Supervision in the knowledge society

Supervision can be defined as an activity which enables actors to recognize blind spots, hidden meanings and latent options within a complex interactional setting by being exposed to additional perspectives and options. Mostly, supervision is related to professional activities such as education, teaching, therapy, social work, consulting or management, and it is of particular relevance to professionals as an opportunity to reflect on their communication and operational strategies. It is important to note that, in this sense, supervision is not just a reflexivity mechanism – i.e. teaching to teach or managing management or consulting consultants. Instead its goal is to add additional perspectives and dimensions to a given interactional setting by way of instigating reflection in order to expand its range of options and its range of observing.