PEER-COACHING

SESSION GUIDE

Author: Miroslava Dimitrova Ph.D.

Se-Hub: Empowering Change makers: Youth Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation in the Citizen Sector

Grant decision No: 2018-3974/001-001

The Peer Coaching Session Guide is intended to help you in your role as a peer
coach in the Social entrepreneurship sector. Here you will find a step-by-step
approach integrating helpful tips and tools that could be easily implemented to
support you in your efforts.
The Peer Coaching Session Guide will provide you with:
 basic understanding of the nature and the importance of the peer coaching as
a process,
 tools and methods for planning and staging a successful peer coaching
session,

 insights of how to come up with an innovative solution to an existing social

problem and

 knowledge and skills to design, plan and launch a viable social start-up
business.

You are very important for achieving the desired change in your community by
increasing the capabilities and perspectives of the people with whom you will engage.

Thank you for your participation in the Youth social

entrepreneurs’ peer coaching sessions!
 Contents

What is Peer Coaching and how to do it right?

SESSION 1 Introducing the Peers and Assessing their Interests, Skills and
Competences
SESSION 2 Introducing the Social Entrepreneurship concept. Defining the Social
Challenge
SESSION 3 Finding Solutions through Social Innovations

SESSION 4 From Solution to Social Enterprise. Business Planning of the New

Venture: Legal aspects and Funding
SESSION 5 Management and Marketing of the Social Enterprise
SESSION 6 Measuring impact and Scaling for Growth
References
What is Peer Coaching and how to do it right?
Peer coaching is a process where colleagues work together to build skills, share
ideas, reflect on practices and explore together possibilities to solve problems/ issues
and to improve performance.

The peer coach engages the person being coached in a professional dialogue in safe
and respectful environment, actively listening and providing feedback to improve
skills, knowledge and competences. (CMS, 2015)

Peer coaching could be defined as partnership in a thought-provoking and creative

process that inspires individuals to maximize their potential. (ICF, 2015)
The coach:
 has expertise to support growth in others
 develop others’ skills, capacity and knowledge

 enables individuals to identify their own strengths, to learn from their

experience and to take actions
 encourage and facilitates interdependent leadership
 nurture shared knowledge and increased independency

Coach’s competences:

Setting the Nurturing Effective Facilitating

Foundations Relationship Communication Learning and
•Goals •Establishing trust •Active listening Results
•Expectations •Safe and supportive •Discussions •Support
•Time commitment environment •Sharing of •Planning
•Pogress evaluation •Mutual respect knowldege • Imporving quality
•Feedback and outcomes
Coach’s Checklist:
 How often will we meet?
……………………………
 How we will communicate? (in person,
conference call, Skype, Viber etc.)
…………………………………
 How long will be our peer coaching
sessions?
……………………………………………………
 For how long (approximately) we intend to meet (few weeks or few months)?
…………………………………………………….
 What are our goals?
…………………………………………………….
 How we monitor to see whether our outcomes align with our goals?
…………………………………………………….
 How we reschedule meetings (if unforeseen circumstances prevent to meet as
per plan)?
…………………………………………………….
 How we will provide feedback?
…………………………………………………….
 What kind of resources (financial, material, information, help) will be needed
and how we can obtain them?
…………………………………………………………
 How the progress will be tracked and evaluated?
……………………………………………………….
 How we determine success?
……………………………………………………..
Peer coaching is a process. It could be cut down to several coaching sessions which
are time-bound events/activities. They happen according to a certain time schedule
and have outlined contents, topics and goals.

The coaching sessions use the methods of interactive training to provoke active
participation and personal commitment. They are aimed at mobilizing the resources
of the participants (including experience, expertise, personal qualities and skills)
towards reaching the ultimate goal.
Peer coaching sessions should provide a platform of shared knowledge that could
help generates a pool of creative ideas and innovative solutions for social problems.
Organizing peer-coaching session. Recommendations:

 Time duration of the session should be around couple of hours (2 to 6

hours). Allocate enough time for in-depth study and discussion of the topic,
but don’t overextend beyond the point of inefficiency.

 Divide sessions into several panels (approx. 45 min. each) with 15 minutes
break for refreshments and informal conversations.

 Room setting: think in advance about the room size (at least 2 sq. per
person), equipment (multimedia, supplies, whiteboard or flip chart etc.),
technical provisions (internet connection, video-conference facilities) and
others (such as print-outs, snacks, tea and coffee for the breaks etc.)
Develop listening skills:
 Give the speaker your whole attention: look at him/her directly, avoid being
distracted by outside factors or inner thoughts
 Show him/her that you are listening: give both verbal and non-verbal signs
(smiling, nodding, and other facial expressions), mind your body language,
encourage speaker to continue
 Provide feedback: try to paraphrase or clarify the statement
 Don’t judge: avoid hurtful comments, don’t interrupt with counter arguments
 Respond appropriately: Be candid, open and honest in your response
 Use: clarifying, paraphrasing, summarizing and empathy
Know how to ask:
Asking the right questions is a key element for the success of the peer coaching
session. Try to avoid too vague, generic or “yes or no” questions that don’t allow the
development of discussion. Make sure that your questions engage all participants
and inspire greater creativity and commitment. Examples of “power” questions:
1. Question for evaluation:
- What do you think about this situation?
- What are the challenges?
- What are the opportunities?
- What additional information do we need?
2. Questions for taking actions:
- What actions could be taken (rather than what is wrong and who is to
blame)?
- What are the next step?
- What challenges do you anticipate and how they can be addressed?
- What support will you need? Where can you get it from?
 SESSION 1
Introducing the peers and assessing their interests, skills and competences

Step 1 Greeting from the session leader, brief summary of what is

planned for the day.

Step 2 Brief explanation of the principles of the Peer coaching (See

the Previous Section of this Guide)

Step 3 Encourage participants to introduce themselves: what are

their names and some basic facts about themselves. You may use several
icebreaking games to provoke their creativity and to jump into more informal
setting. For example:

 Name acronym: Let each participant create acronym with the first
letters of his/her name, using words that somehow describe him/her
in a positive way: Example: MARIA (M- modest, A- Able. R –
Resourceful, I – Intelligent, A – Accurate)

 Coat of Arms: Draw your personal “coat of

arms” that defines you best. You may use
various symbols (such as heart, sword, shield,
lion, eagle, stars, sun, flowers etc.) and you
have to explain before the group why how these
elements (and their combination) relate to you.

 Personal story: Share something personal with your peers. Example:

what was your nickname as a child, how your closest family used to
call you; did you have pet that you loved, may be you can retell a story
that happened to you and had a great impact on your life,

 What is your favorite……? Share with others your favorite food, color,
song, movie, artist, book, city, radio station, restaurant, museum etc.
and explain what you like about it. You may also explain something
about your hobbies and see if there is another who share the same
passions as you.

Step 4 Encourage peers to perform a quick assessment of their skills, competences

and possible interests. Suggested methods:
A) Answer the questions (you may put your answers in a table format):
- What can I do better than most others (either professionally, or in
everyday life)?
- What part of my job I like and what not so much? What is my favorite
routine/ activity? What is my least favorite?
 - What are the qualities, skills and competences that I don’t have, but
would like to have?

- Is there something that I absolutely refuse to do (as part of my job

activity)?

B) SWOT analysis: Make Personal SWOT analysis of your character: Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threads. You may combine Opportunities and
Threads in one section where you put all those qualities that you cannot define
neither as bad or as good (or which can be bad or good depending on the
circumstances).
Step 5 Work in pairs: let each participant find a friend with whom to discuss his/her
personal assessment results. You may use “World Coffee Method” found in the
Book of Guidelines and Checklists. Practice listening skills and try to
encourage other to work towards overcoming personal limitations and
challenges. Give examples from your background experience (how you have
managed to solve a problem or improve a personal trait).
Step 6 Change partners and receive another feedback. In the best case scenario try
to communicate with all peers (or at least with half of them).
Step 7 Make a mapping of the qualities, competences and skills of the whole group,
based on each individual assessment. Analyze what are your strengths and
weaknesses as a group, what are your prevailing competences and skills and
where you may need external help.

Step 8 As a final step: Discuss and formulate personal and group goals for your peer
coaching sessions considering the insights that your gathered about each
participants’ skills, competences and interests. Analyze the feasibility of those
goals and what you may need to achieve them.
Goal setting worksheet

Name Intention Specific Measurable Attainable Time

based
What do you What? How will Is this goal By when do
want to Why? changes be achievable? I want to
achieve? Where? measured? achieve my
When? What data is goal and my
needed? objectives?
 SESSION 2
Introducing the Social Entrepreneurship concept. Defining the Social
Challenge.

Step 1 Initiate discussion on issues that are relevant for the

community/ society you are part of (example: youth
unemployment, high crime rate, drug abuse, obesity, poor
level of education, lack of citizen initiative etc.)
Step 2 List all the challenges (problems) that the participants have
outlined.
Step 3 Group the challenges/issues into several broad categories. You may do this on
a flipchart or on sheets of colored paper (one color for one group of challenge).
Those groups could be: 1) Economic challenges. 2) Environmental challenges,
3) Cultural or educational challenges or more specific such as: 1) Youth
inactivity/ lack of initiative, 2) Issues related to social exclusion, 3) Health
hazards etc.
Step 4 Reach agreement to focus on one specific groups from the list above
Step 5 Within this group, try to find The Challenge that you all think is more
important to be tackled or best suits your competences, expertise and interests
(identified in the previous Session)

Step 6 Research and present any information that you may think is relevant to the
chosen challenge
Step 7 Use a framework of questions to define your challenge in details:

 What? What exactly is The Challenge? What is its characteristics? What

are the consequences on people affected by it?
 Who? Who is the affected population? What do you know about those
people (economic, national, cultural, educational, ethnic, religious,
behavioral background and patterns)? Does it affect some more than
others? Who are most vulnerable and why?
 Where? Where are the affected groups of people?

 Why? What is the root cause of the challenge? Understanding the root
causes for the problem (the social issue) is one of the most important
task towards finding solution. The cause for a bad outcome usually lies
beneath what can be seen and needs to be traced as deep as possible.
Use Inverted Ishikawa diagram to visualize the root of the problem. Use
brainstorming and let everyone share ideas about possible roots
(causes) and impacts
  How? How exactly those “roots” identified above, affect the people?
What are the pathways/ the causal relations between the roots and the
outcomes?
Examples of Inverted Ishikawa Diagram (Empty and Filled-in)

Source: Chahine, 2016

Examples of social problems typical for the region:

Africa South America Europe

• Health hazards • High migration • Youth
• Poverty/ Hunger • Unemployment unemployment
• Inequality and • Regional desparities
discrimination
• Crime rate
• Domestic violence • Corruption • Corruption
• Crime / physical violence • Poor education • Migration
• Unemployment • Poverty • Elderly care
• Lack of quality
education

:
 Step 8 Make the problems visible and tangible. Tools for visibility: mapping,
storyboard, photos and videos. You may get more creative by drawing pictures,
composing music score or writing a short essay/ poem about how you see the
problem in a more artistic way.

Step 9 Introduce the concept of Social Entrepreneurship (See the Young Social
Entrepreneurship Book of Guidelines and Checklists). You may use additional
resources such as video clips, articles, podcasts etc.
Step 10 Discuss the Social Entrepreneurship process as a whole:

Finding
Defining the Engaging
Solution/ Social
Social Challenge Stakeholders
Innovation

Business Providing Organizing and

planning Funding Management

Marketing/ Measuring the Growth and

Reaching People Imact Expansion

Step 11 Give several examples for social enterprises (on local and international level).
Consider businesses that you are all familiar with and best practices from
around the world. Let everybody contribute with information or personal
experience (if relevant). There might be peers who have already worked for a
social enterprise. Give them opportunity to talk in details and to answer
questions posed by other peers.
Step 12 Research on internet other examples for social business initiatives. You may
leave this activity as a homework and do the follow-up on the next day or
continue the discussion in on-line forum groups and platforms
 SESSION 3
Finding Solutions through Social Innovations
Step 1 Remember that if you want the right answer, you have to start
by asking the right question. So, the first step in finding
solution is once again revising the results from the previous
Session (defining the Challenge).

Step 2 Analyze the stakeholders: who are the players who have
interests in solving the problem? Those could be any
individuals, communities, organizations, businesses, police
makers or social enterprises that are affected by the problem, or could assist
fining solution. When we know whom to address, it’s easier to find what to do.

Step 3 Start discussing different possible solutions for the challenge you have
outlined in the previous Session. You can come up with solutions using
various creative thinking methods such as:
 Brainstorming
 Mind mapping
 Daydreaming
 Role playing
 Story boarding
 Delphi method etc.
Step 4 Collect a pool of ideas for possible solutions.
Step 5 Apply innovative approach by mixing different perspectives, experimenting
with ideas, analyzing various options and scenarios etc.
Step 6 As an extension to this SESSION you may try to make “Calls for ideas” (by
asking wider range of people to suggest ideas, for example via social media.) or
stage a competition
Step 7 Conceptualize the solution: Define all tangible and intangible details of your
solution. Is it going to be a: product or a service or may be a process of doing
things in a new way? The solutions may also come in other forms such as
innovative way of reaching more people (distribution) or new opportunity for
financing a social activity. Examples of solutions:
- Providing products or services for disadvantaged groups/
individuals
- Providing employment/ job opportunities/ education or trading
- Raising social awareness for environmental or social issue

- Activities that promotes social inclusion or support equality, fair

trade or social justice
 - Improved system of distribution of goods or services for
marginalized target groups or those in remote geographical
regions
Step 8 Analyze local resources: What is the current situation (political, financial,
social, technological, legislative) in your country/ region? Is there a good
network of suppliers who can be used for your solution? What is the aptitude
of the human resources? Are there enough people with a suitable profile to
work for your social venture? What is the state of the local infrastructure?
Step 9 Test your solution: Testing is important because you may see whether your
solution is feasible and can be implemented in practice. During the training
session you may design a possible scenario for your social innovation, but it
is recommended that afterwards you create an actual prototype of your
product/service/ process and try to test it in a small scale setting (within a
controlled target group)

Game: Development of a social enterprise product

Time: approx. 20 minutes

Description: Place on a table

various miscellaneous products
(example: bread, pasta, soaps,
candles, toys, books, clothes,
flowers, bottles of water etc.). The
participants are divided into two or
more teams

Instructions: Ask the teams to:

 Review and evaluate the

quality of the products and their characteristics.

 Discuss how these products can be used for solving social

problems in a traditional and innovative way/ how they could be
used for helping vulnerable or disadvantaged people

 Think about suitable target groups for each of the product

 Set a price and outline marketing strategy for the products (how
to reach the target customers – promotion, distribution etc.)
 SESSION 4

From Solution to Social Enterprise. Business Planning of the New Venture: Legal
aspects and Funding

Step 1 Make a smooth transition to the new topic: The Solution

(conceptualized in the previous Session) is the focal point for
creating a new business venture. The social enterprise is
launched with the main idea to fulfill social purposes and to
provide services, products or employment for disadvantaged
group of people or to solve existing social or environmental
issues.

Step 2 Considering the designed solution think about two possible options: creating
a new company or working within existing structure. What are the
opportunities and limitations before each of these options? If you decide to find
a partner organization where and how can you seek for it and what
characteristics should it have?

Step 3 Discuss various legal forms for creating a social venture. Take into
consideration the legal environment in your own country, as well as the world
trends. See the Book of Guidelines and Checklists for further details. Possible
legal forms:
 Social enterprise
 Non-profit (example: foundation, charitable organization,
trusts etc.)
 For-profit company
 Hybrid structure
 Cooperative
 Part of SCR division in a bigger company
Step 4 Make comparison between “for profit” and “non- profit” options (advantages
and disadvantages in general and in your particular case)

Step 5 Draw a table focusing on some aspects of various legal options for new social
venture:

Ownership Access to Funding Accountability/ Management Taxes Others

funding capital Flexibility Issues exemptions

For-profit
company

Non Profit

Social
enterprise

Other:……
…..
 Step 6 Think about the money: How much money you will need to have before
launching the venture and how the activities of your company will be financed?
What will be your main sources of income (example: sales of goods and
services, sponsorships and donations etc.). Some funding sources include:

 Self – financing (own money)

 Loans (banks, investment funds,
friends and relatives, business
angels)
 Sponsorship/ Donations
 Grants (Governmental, Regional
(Example: EU funds),
International)
 Awards
 Crowdfunding
 Others
Step 7 Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each of the funding
mechanisms listed above. Select one or several that best relates to your
company and business environment that you are going to operate in.

Step 8 List several funding sources that are available to you. Find contacts and plan
to contact several potential funders to discuss whether their requirements are
good fit for you and your social company.

Step 9 Research and analyze “crowdfunding” as an innovative approach towards

microfinancing. Visit web sites of crowdfunding platforms and discuss the
possibility to raise funding capital with them. Examples: kiva.org, vested.org,
startsomegood.com, fondly.com, indiego.com, rockethub.com, pozible.com,
razoo.com

Step 10 Research about grant opportunities available for you. Use the resources from
national or regional programs, foundations, organizations and the
government. Make initial contacts with representatives of the grant providing
institutions. Consider possible costs and disadvantages (in terms of time,
accountability requirements etc.)

Step 11 Can you seek funding from capital endowment campaign? Discuss
opportunities and possible limitations

Step 12 Draft a provisional business plan of your future social venture using a
Business plan canvas (find examples in the Internet)
 SESSION 5
Management and Marketing of the Social Enterprise
Step 1 Think in details about your vision, mission and values:
 What change I want to make?
 How my venture will improve the world?
 What are the values that my business will promote?
Step 2 Draft a mission statement
Step 3 Think about your Team:
 What type of people I need if I want to reach my goals? How many?
 Where can I find them?
 How can I recruit, select and attract the right team members?
 Shall I try to attract volunteer workers? What will be the ratio between
paid and unpaid stuff in this case
 What will be the human resource structure of my company?
 Who will be on charge and how the responsibilities between the team
members will be divided?

Step 4 Draft several job descriptions and/or job ads for the key positions in your
company. What qualities and expertise are you looking for? Who will be your
ideal candidates? How you will persuade them to work for you (what is your
offer)?
Step 5 Think about the initial and ongoing training that you should provide to your
employees. How can you assure the quality of their performance?
Step 6 How I can motivate your workers to do their best for the company?
Step 7 Discuss the possibility to attract volunteers:
 Are there volunteer organizations around you that you could contact?
 What benefits you could provide to the volunteer workers?
 What is the possible downsides from working with volunteers?

 Is there legislative issues you should consider when working with

volunteers (signing volunteer contracts, providing social benefits and
insurances etc.)
Step 8 Will you hire people from disadvantaged groups? If yes, how will you ensure
that their specific requirements are met? (for example: working with people
with disabilities may require special medical assistance, provision of facilities
and environment suitable for their needs. You may need additional resources
to accommodates their needs)
Step 9 Conduct a marketing research and analysis, including:
 - Who are your target customers?
- What is the main characteristics of your target group?
- How many people do you want to reach?
- Where are those people?

Step 10 Draft a Marketing Mix of your company, using some of the existing marketing
models (Four Ps, Six Cs, Six Ps etc.) Example:

Product Price Place Promotion

•What is the main product •What is the perceived •How can I reach my •What will be my
offer? value for the customers? customers? advertising
•What is the uniqe selling •What are the prices of •What distribution
points/ competitive the similar products on
strategy?
network should I •How to increase
advantage the market?
build?
•What will be the •What is the purchasing awareness about
branding strategy? capabilities of the target •Is there an existing
my company's
market? one that I can use?
mission
•What can I do to make •Where my products
my product affordable will be sold and •What will be my
for my customers (ex. transported? promotion
discounts) communicatin? Via
•What is the exisitng
•Can my products be free what channels?
for those in need? chains of suppliers and
retailers?

Step 11 Consider social media and social network as possible communication and
distribution channels. Discuss advantages and disadvantages of:
 Blogs
 Facebook/ Instagram/ Flickr/
Skype/ Twitter
 YouTube
 Skype
 Discussion boards and web forums
 SESSION 6
Measuring Impact and Scaling for Growth

Step 1 Think once again about the change that you want to make
with your social company. How you will know if you have
reached your ultimate goal?
Step 2 How your impact will be measured? Set index values
(qualitative and quantitative) that you would like to achieve.
Step 3 How you will track your short-term progress to make sure
that you are heading on the right path?
Step 4 Consider the following indices to measure the social impact of your venture:
 Volume of produced/sold/donated goods and services
 Number of jobs created
 Number of target users reached by our activities
 Increased access to social services by marginalized and vulnerable
groups

 Percentage of growth (for positive change such as “green economy,

social inclusion, employment etc.) and decrease (for negative
phenomenon such as poverty level, illiteracy, obesity, pollution etc.)

Step 5 Research the Impact Reporting and Investment Standards Library (IRIS) and
find metric unites suitable for your business/type of product/services.
Step 6 List the possible reasons for measuring the social impact. That will give you
motivation to be more accountable about your activities and how they impact
others around you.

Step 7 Think about the future: How can you increase the social impact of your
company? Consider those possible directions:
 Increasing the number of people you reach
 Increasing the outputs/ production
 Adding new product/services to your portfolio (diversification)
 Entering new markets/ new target groups

Step 8 How can you optimize your distribution in order to reach more people more
effectively?

Step 9 Discuss several best practice case studies of social enterprises with large scale
impact (Example: Aravind Eye Hospitals) and outline the approaches that help
them be successful in their endeavors.
Step 10 How will you plan to disseminate your success to benefit and inspire others?
Some suggestions include:
 Training courses and seminars
 Networking and pool of shared good practices
 Open source informational and training materials
 Technical support and consultations

Step 11 Do you plan to establish a strategic partnership with other organizations in

order to facilitate your growth?
Step 12 Do you consider franchising as a growth option for your know-how?
Step 13 What could be the possible risks, threads and limitation of the expansion of
your company?
Step 14 Do you plan engage in police-making, lobbying and building of advocacy
platforms to induce more changes on legislative level or by setting new trends
within the society and changing the old behavioral patterns?
Step 15 Based on everything that you have discussed during those six sessions, ask
the participants to indicate at least three steps that they will commit to take
during the next three months. Let them write them down and think about
them in details. The realistic and tangible goal is more likely to be achieved,
than the goals that are too vague and abstract. Remember that taking an
action is the right approach towards having something done, so every little
effort could add up in a long run. After all, even the longest journey starts with
one simple step.
Do this step today! Be the change maker of the future!
References

Bloom, P., Skloot, E,(2010), Scaling Social Impact. New Thinking, Palgrave
MacMillan
Chahine, Theresa (2016), Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship, CRC Press

Fayolle, A., Matlay, H. (2010), Handbook of Research on Social Entrepreneurship,

Edward Elgar Publishing

Murray R., Grice J-C., Mulgan G. (2010), The open book of social innovation, The
Young Foundation

Runcan P., Rata, G. (2014), Social economies and entrepreneurship, Cambridge

Scholars Publishing

Peer Coaching Resources, National Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative, CMS
(Centers for Medicare &Medicaid services), US Department of Health and Human
Services, 2015

Photo sources:
Source of cover photo: https://high5test.com/team-building-techniques-to-
motivate-employees/
http://anderscpa.com/hands-holding-lightbulb/
ICF, International Coach Foundation, 2015