As with most support professions, professional coaching involves the recourse to a supervisory mechanism. It is a process to foster growth, ethics, and professionalism, with a view to better serving the coachees.
Supervision is an ongoing process to which the coach refers at sufficient, regular intervals, within the same framework of confidentiality as actual coaching. It can take place as a dual relationship with the supervisor (individual supervision) and/or within a group with a supervisor (collective supervision or group supervision).
Supervision hinges on a specific contractual approach: the coach’s supervisor cannot be their trainer (in coaching or any other skill), nor can their therapist, peer, colleague or associate. Groups to exchange practices cannot replace supervision.