Supervision in Coaching: From Reflection to Reflexivity

Supervision is not about finding quick answers, but about creating a space in which the coach can look at their own practice with greater clarity.

What happened? Why did it happen? What does this say about me? Much of professional learning is built around these three questions.

Supervision supports this natural process of awareness by guiding the coach through three levels of reflection on practice: reflection, critical reflection, and reflexivity. In parallel, the same journey can be viewed through the lens of the three learning loops: doing, thinking, and being.

Together, they create a living framework in which learning becomes both professional and personal growth.

For clarity, let us consider the example of a coach who brings into supervision a seemingly simple situation: moments of silence in the session feel uncomfortable. The coach shares a concern about losing connection with the client and feels the urge to intervene quickly with a question or a paraphrase.

Reflection – “What happened?” → Doing

The first step is reflection — a clear look at the facts.

The supervisor’s question might be: “What did you notice happening within you when the silence appeared?”

The coach returns to the specific moment, describing the unease, the impulse to speak, the need to keep the conversation going.

At this stage, the learning is simple yet essential: recognizing the reaction. The coach realizes a tendency to fill the space automatically, without truly noticing what is happening with the client.

This is single-loop learning: an adjustment in action, from automatic reaction to conscious choice. “I can choose to stay in silence for a few seconds, even if it feels uncomfortable.”

Critical Reflection – “Why did this happen?” → Thinking

The next step is to look beyond behavior — toward meaning.

The supervisor’s question might be: “What assumption leads you to believe that silence means losing connection?”

Here, the space of critical reflection opens. The coach begins to notice the beliefs underlying their reaction: “I believe that a good coach should always keep the conversation alive. If I stay silent for too long, I may seem unprepared.”

This is a valuable insight. Beneath the discomfort with silence, a deeper need emerges — the need for validation, along with a belief about what it means to be a competent professional.

Learning becomes double-loop: not only changing the action, but also revising the thinking. “I can trust that silence is not a gap to be filled, but a space for the client’s reflection.”

As meaning expands, the coach begins to release the need for control and enters a more open relationship with the coaching process.

Reflexivity – “What does this say about me?” → Being

The deepest level of the process emerges when the supervisor invites the coach to look at themselves: “What becomes visible about you — beyond coaching — when you feel uncomfortable with silence?”

This is where reflexivity begins.

The coach may realize that not only in sessions, but also in life, there is a tendency to avoid silence, to provide solutions, to maintain control. A part of the self becomes visible — one that fears uncertainty and, paradoxically, sometimes limits the ability to be fully present.

This is triple-loop learning: a shift at an ontological level. The coach is no longer only trying to do coaching differently, but to be a different coach — more centered, more trusting of the process, more available to silence and to themselves.

From Clarity to Presence

The three levels of reflection can be seen as three complementary mirrors: the first shows what happened, the second explores why it happened, and the third reveals what it says about you.

At the same time, they reflect the three learning loops: doing — changing the action, thinking — changing the mental framework, being — transforming the way of presence.

The role of the supervisor is to accompany the coach along this path with attention, patience, and discernment, facilitating the movement from clarity to depth, and from action to presence.

Supervision — the space where learning becomes transformation

A supervision process does not only change technique; it transforms how the coach relates to themselves.

True learning happens when the coach dares to see themselves honestly — beyond role, beyond performance — and notices what within them is actually participating in the coaching relationship.

Supervision is the place where this seeing becomes clearer.

A space where action becomes meaning, and meaning becomes presence.

There, step by step, learning moves from doing, to thinking, and ultimately, to being.

Resources:

Reflection and Reflexivity as a Dynamic Inquiry of Professional Practice, EMCC Global Policy and Practice Guide (v. 1.2, July 2025)
Triple-Loop Learning Theory (Chris Argyris, 1977; Donald Schön, 1983; William Torbert, 2004)

Note:

This article was published in Romanian on November, 25, 2025, on the ICF Romana blog.

https://coachingfederation.ro/masterful-65/

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