Be More You! How Supervision Helps Coaches Shed the Stereotype and Embrace Their Authentic Style

When a coach is just starting out, there’s often a subtle pressure to fit the mould. To sound like a coach, to ask the “right” questions, to mirror what they’ve seen modelled on training programmes or in books. It’s part of the learning curve—absorbing the norms of the profession.

But if left unchecked, this imitation can solidify into performance. Coaches may find themselves operating from a place of compliance, hesitancy, or over-correction—diluting their natural voice in an attempt to be “professional,” “neutral,” or “non-directive enough.”

Over time, something gets lost. The unique tone, perspective, energy, and presence that makes each coach distinct can be buried under a layer of technique and expectation.

That’s where supervision offers something vital: a space to become more you.

Not just more skilled or more ethical—but more grounded in your own voice, values, instincts, and style.

The Risk of Coaching Clones

Coaching is a profession, but it’s also a deeply relational, creative, and personal endeavour. And yet, the risk is that coaches—especially early on—try to model themselves on what they think a coach “should” be.

They may:

• Default to a monotone, overly neutral style.

• Ask questions that feel safe but scripted.

• Avoid challenge or intuition out of fear of being “non-coach-like.”

• Hide parts of themselves—humour, boldness, passion, even warmth—that don’t seem to “fit.”

These tendencies don’t come from a lack of care. They come from a desire to do it right, to be accepted into the tribe of coaching. But what makes coaching powerful is not sameness—it’s presence. And presence can only be authentic if it is whole and human.

Supervision as a Space for Unmasking

Supervision is one of the few places where a coach can say, “I don’t think I’m coaching like myself.”

Or: “I feel like I’m performing.”

Or: “I’ve lost my voice in the room.”

In supervision, we can begin to ask:

• What parts of you are you holding back in your coaching?
• Where are you over-correcting or toning yourself down?
• What would it mean to bring more of yourself into the room, not less?

This isn’t a call to become self-indulgent, directive, or boundaryless. It’s a call to bring your full humanity into your coaching presence—to be emotionally congruent, psychologically integrated, and professionally alive.

From Clone to Original

Part of a supervisor’s role is to help the coach recognise the difference between learned form and embodied practice. Yes, questions matter. Yes, ethical frameworks matter. But the way a coach holds space, attunes, listens, interrupts, challenges, pauses, and reflects will always be shaped by who they are.

And when that’s allowed—when a coach begins to sound and feel like themselves—something shifts. Coaching becomes more fluid, more daring, more connected.

The supervisee may begin to:

• Trust their instincts more.
• Relax into silence.
• Challenge clients with greater clarity and care.
• Let humour, softness, or passion come through without apology.
• Show up with a grounded sense of self, rather than a mask of professionalism.

This is when a coach moves from good to exceptional—not because they follow the rules, but because they inhabit the work fully.

Permission and Encouragement

For many coaches, what they need is not another framework or technique. What they need is permission—to let go of the script and step into themselves.

Supervisors can provide this by:

• Celebrating what is distinct in the coach’s style.
• Helping name what’s been disowned or held back.
• Offering encouragement to take risks and experiment.
• Gently challenging imitation when it shows up.

The goal isn’t to break the rules but to move through them—to reach a place where the coach can draw on structure without being defined by it.

Conclusion: You Are the Method

Ultimately, coaching doesn’t happen because of models—it happens because of people. And the more a coach shows up as themselves, the more deeply they can connect with clients, stay present to the moment, and offer the kind of coaching that is both powerful and personal.

Supervision is where that permission is cultivated. Where the coach is encouraged to stop trying to be someone else—and instead, to become more fully themselves.

So, if you’re a coach who feels like something’s missing, something’s muted, something’s been lost in translation—step into supervision and ask:

What would it mean to be more me in my coaching?

You may find that the very thing you’ve been holding back is the thing your clients most need from you.