to gain insight and reflect on my work... albeit this is the research Project, as a parallel process to what goes on in the supervision process with coaching. So layers and layers and layers of parallel process about what is reflection on practice or reflection as a process to enable clarity, movement, direction, easing of tension, all of those things.” (AH Coaching conversation with
MF 13 March 2012)
In the meantime, I emailed the invitation to the group to help them to prepare for our third and final data gathering session. We would use the same format as previously and I reminded them of the three areas that had emerged from our last meeting that we wanted to address in this last session. I also added the following question that had persisted for me and I hoped that we would have time to discuss beyond the data gathering task.
”How do/can we co-create a relationship which is generative, which supports us in our practice? And what criteria do we use to choose our supervisors?”
I had received very few session notes (4-5 pieces in total). This time I was not anxious - this was “just data”. I realised that my early tension around this had been because “things were not going according to the Project Plan” (i.e. each person would have a minimum of 3 supervision sessions between each ALS meeting), so again the tension around doing the right thing as a researcher - my own compliance and deference raising its head. On reflection here, I also realised that I was receiving their actual
experience that would contribute to my conclusions rather than meeting the “idealised” intention of the Project Plan (and maybe here again was a parallel process that I was holding an idealised intention and “compliant” expectation that the coaches should be having ‘regular’ i.e. monthly supervision).
5.3.3 On the Day
5.3.3.1 Opening Check In
Once everyone had checked in I shared the very positive and affirming feedback I had received from the University Internal Adviser around how the Project was evolving. I shared my enthusiasm for how the Project was developing and offered encouragement and reassurance that what we were doing was worthwhile and would potentially be interesting to others in a wider context. I re-capped on what had emerged from the last ALS meeting, moving from the original question to the changes to practice and reaching the theme of this day i.e. our need as coaches to look after ourselves and keep us fit for purpose.
5.3.3.2 Data Gathering - Post-It Flip Chart Headings
We agreed to use the same format for the data gathering process. Their increasing familiarity with this method now allowed them to engage fully with the process and the content. There was evident openness within the group as they engaged with each other, taking genuine interest in how people were showing up, their check-ins, their individual contributions.
Each person then “presented” against the three questions that had emerged from our previous cycle:
! How do we support ourselves through supervision, keeping us fit for " purpose?
" How else do we support ourselves beyond supervision?
" In an ideal world, my supervision...what would this support be " like?
I was on the eve of leaving for a holiday in Australia so I did not manage to draw out the key data with the group at this stage. The general conclusion included a clear acknowledgement from the group that executive coaching is a hugely complex and demanding practice, requiring the coach to draw on an extensive range of knowledge, skills and personal resources at physical, mental and emotional levels. Regular supervision plays an important part in supporting coaches to remain fit for purpose and at the same time, we need other support beyond the actual one-to-one
supervision relationship as described by one co-researcher.
“Coaching is hugely concentrating ….…you do need to keep fit for purpose, because if you’re using that amount of brain all the time, it’s not surprising that it might be tiring.... And also I think,
because of the concentration required in your coaching, because you are trying to be in the moment, but you’re also trying to look outside to think what’s happening here, what’s happening in the
room, I think there’s a lot going on. And also, just as a kind of risk management thing, for me, you know there’s always a risk in coaching about collusion games, you know you’ve got the transference, the counter-transference, and I just think it’s really important...
...For me I need to make sure I’ve got a buffer between sessions, that I’m doing other things other than just coaching all the time – it’s really important. I get a lot out of doing
CPD....giving me new ideas. Having supportive colleagues and someone to talk to helps a lot and being involved in other networks as well. I think it just broadens, broadens the work...Then basic
things like health and exercise and making sure you have enough breaks during the day and all that stuff. Although it’s quite basic, I think it’s really important.” (CG01 ALS3 16th March 2012).
As we were drawing the meeting to a close I was asked: “How are you feeling?” I was whole-heartedly able to reply that I was absolutely thrilled with what we had done. I shared my delight at how the Project had gone, mostly according to plan, and even when the actual events differed, I had come to recognise that the source of my tension was around meeting the University’s expectations rather than how we were working together in the Project itself. Furthermore, how our inquiry had deepened through the cycles as we co-created new questions to explore in each phase was genuine cause for celebration.
The tensions for me are/have been where I had a notion of what it was meant to be and we’ve gone somewhere different and
actually, holding the ambiguity and the emergence is an eternal tension. There are times when I’m very happy with emergence and there are times when I get anxious with it. And because of the connection with the University and am I doing it right, that’s what has often triggered my tension. When I just pay attention to the Project and working with you and how it is emerging and the fact that the first session we looked at this question and the second session through dialogue something new has come out and through this third session something more, this is what it’s about. I’m feeling fantastic.” (AH 16th March 2012)
After collating and typing up the Post-Its from the day to send to the group, I offered them some suggestions for reflection before we met again on 10th May for our “Ending Meeting”. It was important to me that they think about the impact of the Project on their practice, what had been their experience of participating in Action Research and what impact had I personally had on their engagement in the Project and/or their practice.