ORIGINAL ARTICLE

THEORETICAL RESEARCH

Supervising the supervisors: What

support do first-line supervisors need to be
more effective in their supervisory role?
Frances Patterson, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, UK

ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Stepping into a supervisory role in social work involves a shift of status,
perspective and identity. New supervisors bring skills and experience which can be both asset
and hindrance as they make the transition. Frequently they encounter gaps in training, support
and supervision as well as dissonance between espoused policy and their own experience. This
article identifies ways in which supervisors can be resourced to meet the challenge of their role
and, as a result, be better placed to support others. It explores what is involved in supervising
the supervisors, drawing on the experience of teaching managers on post-qualifying courses in
professional supervision in Scotland.

APPROACH: Themes commonly applied to the supervision of practitioners are explored in

relation to those who are one or more steps removed from direct practice; seeking to identify what
has shared relevance and what may be distinctive to those in a supervisory role.

CONCLUSION: A congruent approach to support and supervision across all levels of an

organisation helps foster a reflective culture which can engage with emotions and with complexity.

KEYWORDS: Supervision; reflection; containment; development

Stepping into a supervisory role in social which are not open to view. The appropriate
work involves a shift of status, perspective privacy and confidentiality of these
and identity. While there are undoubtedly conversations means that the interaction
transferable skills from direct practice, this between supervisor and supervisee is rarely
is new territory which holds unfamiliar observed with the result that there are
challenges. Lack of preparation or training limited opportunities to learn from others or
is a common experience for new supervisors get direct feedback on one’s own supervisory
(Beddoe & Davys, 2016; Mor Barak, Travis, practice.
& Bess, 2004) and many find their way
as best they can; influenced by their own With a few exceptions (Beddoe & Davys,
supervision history; resolved to emulate 2016; Cousins, 2004; Patterson, 2015, 2017)
what they appreciated most as a practitioner there is sparse literature on the support and
AOTEAROA
NEW ZEALAND SOCIAL and avoid those behaviours or attitudes supervision of social work supervisors. This
WORK 31(3), 46–57. which they found unhelpful. Social work knowledge gap stands out when teaching
has been described as an “invisible trade” on a supervision module where participants
(Pithouse, 1987) made partly visible through range from newly promoted first-line
CORRESPONDENCE TO:
Frances Patterson discussions in supervision. Social work managers to those in senior management
[email protected] supervision itself is practised in spaces roles. For those supervising other managers,

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it is often necessary to translate theoretical attend to the emotional impact of practice

perspectives to fit a context which is one, or can lead to dysfunctional organisational
more, steps removed from direct practice. processes; decline in staff motivation and
While this has value in emphasising have a detrimental impact on the quality of
common ground, it risks oversight of what care provided. Ruch (2012) argues the case
may be distinctive about supervising the for reflective, relationship-based management
supervisors. A more focused gaze on this and her model of holistic containment offers
area feels worthwhile, not least because of a counter-balance to the technical–rational
what is often missing in managers’ own cultures which currently prevail. Health and
supervision and the tendency for managerial social care services intersect with people’s
and administrative priorities to eclipse other lives when they need support; when they
dimensions (Ruch, 2008; Ward, 2012). are in crisis; when they have experienced
trauma. At its best, professional supervision
A discrepancy between the ideal and what provides a safe space where feelings stirred
actually happens is not uncommon in the up by close and sustained involvement in
context of supervision. Policy documents this kind of work can be given expression so
reflect aspirations for best practice but reality that practitioners retain the capacity to feel
on the ground can diverge markedly due empathy; to see, to hear and to think clearly.
to a range of factors: policy ignorance, lack Emotional work does not stop at first-line
of commitment, and competing demands. management level but pervades the whole
Rankine, Beddoe, O’Brien, and Fouché fabric of the organisation. There appears,
(2018) carried out research in community- however, to be a lack of consistency in how
based child welfare services exploring the the containing function is enacted across more
tensions between managerial imperatives senior tiers of management where, arguably,
and relationship-based practice and there is increasing complexity and no dilution
highlighting the role of reflective supervision of anxiety.
in supporting workers to develop their own
theories-in-action. In similar vein, a study Informed by over 10 years’ involvement
involving observation of supervision within in a teaching role with social services
children’s services in a London borough managers and supervisors in Scotland,
demonstrated how managers frequently this is a conceptual article reflecting on
adopted a problem-solving approach the support needs of first-line supervisors.
in contrast to their stated intention of It utilises well-established themes from
supporting workers’ own reflection (Wilkins, supervision theory but examines these
Forrester, & Grant, 2017). from the perspective of managers’ own
supervision, seeking to identify what may
For managers, the gap between policy be lacking in, or distinctive to, their role.
rhetoric and their own supervision Developmental models are deliberately
experience can be wide and such dissonance chosen to open this discussion in recognition
undermines an organisation’s capacity to of the significant personal and professional
effectively contain the work undertaken. impact many experience as they transition
The concept of containment (Bion, 1962; from practitioner to manager roles. Included
Ruch, 2008; Smith, 2000) has relevance for in this is the challenge of navigating power
social work supervision even in contexts dynamics within supervisory relationships;
where psychodynamic theory has little, if having the confidence to exercise role
any, direct influence. Insights gained from authority when appropriate but able to
Menzies-Lyth’s (1970) seminal research on value the expertise of others and appreciate
social defences against anxiety have been supervision as a shared learning space
applied to diverse social care settings (Jones & (Carroll, 2009). The discussion then moves
Wright, 2008; Lees, Myers, & Rafferty, 2013; to the different functions of supervision and
Whittaker, 2011) highlighting how failure to how these play out in relation to supervisors

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themselves. Influenced by Morrison’s conscious and unconscious competence

(1993) early observation that the unmet (Strandgaard, 1981). Blanchard, Fowler, and
support needs of managers may contribute Hawkins (2006) portray how the enthusiasm
to their subsequent neglect of the support of a beginner wanes and disillusionment
function when supervising others, there is can set in when progress seems slow and
particular focus on the restorative function hard-going. Consistent support is needed
and the purpose this serves for those not to motivate and encourage someone along
directly engaged in practice. This leads on to the route towards capable performance
further exploration of the interplay between and increasing self-reliance. These are well
supervision and direct work: the role of established models but, when combined with
supervisors in modelling relationship-based recognition of a developing supervisor’s
approaches and the ways in which emotions, parallel journey, more complex pictures
anxiety in particular, infuse every level emerge.
of an organisation involved in social care.
Managers aware of the potency of below-the- For supervisors adapting to their new role,
surface dynamics appreciate the importance a staged process also applies (Davys &
of reflective supervision where complex Beddoe, 2010; Hawkins & Smith, 2006; Hess,
material can be processed. If they are to offer 1986). Initially, the need to provide answers,
that “quiet space” (Beddoe, 2010, p. 1293) to be helpful and to do the right thing is a
to their supervisees, this article argues that strong driver. If their former practitioner
managers need regular protected time for identity provides more secure grounding
reflecting on their own practice. than the new managerial role, it is hardly
surprising this is the expertise a supervisor
Developmental models and will draw upon. Nor is this inappropriate
transition from practice to the so long as the supervisor’s needs do not
undermine a worker’s capacity to find their
supervisory role
own solutions or prevent them grappling
Developmental models offer supervisors with dilemmas which have no clear answer.
insight into the differing needs of In contrast to those who argue that key
practitioners with various levels of skills are transferable from social work
experience. Some caution is necessary as practice into management roles (Coulshed &
developmental progress is not a simple Mullender, 2006; Tolleson Knee & Folsom,
linear trajectory nor is there a fixed end 2012), Saltiel (2017, p.546) identifies the
point where the autonomous professional “limited usefulness” of managers’ practice
has no need of support or oversight. Those experience suggesting that different
limitations notwithstanding, such models attributes are required to promote reflection
serve as a useful checking mechanism: a and analysis on the part of their supervisees.
newly qualified worker seeking frequent Resisting the tendency to move too swiftly
guidance and reassurance feels appropriate into problem-solving mode is shown to be
while a more established practitioner difficult even for experienced managers who
displaying similar behaviour might prompt value reflective supervision (Wilkins et al.
the supervisor to reflect on whether they 2017), and it can be particularly challenging
have nurtured a degree of dependency or to acknowledge doubt and uncertainty
if some other factor has contributed to low when still trying to prove one’s own
confidence. Developmental frameworks worth as a supervisor. A felt need to offer
are a way of charting the incremental steps solutions, while it may partly align with the
of increasing confidence and competence developmental stage of a newly qualified
expected as a worker’s experience grows. worker, is likely to be a poor fit for more
This can be expressed as a fluctuating experienced practitioners and potentially
balance of dependence and autonomy leaves the supervisor feeling inadequate in
(Hawkins & Shohet, 2012) or as stages of their role.

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Becoming a supervisor involves role situations and people. There is, however, no
adjustment including acceptance of the firm guarantee such progress will occur and
power differential separating one from Blair and Peake (1995, cited in Cousins, 2004)
former peers (Cousins, 2004; Patterson, suggest that training makes an important
2015). There is a transition from “doer role” contribution: “supervisors do not necessarily
to “leader role’ (Stoner & Stoner, 2013) which become more competent merely by gaining
involves achieving things through others. experience in providing supervision”
While some new managers welcome this (Cousins, 2004, p. 180).
stepping back from direct practice, others
may experience loss or reluctance to let go of Writing about the ‘Support to Front
the practitioner identity in which their skills Line Managers’ Project’ initiated by the
and competence are well established. Such Children’s Workforce Development
ambivalence can lead to an active-intrusive Council in England in 2010, Harlow (2016)
(Wonnacott, 2012) style of supervision; a describes employers’ primary focus on
micro-managing approach which limits the training and education for new managers
autonomy of workers. Until confidence has with less attention paid to other modes of
developed in the supervisory role there are learning such as coaching, mentoring or
potential hazards to be negotiated. Faced action learning. She highlights the value
by staff members who are challenging or of “relational and reflective methods of
those who are highly experienced, it can preparing front line managers to undertake
be hard for novice supervisors to calibrate relational and reflective supervision
their approach avoiding both permissive with social work practitioners” (Harlow,
and authoritarian extremes. The role strain 2016, p. 684). A comparable emphasis on
inherent in managing the “tension between “relationship-based practice supervision” is
management control and professional included in the Post-qualifying Standards
autonomy” (Wong & Lee, 2015, p. 165) for Social Work Practice Supervisors in
is potentially acute for an inexperienced Adult Social Care (Department of Health
manager still struggling to find their feet. and Social Care, 2016, p. 9) and the newly
developed Practice Supervisor Development
Stoltenberg and Delworth (cited in Programme describes “the need for
Hawkins & Smith, 2012) suggest that new emotionally literate, reflective, curious
managers gain a growing appreciation of supervision which promotes critical thinking,
complexity in their supervisory task but hopeful practice and wellbeing” (Holmes,
may be reticent to seek help from others. 2018). These are encouraging signs that
This resonates with research findings that professional supervision is gaining status
managers’ learning and development needs and recognition within the UK and resources
are given low priority both by themselves being invested in supervisors’ development.
and by their organisations (Ofsted, 2012; It remains clear, however, that stepping
Patterson & George, 2014). It echoes the from a practitioner into a management role
testimony of many first-line supervisors represents a significant transition. Most
on post-qualifying courses who describe new supervisors are required to build
their experiences of infrequent or business- relationships and manage the performance
focused supervision. While recognising of workers with a diverse array of experience
a deficit, their attention is more focused and commitment. There is a necessary
on frontline practice than self-advocacy adjustment to the delegated authority of a
or seeing the organisation’s supervision new role while having to earn authority from
culture as a holistic entity. Later stages below (Obholzer, 1994) if they are to practise
of the developmental model indicate effectively. The challenge is heightened for
supervisors’ increasing commitment to those promoted within their own team or
critical reflection and their capacity to use supervising in an integrated setting with staff
different approaches in response to diverse from a range of professional backgrounds.

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Functions of supervision and the training needs above their own (Patterson
place for support & George, 2014; Ofsted, 2012) may, in part,
arise because professional development is
A triad of functions within professional low on the agenda in their own supervision.
supervision is commonly recognised
(Hawkins & Shohet, 2012; Inskipp & Proctor, The role of support within supervision is
1988; Kadushin, 1976). To the three core never wholly straightforward with justified
elements of management, development and concerns about the risk of prioritising
support, Morrison (2005) adds mediation workers’ interests over those of people using
as a fourth function, taking account of the services. Cousins (2010) highlights the way
supervisor’s pivotal role in communicating supervisors can inadvertently collude with
both upwards and downwards in an a treat me, don’t beat me game, slipping into
organisation. The language used to describe therapeutic mode and losing focus on the
the functions varies across supervision service user. Different strategies may be
literature, in part reflecting professional employed to hold the child or adult in mind
cultures but also adapting to changing but a definition of outcomes as “the impact of
expectations, for example, Hawkins and activity or support” on a person’s life (Cook &
Shohet (2006, 2012) intentionally use Miller, 2012, p. 8) can serve as useful anchor
developmental, resourcing and qualitative point in supervision. While evidence of such
functions to emphasise shared responsibility impact remains limited and often anecdotal
between supervisor and supervisee. Writing (Carpenter, Webb, Bostock, & Coomber, 2012),
in a health context, Wallbank (2010) has the reminder that supervision is striving to
chosen the term restorative (from Inskipp make a difference for the better in people’s
and Proctor, 1988) rather than support, but, lives is important. This conscious intent
in the global north at least, there is broad has validity regardless of how far removed
similarity across disciplines in how the from direct practice supervision takes
functions are understood. There is also place. Hughes and Pengelly’s (1997) model
shared perception of how the management encompasses three dimensions of managing
or administrative function has assumed service delivery, facilitating practitioner’s
a dominant position within practitioners’ professional development and focusing
supervision, reflecting the influence of on practitioner’s work. Their approach
managerialism; societal preoccupation with translates effectively across to managerial
risk and a culture of inspection and audit roles, legitimising those elements which risk
(Adamson, 2011; Beddoe, 2010; Johnston, being overlooked: facilitating managers’
Noble, & Gray, 2016; Noble & Irwin, 2009). professional development and focusing on
When attention is directed to the supervision managers’ work. The supervision of staff is
of supervisors, this imbalance of functions fundamental to their work and is a complex
appears yet more acute but without the activity with far-reaching implications for
same critical scrutiny of what it means when the quality of practice (Ofsted, 2012). It is
support and development are superseded by noteworthy, therefore, how limited the
managerial priorities. In some work settings, opportunities are for managers to reflect
supervision may be rebranded as a business in depth on their supervisory practice; to
meeting, communicating a clear message examine the skills they are using and to
that administrative issues take precedence. identify process dynamics at work below the
This is at odds with formal policy documents surface in supervision.
which rarely indicate that professional
supervision is limited to practitioners alone Various models of peer or group supervision
or that the purpose of supervision mutates at offer space for such reflection (Golia &
different levels of the hierarchy. While this McGovern, 2015; Patterson, 2017; Wallbank,
article is focused primarily on managers’ 2013a) and Davys, Howard, Rankine, &
support needs, the tendency to prioritise staff Thompson (2019) describe a process

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of thinking aloud used within a small impact of practice. Working in close

learning community to deepen participants’ proximity with painful human experience
supervisory skills and competence. affects those involved. Too intense an
Approaches such as these may complement involvement with powerful emotions can
and enhance line management supervision be debilitating but too great a distancing,
or, alternatively, may compensate for what is or denial of the feelings evoked, renders
missing in formal structures. Debates about practice unsafe (Dwyer, 2007; Horwath,
the merits of separating line management 2016; Stanley & Goddard, 2002). One of the
from clinical or reflective supervision purposes of supervision is to offer a space
(Bostock, 2015; Bradley & Höjer, 2009; where emotions are valued and legitimised.
Children’s Workforce Development Council, A worker’s affective response may at times
2010; Wong & Lee, 2015) are context- distort their judgement, giving a false sense
dependent but, whether the intent is to of certainty or introducing bias into their
counter-balance a managerialist culture or decision-making but can also alert them
address the needs of diverse professionals to concerns which might go unnoticed.
in an integrated setting, there are benefits There are risks in attaching too much or
and drawbacks to consider. Amongst these too little weight to emotional information
is the risk of splitting, or the organisation and a supervisor’s role is to help explore
failing to provide effective containment for what is significant. While knowledge of a
work that is, of necessity, emotion-laden and practitioner’s caseload is helpful, so too is
challenging, if support is de-coupled from a degree of detachment which enables the
management supervision. supervisor to question certitude (Laming,
2009), to offer a different perspective and
The Ofsted report of 2012 identified to observe details which may have become
“the importance of holistic and systemic invisible to the worker.
support for staff” (p. 5) and noted that
“effective support depended on the Supervision, ideally, provides the kind
creation of organisational cultures that of emotional containment which sustains
were characterised by high expectations, people’s capacity to carry out their work
high support and high challenge” without doing damage to their health and
(p. 6). The report’s focus was on direct wellbeing or blunting their responsiveness
practice with children and families but its as a caring professional. In an early edition
emerging themes of a systemic approach; of Supervision in the Helping Professions,
the importance of “senior managers Hawkins and Shohet (1989) drew
modelling the behaviours required of comparisons with coal miners’ right to
effective supervisors” (p. 17), and the way wash off the pit-grime in their working time
in which a relationship-based culture was rather than carry it back to their homes and
mirrored in work with parents, demonstrate families. And Zagler-Roberts (1994) warns
that congruence across every level of an that uncontained staff may lose the passion
organisation is critical. Sound support and and commitment that drew them to work
supervision for managers resources them in a caring role. Rooted in psychodynamic
in their vital role of supporting frontline theory, the concept of containment is
staff. Sustaining good supervision demands based on the idea that a parent or caregiver
that attention be paid to the support and contains the anxiety which threatens to
development of supervisors as well as the overwhelm a hungry, tired or fearful infant
functional tasks assigned to them. by providing a consistent and reassuring
response. Feelings which were unbearable
become possible to endure and relief is
Containing the container
provided. While supervision does not seek
The support or restorative function within to infantilise or to rescue a practitioner,
supervision is bound up with the emotional the ability to listen and contain feelings

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of vulnerability, loss, anger or frustration imperatives, they are subject to the

without being overwhelmed allows these anxieties of referrers and senior managers
to be processed. Through a collaborative as well as practitioners and therefore need
working alliance, the supervisor and their own “positive containing supervision”
supervisee can find a way forward which in which to process rather than be driven
does not deny the challenge faced but makes by such pressures (Toasland, 2007,
it more manageable. p. 202). Morrison’s (2005) three-cycle model
of the impact of anxiety on supervision
In the context of residential care for older demonstrates the importance of a systems
people, Jones and Wright (2008, p. 341) perspective. Drawing on Vince and Martin’s
suggest that containing supervision “may (1993) work, Morrison distinguishes
be considered as not too rigid and not too between a collaborative organisational
fragile”. The supervisor needs to actively environment capable of holding uncertainty,
feel the worker’s emotions while still risk and ambiguity and a compromised
“retaining balance of mind.” Writing about organisational environment which lacks
the supervision of fear, Smith (2000, p. 25) containment or safety. The latter risks the
describes how a “combination of availability kind of dysfunctional social defence systems
and attention …. may aid supervisees in (Menzies-Lyth, 1970) which impact at
finding a reassurance in and of themselves”. individual, team and organisational levels,
He notes the value of a supervisor being undermining trust and diverting attention
prepared to think about a worker’s from the primary task while a collaborative
experiences with them. It is not necessarily organisational environment is characterised
action that is helpful but a willingness to by its capacity, at every level of management,
be there, to give time and to listen without to stay clearly focused on people who use
criticism. Ruch’s (2012) model of holistic services.
containment shows how other structures
within the workplace can complement Writing in a health context, Wallbank (2013b,
supervision, supporting relationship-based p. 176) suggests that “restorative supervision
approaches at management level and in provides a parallel process where the
direct practice. This helpfully points to a leader feels supported and understood
wider organisational responsibility; taking and is able to provide that experience to
ownership of how its core activity, or their staff.” This is an example where the
primary task, impacts on staff and seeking to restorative dimension of supervision has
contain this effectively at the level of feeling, been identified as a distinct element to be
thinking and doing. addressed independently and not conflated
with line management. The value of clinical
This brief overview of supervision’s supervision for nursing managers has been
containing function makes evident a explored in earlier studies (Johns, 2003;
flawed logic if support for the emotional Sirola-Karvinen & Hyrkäs, 2008) but in
impact of the work is offered only to direct relation to broader leadership capabilities
practitioners. While managers may be one or rather than their capacity to respond to
more steps removed from frontline practice, the emotional impact of practice. Action
they are potentially holding the anxiety learning sets for supervisors (Patterson,
of a team of workers and in addition may 2017) offer another approach based on peer
be covering the caseload of absent staff or collaboration which enables managers to
vacant posts. Toasland (2007) describes the identify and explore issues affecting them
pressure on first-line managers to be the personally as well as professionally. Across
“primary container” capable of holding the the helping professions and in the context
projections of others while neither colluding of ever-increasing pressures, attending to
nor withdrawing. Holding a middle the support needs of managers is important
position between operational and strategic if they are not to become overwhelmed or

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their capacity for empathy blunted (Cousins, relationships; positions of privilege and
2004). There is a need to contain the disadvantage, with the aim of challenging
container and model a supervision culture dominant ideologies and questioning
which attends to feelings as well as tasks. the status quo. This critical gaze could be
directed at structural inequalities affecting
Reflection and reflexivity in the the lives of people who use services
but equally might include aspects of
supervisory role
organisational policy. In this instance, a
Reflective supervision is promoted and supervisor may experience tension in the
aspired to in many work settings but not reflective process between their values and
always evident in practice (Wilkins et al., their management role.
2017). Aside from competing pressures on
the time available, shifting into reflective A further possibility is reflection striving
mode and holding back from problem- for greater depth of understanding rather
solving challenges habitual ways of than setting a course of action. This is
being. Arguably, if managers have little particularly challenging in task-focused and
opportunity for reflection within their own accountability-driven cultures but has a valid
working schedule, it is less likely that they place within supervision. Negative capability
will readily adopt a supervision style which (Cornish, 2011; Grint, 2010) is the capacity to
is open and curious. The importance of sit with un-knowing and it may be important
reflective supervision is not in question but for practitioners to “stay in uncertainty
there is risk of another fracture between the for longer” (Taylor & White, 2006, p. 944).
espoused and the actual if it is valued in Although it can provoke discomfort or even
name alone. hostility, there are situations where it is
necessary to reflect on what is going on at an
Exploring the purpose of reflection in unconscious level.
supervision and the constraints which
impinge may be a useful starting place. This Is this unknown because the worker
is not to imply there is an ideal approach is afraid to ask? Is this unknown
but is a way of delving below the surface of because the worker is defending him,
what an individual supervisor is striving for. or herself….. Is this unknown because
One intent may be to foster a practitioner’s someone wants it to remain unknown?
development and autonomy by refraining (Goddard & Hunt, 2011, p. 425)
from offering advice; encouraging them
to consider a situation in more depth, to The capacity to tolerate uncertainty calls
reflect on alternative options and their for trust in the process and knowledge of
implications. In this instance the reflective self. Grint (2010) argues that, in the face of
activity is undertaken primarily by the complexity, the art of the leader is to ask
supervisee while the supervisor may, or better questions rather than collude with the
may not, be open to changing their views desire for a simple answer. However, not
on what is an appropriate course of action. every supervisor may feel confident to hold
Various adaptations of a reflective learning that space of open inquiry and not every
cycle (Davys & Beddoe, 2010; Kolb, 1984) are supervisee will be receptive to a dialogic
used in supervision to structure a sense- approach (Bohm, 1996; Schein, 2013).
making process in which both supervisor
and supervisee can participate. This opens Whatever kind of reflective supervision is
up space between action and reaction where practised, there is a need to pay attention
thoughtful attention is given to an issue to inner as well as outer process. Hawkins
before deciding how to move forward. A and Shohet’s (2012) seven-eyed model
critical reflective approach may go further represents the multi-layered awareness
and focus more specifically on power which can inform supervision. This extends

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beyond Schön’s (1983) reflection-in-action critical than commitment to a culture of

and requires a supervisor to be alert and reflection which permeates the whole of an
responsive to many simultaneous cues. organisation leading to practice which is
Such high expectations can be paralysing, aligned with policy aspirations.
particularly for an inexperienced supervisor,
and the greatest value of the model may Froggett (2000) highlights the impact of
be its reminder of the complexity of the mirroring within social work “whereby the
supervisory process; raising awareness of dynamics of the relationship between worker
how much is going on below the surface and client are unconsciously replayed in
and how rich, but potentially confusing, the supervisory relationship where they can
the sources of insight are beyond what is become available for subsequent reflection”
spoken. In supervision-triad work within (Mattinson, 1975, cited in Froggett, 2000,
a post-qualifying module, participants role p. 30). A reverse mirroring process means
play scenarios and reflect on the interaction: that supervisor–supervisee interactions may,
what worked well and what could have in turn, affect direct practice. A supervisor’s
been done differently. The perceptions of own supervision can help them identify
supervisor, supervisee and observer may their vulnerabilities, triggers and blind spots
diverge, which itself is informative, but of so they can engage more effectively with
particular note is how much happens within complex process dynamics. Examples might
these brief interactions. Focusing a lens on range from working with a supervisee whose
the detail of what goes on; what choices are assertive stance undermines the supervisor’s
made and how the supervisee is enabled sense of personal authority triggering an
or blocked in their exploration of an issue overly deferential or domineering response
can be a fascinating revelation. It is also to supporting a worker regain perspective
evident that, for many people, examining on a practice situation which has evoked
the process rather than the content of a painful emotions. It includes being mindful
session is an unfamiliar activity. There is of the defence mechanisms which function
good understanding of the part played by at individual and organisational levels;
body language and active listening, but in- having a compassionate understanding of
depth analysis of subtle shifts in mood or the these protective responses but being alert
impact of particular words or gestures seems to their impact on the core task and the
less within reach. It can feel like tangible people whom the organisation is supposed
resistance to exploring the dynamics at play to serve. A systems awareness challenges us
and an inexorable pull towards discussing a to recognise that, whatever is present in the
more concrete problem. group, the organisation, the wider system
is also present in ourselves. It is valuable,
Opportunities to practise skills; to therefore, that supervisors are familiar
experiment with new approaches and to with the defensive responses stirred up by
get critical feedback are surprisingly rare work which is anxiety-provoking and have
given the significance of supervision. Not strategies in place to recognise and engage
only do many supervisors take on the with these.
role with limited training or preparation
(Cousins, 2004; Patterson, 2015), there are
Conclusion
also restricted opportunities for continuing
development apart from what is learnt The focus of this article is the supervision of
on the job. If supervision is to address supervisors, a topic under-explored in the
depth rather than surface (Howe, 1996) the literature and at risk of being undervalued
reflective supervisory needs of managers in practice. Despite the significance of their
deserve greater priority. The structure supervisory role including impact on direct
for achieving this, whether individual, work with people using services, there is a
peer, group or other approaches, is less curious disjuncture in the attention paid to

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