In Arabic, the word “supervision” enforces power dynamics and does not serve the coach supervisee.
Translate “coaching supervision” into Arabic and the usual word is ishraf (إشراف). It means oversight, inspection, someone standing above you checking your work. Or in the case of coaching supervision, you the supervisor will be in that position with your coach supervisee!
Say that word to a coach in our region and you can watch their shoulders tighten.
So we chose a different word: Istishraf (استشراف).
Istishraf is the act of climbing to higher ground to see the whole landscape and the horizon beyond it. Nobody is standing over anyone. Supervisor and coach climb together, on equal footing, to see what neither could see from the valley of a single session.
That one word changed how coaches approached supervision. It went from “being checked” to “seeing further”.
Changing the language taught us three things about supervision across cultures:
- Words carry history. In many cultures “supervision” carries school, workplace and even military meanings. If the word feels like surveillance, coaches arrive defended. Naming matters before any model does.
- Hierarchy and face shape what coaches bring. Where respect for elders and seniority runs deep, admitting a “failure” to a supervisor can feel like losing face. Safety has to be built deliberately, through contracting, peer groups and the supervisor’s own openness.
- Ethics lives in the gap between global codes and local values. Supervision is often the first place a coach can say: “The code says one thing; my faith, family and culture say another.” That is not a problem to correct. It is where ethical maturity grows.
We also use art as a second language for reflection. When words carry too much weight, a drawing or a LEGO model can say what a coach cannot yet say.
Istishraf is now an ICF-accredited coaching supervision program (AACS), delivered in Arabic and English. The first cohorts start in January (Arabic) and March (English) 2027.
Arabic: neocharismaticleader.com/istishraf
English: neocharismaticleader.com/en/istishraf-en
Which word does your language use for “supervision”, and how does it feel?
#CoachingSupervision #ICF #Coaching #MENA #Istishraf #استشراف
