The speaker presents his notion about reconceptualizing the function of supervision and the role of supervisors in a way that fits the needs of teachers, supervisors, and schools. This new approach conceives of the function of supervisors as interpersonal intervention and the role of the supervisor as that of interpersonal interventionist--a person whose job requires that he intrude in particular ways into a teacher's personal and technical realm to achieve certain ends or products. To the most typical end of supervision--improved quality of instruction--are added the personal and professional growth of teachers and the personal and professional growth of supervisors. Three primary tasks derive from the concept of the intervener role. The first is the generation of valid information associated with problems. The second is to maintain the client's system's discreteness and autonomy, which emphasizes the need for the teacher to make free, informed choices. The third is concerned with the development of the client's internal commitment to the choices made; if commitment is low, the chances of lasting learning and change resulting from the intervention are minimal. (Author/IRT)