Handbook of Positive Supervision

About the Author

Fredrike Bannink is a clinical psychologist. She has a therapy, training, coaching, and mediation practice in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She is a trainer/supervisor with the Dutch Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies (VGCt) and cofounder and Chair of the Association’s Solution-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Section. She is a lecturer and supervisor at various postgraduate institutes. In addition, she provides numerous in-company training courses in solution-focused brief therapy and positive psychology at mental health care institutions; for companies, she organizes solution-focused coaching and leadership trajectories. She is also a Mental Health Trainer for Doctors Without Borders.

Fredrike Bannink is a Master of Dispute Resolution and an International Full Certified ADR Mediator. She is an international author, keynote speaker, and trainer.

Since 2005 she has been writing and presenting worldwide on the topic of bridging traditional models with positive psychology and the solution focus. Not surprisingly, her signature strength (according to the Values in Action [VIA] Survey) is curiosity and interest in the world.

Handbook of Positive Supervision

for Supervisors, Facilitators, and Peer Groups

Fredrike Bannink

Library of Congress Cataloging information for the print version of this book is available via the Library of Congress Marc Database

National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data

Bannink, Fredrike, author

Handbook of positive supervision : for supervisors, facilitators, and
peer groups / Fredrike Bannink.

Includes bibliographical references.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-0-88937-465-2 (pbk.).--ISBN 978-1-61676-465-4 (pdf).--
ISBN 978-1-61334-465-1 (html)

1. Supervision of employees--Psychological aspects--Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Positive psychology--Handbooks, manuals, etc.

I. Title. II. Title: Positive supervision.

HF5549.B25 2014

658.3’02

C2014-906831-X
C2014-906832-8

The present volume is an adaptation of F. Bannink, Positieve supervisie en intervisie (2012, ISBN 978-90-79729-68-5), published under licence from Hogrefe Uitgevers BV, The Netherlands.

© 2015 by Hogrefe Publishing

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Preface

Suppose you are hungry and decide to go eat at a restaurant. After you have waited awhile, you are invited to take a seat. The waiter introduces himself and starts asking you questions about your hunger. How severe is your hunger; where does the appetite stem from, how long have you been hungry and have you been hungry before? What role has your hunger played in your life and your family or relationships. What disadvantages and perhaps advantages does it have for you?

After getting even hungrier the waiter wants you to fill out some questionnaires about hunger (and other issues the waiter considers important). And after all this you are served a dinner that you did not choose yourself, but rather one that the waiter claims is good for you and has helped other hungry visitors to satisfy their appetite. What do you suppose the chances are that you will leave this restaurant satisfied?

Research shows that monkeys learn more from their successes than their mistakes (Histed, Pasupathy, & Miller, 2009; Bannink, 2012c). This is due to the fact that a monkey’s brain constructs new neural networks when monkeys perform tasks in which they are successful. We call this neuroplasticity. In case of failures no new networks are being built. The biologists who have studied these monkeys assume that the same mechanism applies to humans. The idea that you learn the most from your mistakes is probably out-dated.

Compare this with the preparation of food. How will you ensure that, when friends or family come over for dinner, you will come up with a meal everybody will feast upon? Are you going to use the knowledge of previous failed dishes (assuming that we have all sometimes failed in preparing a dinner)? Of course you may use your knowledge: “I put too many red peppers in that dish,” or “I did not put the dish in the oven long enough.” But you will most probably use your knowledge about your previous successful meals, “How did I make that gorgeous dish last time? What were the ingredients that made it so successful? You may repeat this successful recipe or build upon this success and come up with some new culinary creations.

Do you find successful or unsuccessful recipes in cookbooks or on the Internet? There are some stories about how unsuccessful dishes can be repaired, but the chance that a failed result, even after repairing it, turns into a tasty dish is rather small. The conclusion is that you probably learn more from your own and others’ successes than from your own and others’ failures.

In traditional supervision the focus is often on unsuccessful dishes: problems, bottlenecks, failures, stagnation, and deficits and rarely or never on successes. The problem-solving paradigm is used: what is the problem (what doesn’t work), what are its causes, and how may it be repaired? In positive supervision this model is replaced by the solution-building paradigm with a focus on successful dishes: what works, how does it work, and how may you build on what works?

The role of supervisors is also different: instead of being problem-solvers or trouble-shooters who are the only experts in the room, supervisors become solutions-builders; instead of giving advice supervisors ask their supervisees questions inviting them to discover their own expertise and amplify it. From a positive psychology (PP) standpoint the question is not: “What’s wrong with you?” but rather: “What’s right with you?” What are your values, positive character strengths, and resources? From a solution-focused (SF) viewpoint the question is not: “What doesn’t work?” but rather: “What works?” An additional benefit of this model is that supervisees may also use this paradigm in working with their own clients. Positive supervision focuses on competence: notice the parallel between finding competence and working on progress, and finding and applying successful recipes as described above.

The reason for writing this book stems from my wish to improve supervision and to make it better, more meaningful, and more enjoyable for both supervisees and their supervisors, not just in the setting of training therapists, but in many other instances as well. I think supervisees should be able to look forward to their supervision, rather than fear or endure supervision sessions, as is sometimes the case. In peer supervision colleagues should be able to enjoy their sessions and each other, rather than fear criticism or feel unsafe. At the end of each session they should leave cheerfully and with a growing sense of competence, rather than an increasing feeling of uncertainty.

The job satisfaction of both supervisors and supervisees can be increased by the positive focus described in this book. Research showing that the solution- building paradigm reduces burnout among professionals may also be relevant for supervisees and supervisors (Visser, 2012; Medina & Beijebach, 2014).

Assuming that you are learning a profession where your passion lies, supervision is also a place to share enthusiasm for the profession. In this way supervision becomes a fun part of the training, and experiencing a shared passion creates more meaning in your work. I literally felt the urge to run to the supervision sessions to share new developments and my growth with my supervisor. After enthusiastically sharing an applied technique she once remarked: ‘Who do you think was more surprised that it worked out so well, you or your client?

What can you find in this book? The theoretical background and practical applications of positive supervision are outlined. There is an extensive discussion about the theory of the four pillars of positive supervision: goal formulation, finding competencies, working on progress, and reflection. The working relationship between supervisors and supervisees is also examined. Practical matters are discussed and there is a chapter containing 22 frequently asked questions and answers. In the book are also dozens of case studies, exercises, and stories. Moreover five supervisees speak out and share their experiences with positive supervision.

This book is intended for everyone who holds the role of supervisor in business or in government, for example, a senior who provides supervision to a junior colleague or trainee. This book is written for everyone in the field of psychotherapy, coaching, and conflict management who provides supervision to colleagues. It is intended for everyone who provides supervision in education or in sports, for example, a teacher who helps a student or a coach who supervises a pupil. This book is also intended for supervisees who may surprise their supervisors by giving them this book as a present, saying: “Look, there is now positive supervision!” All colleagues in peer supervision may use this book to increase their capacities and job satisfaction.

This book is intended for everyone who is dissatisfied with the current state of the art of supervision. And finally it is written for everyone who is curious enough to investigate where the concept of positive supervision may lead.

This book aims to inspire you to expand your existing proficiency and optimally deploy your creative powers to help your supervisees and colleagues to help their clients. I hope you enjoy this book and invite you to share your comments at solutions@fredrikebannink.com or through my website at www.fredrikebannink.com.

Fredrike Bannink
August 2014

Acknowledgments

An author never writes a book alone. It is always a product of many people who work together and ultimately ensure that the name of the author appears on the cover.

I thank my husband for giving me the opportunity and encouragement to write my books. I thank my many teachers and supervisors, clients, colleagues, supervisees, and students at home and abroad for all the instructive and great moments we shared and for their inspiration.

No need to say I did not invent all practical applications mentioned in this book: many of them come from my colleagues and students. Because it is impossible to thank everyone personally, I would like to thank them in this way.

I also thank my Dutch editor Erik Faas for making beautiful plans together resulting in the publication of some of my books while drinking cappuccino’s, and my English editor Robert Dimbleby who didn’t mind meeting me in loud bars and having dinner with me on sunny terraces. And I thank both translators Hidde Kuiper and Suzanne Aldis Routh for doing such a fine job.

Also grazie to my three Italian cats for keeping me company during many pleasant hours of thinking and writing.

[1]Part 1

Theory

[2][3]Chapter 1
Supervision

Never do for learners what they can do themselves or for themselves

Anonymous

In this chapter some definitions of traditional supervision models are described. These models are all based on the problem-solving paradigm, with the purpose of first analyzing what is wrong and then solving it (mostly about the problems supervisees have with their clients). The supervisees will usually get advice from their supervisors who position themselves as experts and teachers.

In the new vision of positive supervision the problem-solving paradigm is replaced by the solution-building paradigm. The supervisors usually don’t give advice, but ask questions to invite their supervisees to discover and use their own expertise. This positive vision can be used both in individual and group supervision, as well as in peer supervision. Moreover, in this way supervisees may become familiar with this positive paradigm, which they may use in working with their own clients. Differences between the questions used in traditional and positive supervision are discussed, as well as a questionnaire for supervisors. Advantages and disadvantages of individual and group supervision are outlined and arguments are given to better listen to the wishes of supervisees than has hitherto been the case.

Traditional Supervision: Definition and Role of the Supervisor

Bernard and Goodyear (2009, p. 7) provide a common neutral definition of supervision. The term neutral means that they are not clear whether supervision is about solving problems or building solutions. Their definition reads:

Supervision is an intervention provided by a more senior member of a profession to a more junior member or members of that same profession. This relationship:

[4]•

is evaluative and hierarchical;

•

extends over time;

•

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