6Developing the Supervisory Relationship
Building and maintaining the professional relationship begins in the moment when the supervisor and supervisee meet.
In the previous chapter, we discussed the context of supervision and how to set it up. In this chapter we explore how the relationship between the supervisor and supervisee develops and how to initiate the first supervision meeting. It is important to ask a series of questions in the first meeting as the relationship begins. If the supervision process commences with a clear purpose and intent as shown in Figure 6.1, it strengthens the supervisory relationship for the longer term and allows both parties to have a range of different types of conversations. Supervision has to have meaning and purpose for the supervisee for it to be an effective mechanism to perform well in the role.
Figure 6.1Purpose and intent of professional supervision.
Getting to Know Each Other
The first meeting is all about the supervisor and supervisee getting to know each other. It is crucial that the supervisory relationship is positive for supervision to be effective. There will be times where you have had various discussions with your supervisee prior to supervision commencing, and at other times you may have a new staff member start in their role and supervision commences almost immediately so you don’t really know the supervisee all that well. As you think about how to set up the supervisory relationship, consider the key things you would like to know about the supervisee and what is important for them to know about you.
What would you like to know about the supervisee?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
What is not that important for you to know about the supervisee?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
What would you like the supervisee to know about you?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
What is not that important for the supervisee to know about you?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
What Do Your Reflections from These Questions Tell You?
I know that when I consider these questions, it allows me to focus on what I need to know as a supervisor, and I better understand what is important for the supervisee to know about me.
Getting to Know the Supervisor
In the first supervision meeting, it is equally important for the supervisee to get to know particular things about you as it is for you to develop an understanding of them. These things give the supervisee an idea of who you are as a person and supervisor, what you like about your role, your passion for being a professional supervisor and an overview of your skills and knowledge (Karpenko & Gidycz, 2012).
Being aware of the initial power dynamics of the supervisor/supervisee relationship and the position of power that the supervisor initially has in the relationship, particularly if they are also the supervisee’s line manager, can support the supervisee to feel more comfortable. If the supervisee knows the bounds of the relationship, how confidentiality and reporting processes will be managed, it will ensure they feel as though they can share openly and honestly in discussions from the beginning.
Consider what questions you think are useful for the supervisee to ask you that will assist to build a positive and productive relationship. Often the supervisee is unsure of what to ask about the supervisor, so it can be helpful to give them prompting questions if needed. When I ask a supervisee if there is anything they would like to know about me, my background or career and they say no thank you, I usually just give them a quick overview of some of the roles I have worked in and the types of organisations I have worked with.
Here are some areas that you might like to explore with the supervisee about yourself.
What roles you have held
What interests and hobbies you have
What your own experiences of supervision have been like
What qualifications you have
If you are having your own professional supervision
What your approach and process in supervision is like
How you like to receive feedback and through what process
How you like to communicate in professional supervision
How you feel about being positively questioned; how you like to be positively challenged
What feedback process you find useful in supervision
What experience you have had in providing supervision
Let’s now develop a set of questions that you think might be useful for the supervisee to ask you in the first supervision meeting.
Question 1:
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Question 2:
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Question 3.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Question 4.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Question 5.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Now think about what things are not important for the supervisee to know about you.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Given that the supervisory relationship is an alliance where both parties need to engage in the professional environment together, it is important to remember that supervision is a two-way relationship. Taking the time to set up and develop the relationship will pay you dividends down the track. I often refer to the supervisory relationship like having points in the bank. It is important to have lots of points all of the time. Then, if you need to have any discussions that are challenging, you don’t need to withdraw all the points in one conversation. Supervision is also like music; it is important to understand the tone and rhythm of the relationship, when to dance fast and when to go slow. It is all about understanding the art of attunement and how you bring all the required elements together (O’Donoghue, Wong, & Tsui, 2017).
Try not to rush the establishment process and get to know each other well. The relationship of supervisor/supervisee is one of colleagueship and understanding what your roles are and the responsibilities that come with each role. If you supervise someone who has never had the experience of supervision before, remember to socialise them into the supervisory environment more slowly by getting to know them first. After the supervisee feels comfortable with the relationship and process, I encourage the supervisee to drive the supervisory process, and because of this approach, the majority of professionals that I supervise take the process seriously and appreciate what we both bring to the relationship. Remember that each supervisee comes with different experiences and each supervision discussion is unique.
If you are unable to develop a positive supervisory alliance, it makes things much more difficult to ensure supervision provides effective outcomes. This can sometimes be the case if you are in a dual role of line manager and professional supervisor. If you find it difficult to build the relationship, it is useful to discuss this with your own supervisor and think about what strategies you could use to change the situation. Strategies to build a good relationship include having an open discussion in the intake process, understanding what the role and responsibility is of each person and being aware and conscious as a supervisor of how to develop a successful professional relationship. The supervisory role is often so busy that you can fall into the trap of being in the role without a clear focus and just going about the task and process of the role. As a supervisor you are dealing with the map of every supervisor that the supervisee has ever had (O’Donoghue, 2015).
Roles and Responsibilities
Both parties play a particular role in the supervision relationship. You will talk about this in the first or second meeting when you ask the supervisee the intake questions. As a new supervisor, it is important to consider what you think your role is. Think about the following reflective questions as a way to understand the role.
What do you think the role of a supervisor is?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
What is the responsibility?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
What do you think the responsibility of the supervisee is?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Well done. Table 6.1 includes some key responsibilities of both parties.
Supervisor Responsibility |
Supervisee Responsibility |
|---|---|
Ensure that supervision is set up within a defined framework |
Come prepared for each meeting – have an agenda prepared prior to or at the meeting |
Ensure that the required documents are completed in the first and subsequent meetings |
Be on time for supervision meetings |
Ensure that minutes are documented and completed for each meeting |
Complete any follow-up actions in between meetings |
Ensure that supervision meetings are conducted within ethical and industrial processes |
Engage as an interested and active participant in supervision, take the process seriously |
Build and maintain a positive and professional relationship |
Participate as a positive member of the professional relationship |
|
Both parties participate in supervision within the bounds of what is discussed in the intake questions, maintain the boundaries of confidentiality and privacy | |
The Intake Process
Now that we have outlined the importance of the supervisory relationship, the next part of the process is to explore how to complete the intake questions in the first or second meeting. The intake process entails a series of relevant questions that the supervisor and supervisee discuss and document as a proactive way to establish the supervision process and framework.
The purpose of conducting an intake process in supervision is to gather relevant information from the supervisee that provides insight about their views and expectations of supervision. Intake questions assist the supervisor to make an informed assessment on what the supervisees needs, how to support them as a supervisor, and how the supervision process will work. The intake questions open up an honest and transparent dialogue that provides the supervisor with useful insight to how the supervisee thinks. They also provide a review framework for both parties if any issues or challenges occur throughout the supervisory relationship. The intake questions remain in the supervisee’s file and are reviewed on an annual basis and updated accordingly. If you renew the supervision agreement on an annual basis, you may like to review and update the intake questions at the same time (Egan, 2012; O’Donoghue, 2015).
Intake Questions
The following intake questions are discussed; however, as you get to know the role or think of other questions that may be relevant, you can change what questions you discuss in the first meeting.
How would you define what supervision is? What do you think line management and professional supervision is?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
What have been your previous experiences of supervision?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
What do you see as the purpose of supervision?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
What do you see as the benefits of receiving supervision?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
How would you describe the role of the supervisor? What are your expectations of the supervisor to ensure they are effective in the role?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
What do you see as the qualities and attributes of an effective supervisor?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
To meet your supervision needs, what do you see as your learning style – how do you learn best?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
What do you see as your role in supervision?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
If you reflect towards the end of the year, what would you hope to have achieved in supervision in that time?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
What do you think is relevant or not relevant to discuss in supervision?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Are there any specific cultural needs or social differences that you have that you would like me to be aware of?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Is there anything else that you think could be a barrier to supervision not being effective? For example, health and well-being concerns, busy role, workload, organisational challenges.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
How would you like us to evaluate the effectiveness of our supervision discussions and outcomes?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Are there any other questions you think that are important to ask the supervisee in the first meeting?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Once the intake questions are completed, either handwritten or typed, ensure the supervisee receives a copy, restate the importance of the intake questions and that they can be reviewed at any time if any issues arise. The questions are then placed in the supervisee’s file and reviewed on an annual basis.
Chapter 6 Summary
In summary, take your time to establish and build rapport. Remember to get to know the supervisee, and ask relevant questions to show that you are interested in what the supervisee has to say. The intake questions are useful to assist you to get to know what the supervisee may need in supervision and will provide you with a framework in which to come back to discussions where challenges may present in the supervisory process, framework or relationship.
Key things to consider in Chapter 6 about developing the supervisory relationship and intake process.