More Than Working Alliance

Abstract

The relationship between coach and client is an essential factor for coaching success. This coach-client relationship has previously been equated with the working alliance as the common agreement on tasks and goals, and the coach-client bond. As entrepreneurial coaching differs from other coaching formats due to the entrepreneurs’ close connection to their company and the coaches being considered sparring and networking partners, the coach-client relationship may go beyond the working alliance in entrepreneurial coaching. The following exploratory study investigated within a standardized business-related coaching process with business coaches the effect of different coaching relationship factors on the success of entrepreneurial coaching in a field setting. Therefore, 18 male entrepreneurs participated in a three-month coaching with questionnaires before and after the coaching process. The results indicate that not only working alliance in terms of tasks and goals but also perceived empathy, closeness, and perceived need supportive behaviour matter for coaching success, suggesting that entrepreneurial coaching may benefit from a relationship that goes beyond the working alliance. As this study is exploratory without a control design, future research is needed to test this finding with a bigger sample and with different control and experimental conditions. Particularly interesting would be to test it with a mixed-method approach with a more varied sample including entrepreneurs of different age, gender, and demographical background. In addition, future studies could investigate this going beyond the working alliance in other coaching contexts, such as team coaching and peer coaching.