Professional Supervision & Consulting
Intentionally enhance your work and leadership
being better together is committed to seeing people and organisations grow with integrity and purpose.
About being better together
Through Professional Supervision, Dr Stephen Lake EdD helps individuals and small groups to reflect, celebrate, problem solve and plan new ways forward. He also consults to support fresh thinking within leaders, teams, organisations, schools and churches.
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About
Intentional Growth & Learning
Being Better Together
Being together brings your experiences, ideas, skills and vision into focus.
Together, we can raise our concerns, think them through and clarify what’s at stake.
We can also see more clearly—what’s working well and what we can celebrate.
Services
Through Professional Supervision and Consulting, I help people grow into who they are—for themselves and with others—in the workplace and beyond.
being better together is an intentional practice of meeting, listening, talking, reflecting, thinking, challenging and growing.
being better together is inspired by Appreciative Inquiry and Positive Psychology—human flourishing and optimal functioning.
Stephen Lake
Dr Stephen Lake EdD is a passionate communicator. Through being better together, Stephen is committed to enhancing people’s lives, work and outcomes.
Stephen brings a depth of skill and knowledge from his experience working with leadership and high performing teams in child protection, education, youth work/youth justice, church ministries and Professional Supervision.
Professional memberships
- Australasian Association of Supervision (AAOS) – Supervisor Member
- Australian Counselling Association (Member Level 2)
- Child Protection Practitioners Association of Queensland
- Suitability Card for Child-Related Employment (QLD): 6636/8
- National Police Certificate (#436692)
Professional Supervision
You can be a better you—happier, stronger, healthier and more content.
Professional Supervision is an easy and proven opportunity to meet, talk, listen, reflect, think, challenge and be challenged. It’s about growing in who you are, improving relationships, thinking through issues, finding solutions and new direction within your work and beyond.
What is Professional Supervision?
Effective supervision supports good working relationships. It helps you to address issues, celebrate your achievements and develop better ways of working. Supervision gives you the opportunity to discuss your learning and development.
When it looks like you are paddling smoothly over still waters, what’s going on inside your mind and heart?
What’s under the waters around you?
While it may look like you’re in control and doing an excellent job on the surface, the reality for you might be quite different.
If you’re feeling confused by your circumstances or alone on the journey, you’re not.
Professional Supervision is valued by
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- counsellors
- social workers
- psychologists
- ministers and clergy
- chaplains
- child safety workers
- community services
- business professionals
- educators
- leaders
Consulting
Finding new ways and better working solutions, together.
Consulting with leaders, teams and groups to establish and support fresh thinking.
Consultation is bigger than one person. It brings us together for improved processes and outcomes. I’ll help you identify strengths, and I’ll challenge you to recognise opportunities for positive change. Together, we can find answers and solutions to move forward for the better.
being better together can help you develop a fresh action plan for you individually, your workgroup, or your wider organisation.
Consulting services include
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- Developing leadership skills with people in your team
- Professional Supervision policies and operationalisation in organisations and churches
- Church/Minister Reviews; Parish Consultations
- Strengthening your team’s functions and outcomes—for each other and clients.
- Student services in schools
- Engaging challenging students (and their parent/s) for better learning and wellbeing outcomes
- Child Safe Principles in organisations
Churches
Support for churches
In these unpredictable times, leading a faith community can be challenging and rewarding. Finding yourself lost or amid controversy can be a lonely and debilitating place. However, a little support and encouragement can go a long way.
Professional Supervision is an opportunity for leaders and key individuals to reflect on their ministry experiences. It provides you with a regular space, time and intentional activities so you can learn within the context of supportive relationships.
Consulting brings key people or groups together to review, reflect, support fresh thinking and plan a way forward. It’s your opportunity to be better, together.
In church and ministry, Professional Supervision is described as “a relationship that ministers have with another professional, whereby they are assisted to maintain the boundaries of the pastoral relationship and the quality of ministry”.
– Uniting Church Code of Ethics and Ministry Practice
How it works
Professional Supervision recognises the accountability of leaders and others involved in the wide variety of ministries.
As a Professional Supervisor, I’ll meet with you, the supervisee, to focus on you and your ministry. Goals include to listen, support, encourage, challenge and help you find solutions and direction.
Consulting is a facilitated process with a team or group. You will have time and space with each other to acknowledge strengths, work through concerns and develop a fresh action plan, together.
Recent Engagements
Professional Supervision with Priests and Ministers in Anglican, Uniting, Baptist, Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches.
Consulting services with Anglican Dioceses and Parishes including Parish Reviews and Youth Ministry Leader Training.
Contact Us
1. Activation – $1,395
*includes GST. Price negotiable
Initial 3 – 6 Month Engagement
- Introduction session (∼60 minutes, no obligation)
- 6x 60-min Professional Supervision sessions
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- negotiate Professional Supervision agreement
- personalise a Professional Development Overview
- Up to 5–6 unscheduled phone or email contacts with Supervisor for reflection and planning
- Additional Opportunities:
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- invite colleagues into supervision sessions
- quarterly cohort gathering to hear, reflect and learn
- Monthly being better together newsletter
2. Continuing – $1,110
*includes GST. Price negotiable
Post Activation: 6 Month Engagement
- 6x 60-min Professional Supervision sessions
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- clarify approach and supervision model
- review negotiated Professional Supervision agreement
- develop Professional Development Plan
- Up to 5–6 unscheduled phone or email contacts with Supervisor for reflection and planning
- Identify and develop your targeted professional support network
- Additional Opportunities:
-
- invite colleagues into supervision sessions
- quarterly cohort gathering to hear, reflect and learn
- Monthly being better together newsletter
More pricing information (click for PDF)
Testimonials
In our regular professional supervision, Stephen provided me with support through many professional and personal challenges. He was always prepared for supervision, listened to my work challenges and helped me to develop plans to move forward. Stephen has always presented himself to me as caring, understanding, knowledgeable and sincere.
Tara. Senior Team Leader, Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women
Stephen is an excellent communicator and supportive supervisor. He is highly relational, with a warm and empathetic nature. Stephen is able to work with a wide range of people, is responsive and sensitive to culture and to difference. He is highly competent and capable. In my experience of supervising staff over many years, I have not supervised anyone with Stephen’s level of insight, willingness to reflect and openness to feedback.
Kathy Masters. Director, Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs
Additional Information
Values
Your values drive how you think and what you do.
RESPECT. INTEGRITY. OPENNESS. COMPASSION.
These values drive my interactions with others and allow me to provide fruitful Professional Supervision and consultancy services.
RESPECT
- Respect is earned and develops over time by building trust.
INTEGRITY
- Integrity means you know that what you hear is what you get. It upholds the importance of honesty, where the best thing for the future is the truth.
OPENNESS
- Openness allows you to look in on yourself to understand who you truly are and who you can be.
COMPASSION
- Compassion is the act of being gentle and kind to others and yourself.
REACH
REACH is an easy-to-remember and useful model of Professional Supervision.
REACH is summarised as “your people, your work, you”.
The REACH model frames Professional Supervision.
1. Relationships
Your relationships will make or break you—and the people around you. This includes your relationships with people at work, those you report to and those you supervise or support. It also includes community members, your family and friends.
2. Ethics
Ethical decision-making is vital across all types of work, roles and leadership responsibilities. It’s an everyday and complex process that occurs within the context of managing power relationships and requires time for critical reflection.
Consider your worldview, moral, cultural, historical, political, religious, spiritual, societal and professional values and biases. To make an ethical decision, these all need careful reflection and examination.
3. Acumen
Acumen allows us to work smarter, not harder. It’s about discovering better ways of working. As a result, not only is the work easier, but it’s also more efficient and effective for you and those around you.
4. Core practice
Your core practice encompasses the actions and interactions that form your day-to-day work and responsibilities. For some, this is human services practice. For others, it’s a suite of activities or ministries, and for others, it’s a list of tasks for completion.
While Professional Supervision isn’t about discussing each task in depth, you’re encouraged to raise complex or challenging parts of your work. My goal is to help you clarify these issues and work out options for a way forward.
5. Health and wellbeing
Your health and wellbeing are where supervision should start and end. To begin our conversations, I’ll ask, “How are you?” This is your opportunity to genuinely reflect and share what’s on your mind—concerns, questions, observations, recent events or news worth celebrating. We’ll also share discussions about your professional development.
★ The REACH model was developed by Paul Gibney PhD and the Department of Child Safety, Youth & Women (QLD)
NPCSO
National Principles for Child Safe Organisations
The National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (National Principles) give effect to recommendations of the Royal Commission relating to the child safe standards.
The National Principles guide key actions and performance measures in implementing the standards.
They provide a nationally consistent approach to cultivating organisational cultures and practices that foster child safety and wellbeing across all sectors in Australia.
National Principles for Child Safe Organisations
- Child safety and wellbeing is embedded in organisational leadership, governance and culture.
- Children and young people are informed about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
- Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing.
- Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice.
- People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.
- Processes to respond to complaints and concerns are child focused.
- Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.
- Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.
- Implementation of the national child safe principles is regularly reviewed and improved.
- Policies and procedures document how the organisation is safe for children and young people.