Supervisor and leader: allies for success
In France, as in the rest of the world, more and more executives are turning to coaches to improve and continuously evolve. The idea that a coach is only brought in to “fix problems” is no longer true at all.
Today, we understand that an executive coach plays the same role as a coach for a top-level athlete or a movie star: a way to keep improving already very high performance and remain at the top of one’s game through constant renewal. This is all the more important since we tend not to notice warning signs when things seem to be going well (as employees are reluctant to raise issues unless they have a simple solution to offer). That is why it is so important for a leader, especially a talented one, to confront an external perspective that will provide a “reality check,” ensuring that their perception matches actual reality.
Yet, there are two rather different approaches to supporting leaders in this domain: coaching on the one hand, and supervision on the other. For coaches, being supervised is an ethical requirement. It allows them to step back from their practice, continue to develop, and remain vigilant about the quality and ethics of their work. These two roles, coach and supervisor, are significantly different, and we believe that the skills of a supervisor are particularly well suited to what executives are looking for, especially those who have already been coached or who are familiar with coaching culture.
1. The difference between coaching and supervision
There are many types of coaching and coaching approaches, and almost as many kinds of supervision. But, put simply, here is the distinction:
Coaching is oriented toward achieving one or more specific objectives. These are defined at the start of a session with the coach or beforehand by HR and the coachee’s manager. The coach helps the client identify areas for improvement and provides tools to support transformation. However, an executive, by definition, is someone who has no difficulty setting and reaching goals—that’s how they reached their position in the first place.
Supervision, on the other hand, does not set objectives. It provides a space for reflection, enabling the client to engage in ongoing self-questioning as a path to transformation.
Supervision brings three main dimensions that are rarely, if ever, addressed in coaching:
Confrontational support – In supervision, the client arrives with their own expectations and questions. The supervisor listens, challenges, and encourages them to find their own answers.
Formative input – Thanks to their unique position, supervisors can also provide feedback on technical aspects. It can be useful to revisit management, communication, or coaching fundamentals, even for an executive.
Ethical vigilance – Under heavy pressure to deliver results, executives may lose touch with reality and make decisions that are not ethically aligned with their values. The supervisor, through their neutral and external perspective, can help them analyze and, if necessary, adjust the way they lead their business or teams.
Another key difference lies in the timeframe of the relationship. Coaching usually lasts 6–9 months, with the goal that the client becomes autonomous by the end. Supervision, in contrast, may extend over 2 to 5 years. It is therefore about long-term, sustainable transformation.
2. Key skills in executive supervision
The first step in supervision is establishing the contract between supervisor and client. The supervisor commits to being consistently present to challenge and guide the leader’s reflection, while ensuring a process that is both confrontational and supportive. Many executives are no longer used to being challenged—so it is vital to find the right way to give feedback, tailored to their level of seniority, just as a supervisor would adapt when working with a successful senior coach.
The supervisor also commits to providing a framework that fosters the development of the executive’s skills to face necessary changes. Indeed, executives who thrived in the “old” system must now lead the transformation into the “new” one—a paradox that requires deep, sustainable change. A supervisor’s fresh, external perspective can greatly facilitate this process.
Building trust is of course crucial in supervision. That trust is strengthened when confidentiality is guaranteed and potential conflicts of interest are avoided. For example, I personally choose to work with only one company per sector to prevent conflicts of interest—or the risk of being used as a channel of information about competitors. Supervisors are particularly vigilant about this, whereas coaches often find themselves in competition with each other.
It is also important that the supervisor understands the system in which their client operates. In coaching, the coach may be highly specialized in interpersonal psychology without sufficiently grasping the client’s broader environment: their company, teams, or personal context. Most supervisors develop dual expertise, interpersonal and systemic, which is extremely valuable for executives. After all, executives rarely take the time to see a therapist! A supervisor’s knowledge of the client’s ecosystem is essential to help them lead change in their organization and balance their multiple roles: leader, executive team manager, shareholder, and often also partner and parent.
3. The supervisor as a disinterested partner to the executive
To keep evolving and improving, everyone needs a space to reflect on their actions and decisions through an external lens, and this is especially true for executives. With power comes responsibility, but studies also show that power increases cognitive biases.
Human brains naturally resist admitting mistakes and prefer to cling to false beliefs rather than change them. Research also shows that holding power reduces our ability to put ourselves in others’ shoes. Leaders, therefore, particularly need someone who will confront them, help them see situations differently, or simply provide a space to step back and reflect calmly on their approach.
What’s more, recent years have seen companies mostly promote “doers.” Today, however, there is growing demand to develop leaders around vision, meaning, and strategic management. To stay at the top and manage risks, leaders must continuously update their belief systems to adapt to a changing world.
Supervision also helps identify hidden talents and skills we may be unaware of, as described by the Johari Window model. It divides self-knowledge into four zones:
the public area (known to self and others),
the hidden area (known only to self),
the unknown area (known to neither),
and the blind area (known only to others).
It is this blind area that is most valuable. Through long-term supervision, leaders can discover new strengths, skills, and talents they were unaware of, and which they were therefore underutilizing.
Finally, at very senior levels, ego and the illusion of omnipotence can play tricks on us. We may be tempted to believe we need no one and can do everything ourselves. For this reason, I often recommend taking a derailment-risk assessment.
The myth of the “lone genius” is just that, a myth. To reach and sustain the highest levels, having a partner who challenges us, pushes us to improve every day, and brings new perspectives is invaluable. Think of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Picasso and Matisse… This is the power of two.