Ghosts and Stakeholders in Coaching and Supervision

Umar, a newly appointed CEO of his family firm, sits across from his coach, his voice steady but his eyes betraying uncertainty.

“I just don’t know if I’m the right fit for this role,” he admits, glancing down as if searching for answers in the floor beneath him. His coach listens, sensing something deeper beneath the surface of his words.

In the room with them his portrait staring down at them, is the presence of Umar’s father and former CEO—a charismatic, larger-than-life figure who led the company for decades. Umar has never mentioned him explicitly, but his influence is palpable.

The staff still speak of him with reverence, comparing every decision he makes to what his father “would have done.” His ghost lingers in every meeting, casting a shadow over Umar’s confidence and shaping his leadership choices, even though he retired from the company several years ago.

The coach begins to explore this invisible influence in supervision, realising that Umar’s self-doubt isn’t entirely his own.

He’s battling the legacy of a predecessor whose influence still pervades the company culture.

The question now becomes: How can Umar step out of that shadow and lead in his own way?

Ghosts and Stakeholders in Coaching and Supervision

When you sit down with a client for a coaching session, you might assume there are just two people in the room—coach and client. But what if there are others influencing the conversation, shaping the dynamic, and steering the outcome? 

The concept of “Ghosts and Stakeholders”, as introduced by supervision pioneer Robin Shohet, refers to those unseen individuals whose presence is felt, even if they’re not physically in the room.

These unseen forces can include former coaches, previous role holders, ex-partners, or other influential figures in the client’s life. 

Their expectations, legacies, or unresolved dynamics may affect the coaching relationship, often without the client or coach fully realising it. 

In coaching supervision, we explore the crucial question: 

Who is in the room but not in the room? 

And how are these hidden influences impacting the coaching process?

Who Are the Ghosts and Stakeholders?

Ghosts and stakeholders can come in many forms. They are the unspoken influences—past relationships, legacy issues, or expectations—lingering in the background and shaping the coaching conversation. 

Some common examples include:

Previous coaches or mentors

A client might unconsciously compare you, the current coach, to a former mentor. Their experience with a previous coach could influence how they approach the coaching process, affecting trust, openness, or even the goals they set.

Former role holders

If the client has taken over a leadership role from a well-known predecessor, that person’s legacy may loom large. The client might feel pressure to live up to expectations or struggle to distinguish their identity from the previous role holder.

Ex-partners or colleagues

Personal relationships, particularly unresolved ones, can show up in the coaching room. An ex-partner or influential colleague might still influence the client’s decisions, behaviours, and emotional responses.

Organisational ghosts

Sometimes, the ghost isn’t a person but a systemic influence—outdated policies, old leadership styles, or entrenched cultural norms. These can continue to shape the client’s choices, even when the system has ostensibly moved on.

The key question is: How are these ghosts, these unseen presences, affecting the coaching process? 

Recognising and addressing these influences is critical to ensuring that the coaching relationship stays focused on the client’s current reality and future goals, rather than being unconsciously tethered to the past.

Eye 1: The Client’s Experience of Ghosts in the Room

From the perspective of Eye 1 in the 7-Eyed Model, we focus on the client’s experience of the ghosts in the room. Clients may not always be fully aware of these influences, but their presence can shape the way the client perceives their current situation and goals. For example:

• Are they making decisions based on their own needs, or are they influenced by the expectations of a former mentor or colleague?
• Do they feel they need to live up to someone else’s legacy or values, even if that person is no longer in the picture?

A client might come to coaching wanting to explore career goals, but if the ghost of a former boss or parent is still influencing their thinking, they might unknowingly be pursuing goals that don’t align with their true desires. 

Supervision helps the coach reflect on these dynamics and pose questions that gently bring the client’s awareness to the unspoken influences. By helping clients notice these ghosts, the coach enables them to clarify whose expectations they are truly meeting and whose they need to let go of.

Eye 3: How Ghosts Shape the Coach-Client Relationship

In the context of Eye 3, the coaching relationship itself can be affected by the ghosts in the room. If the client had a previous coach or mentor, the unspoken comparison between you and that figure might shape their expectations of the coaching process. 

They may be holding back or pursuing a path simply because “that’s what my old coach would have wanted.”

• How does the client’s previous relationship with a coach or mentor shape their expectations of you as their current coach?
• Is the client comparing you to someone from their past, either consciously or unconsciously?

Ghosts can influence the level of trust or engagement in the coaching relationship. If a client had a negative experience with a previous coach, they may bring hesitation or guardedness into the current coaching dynamic. 

Alternatively, a highly respected former coach may cast a long shadow, making it difficult for the client to fully engage with new perspectives or approaches.

Supervision helps the coach recognise when these relational dynamics are at play and explore how to address them. 

Sometimes, simply naming the presence of the “ghost” in the room—acknowledging the influence of a former coach, boss, or colleague—can help the client break free from those old expectations and engage more openly with the current coaching process.

Eye 4: How Ghosts Affect the Coach’s Experience

Ghosts don’t just affect the client—they can also influence the coach. Under Eye 4, we explore how these unseen stakeholders impact the coach’s own thoughts, feelings, and responses during the coaching session. 

For example, a coach might unconsciously pick up on the client’s lingering attachment to a previous role holder or mentor and feel pressure to live up to that standard.

• Are you, as the coach, feeling the weight of the client’s expectations based on their past relationships?
• Do you feel compared to a former coach or boss, even if it’s not openly discussed?

Coaches may also bring their own ghosts into the room. Perhaps the coach has had a past experience with a difficult client or mentor, and that unresolved dynamic is subtly influencing how they approach the current session. 

Supervision provides a space to unpack these influences and ensure that the coach remains aware of how their own “ghosts” might be shaping the relationship with the client.

Eye 5: Parallel Processes and Ghosts in Supervision

Eye 5 invites us to consider whether the ghosts affecting the coaching relationship are also present in the supervision relationship. 

The concept of parallel process—where dynamics between coach and client are mirrored in the supervision dialogue—can offer valuable insights into how these unseen stakeholders influence the coach’s experience.

For example, if the client’s former mentor is casting a long shadow over the coaching relationship, the coach might bring that same dynamic into supervision, seeking validation or approval from the supervisor in a similar way. 

The supervisor might also notice that they are being pulled into similar dynamics—feeling the presence of the “ghost” as they engage with the coach.

Supervision can help coaches recognise these parallel processes and bring awareness to how the ghost in the client’s room might be influencing the supervision relationship. 

By addressing these dynamics, the coach and supervisor can disentangle the web of unspoken expectations and power dynamics, ensuring that the coaching remains clear and client-focused.

Eye 7: Systemic Ghosts and Organisational Influences

Finally, under Eye 7, we consider the wider systemic ghosts that might be influencing the coaching relationship. These are the unseen forces at play within the broader organisational or cultural context. 

For example, a client might be operating under the shadow of a previous CEO’s leadership style, even though the organisation has moved on to new leadership.

• What systemic legacies or old cultural norms might still be influencing the client’s behaviour and decisions?
• Is the client unconsciously adhering to outdated organisational expectations that no longer serve their current role?

Supervision helps coaches explore these wider systemic influences, bringing attention to how organisational ghosts can shape the client’s experience and decision-making. 

By recognising these ghosts, the coach can help the client separate themselves from the past and move forward with greater clarity and alignment.

Conclusion: Bringing the Ghosts into View

In every coaching relationship, there are often unseen presences—ghosts of former coaches, colleagues, role holders, or organisational influences—that shape the dynamic between coach and client. 

These stakeholders, though not physically present, can cast long shadows over the coaching process, affecting the client’s goals, the relationship with the coach, and the coach’s own experience.

Supervision provides a critical space for exploring these ghosts and bringing them into conscious awareness. 

By addressing the question of “who is in the room but not in the room?”, supervision helps coaches and clients untangle these hidden influences, ensuring that the coaching process is truly focused on the client’s present needs and future potential.

In the end, recognising and naming these ghosts allows both coach and client to engage more authentically with the coaching journey, free from the weight of past expectations and unseen influences.