The Psychology of Supervising: What Therapists Know About Team Management

My neighbour's wife is a psychologist, and she dropped something on me last month that completely changed how I think about supervising people. We were having a barbecue (naturally), and she mentioned how her therapy training actually made her a better team leader at her previous corporate job than any MBA ever could.

That got me thinking. Why don't we look at what mental health professionals know about human behaviour and apply it to workplace supervision?

Here's the thing that's been bugging me for years in this industry: we spend thousands on leadership courses that teach us frameworks and methodologies, but we completely ignore the fact that supervising is fundamentally about understanding human psychology. It's about reading people, motivating them, and creating the right environment for growth.

Therapists understand something most business supervisors don't: people don't respond to what you say, they respond to how you make them feel. That's not touchy-feely nonsense – that's neuroscience.

Take active listening, for instance. In therapy, it's not just about hearing words; it's about understanding the emotion behind them, the unspoken concerns, the real issues that aren't being directly addressed. Most supervisors I know are already planning their response before their team member has finished speaking. That's not supervision – that's just waiting for your turn to talk.

I learned this the hard way about eight years ago when I was managing a team in Brisbane. Had this brilliant developer who kept missing deadlines, and I kept giving him the same productivity speech over and over. Completely useless approach. It wasn't until I actually listened – properly listened – that I discovered he was struggling with imposter syndrome and was spending hours perfecting work that was already good enough.

The psychological concept of "unconditional positive regard" is massive here. It doesn't mean accepting poor performance or being a pushover. It means separating the person from their behaviour. When you need to address performance issues, you're critiquing actions, not attacking character.

Think about it this way: therapists deal with people's deepest problems and somehow manage to maintain a relationship that encourages growth and change. They do this by creating psychological safety – something Google's Project Aristotle identified as the most important factor in team effectiveness.

But here's where most workplace training programs get it wrong: they focus on techniques rather than mindset. They'll teach you the STAR method for feedback or the SBI model for difficult conversations, but they won't teach you how to genuinely care about the person you're supervising.

Therapists know that change happens through relationship, not through instruction. You can't supervise someone effectively if you don't understand their internal world – their motivations, fears, aspirations, and the stories they tell themselves about work.

I've started using what I call "therapeutic supervision techniques" with my teams, and the results have been remarkable. Instead of jumping straight into performance reviews, I spend time understanding each person's career narrative. What brought them to this role? What are they trying to achieve? What obstacles do they perceive?

Here's a controversial opinion: most supervision problems aren't actually performance problems – they're communication problems or role clarity problems or personal circumstance problems masquerading as performance problems.

The therapy world has this concept called "externalising the problem." Instead of saying "You're disorganised," you might say "It seems like organisation is creating some challenges for you right now." Subtle difference, massive impact on how the conversation unfolds.

Another thing therapists understand that business leaders often don't: the power of genuine curiosity. When someone's not meeting expectations, instead of immediately moving to correction mode, try moving to exploration mode. "I'm curious about what's happening here. Can you help me understand?"

This isn't about being soft or avoiding difficult conversations. It's about being strategic. People are more likely to change when they feel understood rather than judged. That's not my opinion – that's decades of psychological research.

Of course, there are limits to this approach. You're not actually their therapist, and workplace boundaries are important. But the fundamental principles of human motivation and behaviour change? Those apply everywhere.

I remember reading about a company in Melbourne that started incorporating basic counselling skills into their supervisor training. Their employee engagement scores went up 34% in six months, and turnover dropped by nearly half. That's not a coincidence.

The irony is that we already know this stuff works. Every decent business coaching program incorporates elements of psychology. But we seem to forget it the moment we put on our "supervisor" hat and revert to command-and-control thinking.

Here's what I've learned from studying therapeutic approaches to supervision: people need to feel seen, heard, and valued before they'll genuinely engage with feedback or development opportunities. That means really paying attention to the person, not just their output.

It also means being comfortable with not having all the answers immediately. Therapists are trained to sit with uncertainty, to explore issues collaboratively rather than rushing to solutions. Most supervisors I know are deeply uncomfortable with not knowing what to do right away.

But perhaps the most important thing therapists understand about human behaviour is this: sustainable change comes from within. You can't force someone to be more motivated, more organised, or more collaborative. You can only create the conditions where they might choose to develop those qualities themselves.

That's why the best supervisors I know spend more time asking questions than giving answers. They're facilitating growth rather than dictating it.

Look, I'm not suggesting every supervisor needs a psychology degree. But I am suggesting that if you're responsible for other people's development and performance, you might want to understand something about how people actually develop and perform.

The business world has a lot to learn from therapists. Maybe it's time we started paying attention.