Companion of Social coaching Supervisors
This handbook is the result of the Erasmus+ Key Action 2 Innovation in the field of youth work “ 21st Century – Coaching Europe’s Navigation Towards Understanding and Reactivating Youth.”, supported by the the EU funded programme Erasmus+ Programme’s Czech National Agency, Dům zahraničních služeb and implemented by the Czech civil society organisation The Globe in partnership as lead partner, in consortium with the EduEra (SK), ResCogita (EE),
Strauss APS (ITA), COOBRA (AT) and Praxis (HL) . This handbook was produced with the financial assistance of the European Commission. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of The Globe and its consortium partners, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
Supervision includes two words, Super and Vision, this helps us to imagine a superpower that
allows superhuman eyesight, just like the comics’ heroes. Ok, supervisors aren’t superheroes,
but this description above is not too far from the truth, these are professionals trained in using methodologies, and tools to develop an overall vision of how the coaches they are supervising are, and how coaching process is going, from the perspectives of both the coach and their clients, with an overview of the whole process and content.
The word “Supervision” comes from Latin “Super – Visio” Super means “Above” and “Videre” means to observe; translating as “overseeing.” Supervision means to observe and analyse, as well as it implies supporting coaches to deliver the best possible service to their clients, and to make sure that their performance, impact and wellbeing are taken care of.
Unfortunately, professionals in the fields of care and support often forget about self-care, in some such professions, like psychology supervision is a mandatory part of the job, for others it
is optional, nonetheless, the point is that those who deliver support to others also need to be supported by someone able to oversee their practice, and when necessary give a hand, while having the broader picture of the whole, coach, client, process and results.
In this handbook you will find approaches and techniques to help you deliver an efficient service to your team of coaches, or practitioners trained in using social and youth coaching tools, to provide strong support, making sure that they deliver the most impactful service, and remember about self-care, growth and development. This is especially true for coaches who operate in contexts of disadvantage, marginalisation, making supervision a key role.
This manual has two main goals, the first one is to raise awareness about the role of supervision in the coaching profession and what this implies; the second one concerns those who are trained coaching practitioners and are willing to act as supervisors towards the creation of a pool of coaches. In this respect it is strongly advised to attend the training modules for coaching supervisors, a model that was implemented within the 21st Century project, delivered by trainers with a long track record as coaching supervisors.