Coaches’ use of directive and non-directive conversational approaches and implications for entrepreneurs’ development
Entrepreneurs are a unique type of business professional. The entrepreneur requires specific support to aid their personal and professional development and to improve venture performance. While there is a wealth of literature around entrepreneurial development, there is very little that explores what happens during a dyadic coaching session. In previous decades, entrepreneurship research has focused on forming and applying entrepreneurial activity. What is less researched is how entrepreneurs are engaged and supported in their development to achieve these objectives. This study explores the coach's use of directive and non-directive conversational approaches with the explicit aim of facilitating an entrepreneur's development in Entrepreneur Development Programmes (EDPs). Furthermore, understanding what constitutes directive and non-directive conversational approaches is also not clear in the literature. Research into how coaches in EDPs use directive and non-directive approaches was undertaken using qualitative comparative case study research involving a university EDP and a business accelerator EDP. This study used a multi-method approach comprising 24 interviews, researcher-generated photo-elicitation, card-sort technique, non-participant observation and documentary analysis. The results show that coaches adopt a coaching style aligned to delivering on the EDP's processes and the EDP's learning outcomes. By using a particular combination of directive and non-directive conversational approaches, coaches can facilitate entrepreneur self-directed emergent knowledge creation in ten developmental areas. This study demonstrates that the coaches enable this by using three coaching techniques that facilitate the transition from in-session cognitive processes to experiential learning opportunities that promote the entrepreneur's personal and professional development and venture improvement. This study advances work by Blakey and Day (2012), Clutterbuck, 2004, de Haan and Nilsson (2017), Downey (1999, 2003, 2014), Grant and Cavanagh (2018), Gravells (2004) and Heron (2001) on directive and non-directive approaches by providing an enhanced way to view the coach/mentor and client interaction. It draws attention to the implications of adopting directive or non-directive conversational approaches and thus encourages coaches/mentors to think about their ways of working adjusting their approach to support the entrepreneur more appropriately. Additionally, this study provides insight and presents a new tool to assess directive and non-directive conversational approaches that will aid practitioners in developing their skills. These findings contribute to the theory and practice of coaching to facilitate entrepreneurial development, with wider implications for coaching and mentoring as a discipline.
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