Flippin’ switches and floatin’ boats: nurturing the conditions for learning to thrive

A supervisory relationship is a living thing, it needs to be fed. With highs and lows for the candidate and supervisor alike, this account will highlight some magic moments of discovery in doctoral learning, ‘when the lights came on’, set alongside more complex and demanding challenges I have navigated on the path towards PhD with some of my candidates. Many of these have been staff colleagues, which has presented interesting situations for building and sustaining supervisory relationships. Showing confidence in a colleague’s ability to become ‘doctoral material’ is key to gaining their trust, especially in a candidate who is prepared to expose their vulnerabilities as a learner, which, beware, can occur at any part of the PhD journey. I have also physically floated boats to facilitate group PhD supervision on canoe journeys, forming valuable social bonds for sharing learning experiences. From these events, relationships between candidates have endured because I created the conditions for them to take root. The candidates brought the magic, I just got the boats.