Business Coaching Research Articles

Been around the block: Is the prior experience of coaches in the workplace helpful?

ABSTRACT While most business coaches have prior experience of a workplace, there is debate as to how this should, or does, contribute to their coaching. It is often considered that coaches should be an expert in the process of coaching, and not their client’s business. This study utilised an inductive design to explore the perception of the contribution of prior work experience through semi-structured interviews with 11 clients and 13 experienced coaches. The interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The data showed that both clients and coaches valued the coach having experience of working at a similar level. This helped establish credentials at the point of hiring, as well as providing authority and confidence during the coaching relationship. Such experience was also seen to give reference points and wisdom. However, while some participants saw advantages in the coach having a similar work background to the client (providing a common language and shared experiences), others considered that, while it was important that the coach had ‘been around the block’, this could be in a different work domain to the client. Clients also valued the wider experiences of a coach (such as artistic or socio-political) that brought creative insights and wider experiences.

The Impacts of Coaching on Innovative Food Business Performance: A Study of Indonesian Entrepreneurship Development Program

Business coaching has emerged as a prominent tool for enhancing organizational performance and individual development. Relying on the Goal-setting theory, this article uses qualitative method to provide an empirical study about the impacts of the GROW (Goals, Reality, Options, and Will) model of business coaching on product development, managerial improvement, and fulfilment of legal aspects on top of financial aspects for Indonesian micro and small food businesses. The study was conducted based on the results of the Indonesian Food Innovation (IFI) coaching program; an entrepreneurship development activity initiated by the Indonesian Ministry of Industry. The data in this study was gathered from the tracery study carried out by the IFI committee. Conducting an experiment method using comparative of pre- and post-activities, this research compares the participants’ business performance before vs. after coaching intervention, this study finds evidence of the significant positive impacts of business coaching on enhancing business performance, such as sales value and business valuation. The success of an entrepreneurship development program is determined by the insight into vital issues that are specifically often faced in a particular industry. Therefore, entrepreneurship development programs need to be customized according to the industry.

Uncovering the Hidden Variable: Corruption and the Underperformance of Zimbabwean Soccer Teams

This study investigates the factors contributing to the underperformance of Zimbabwean soccer teams, with a specific focus on the often-overlooked variable of corruption. Through a mixed-methods approach, combining statistical analysis and qualitative interviews, we identify the determinants of soccer success and propose strategies to address maladministration. Our findings suggest that corruption, alongside economic performance, talent pool size, experience, culture, and political factors, plays a significant role in national soccer team performance. However, the literature lacks exploration of these factors in the African context. Our research reveals a lack of clear strategic planning processes, inadequate governance structures, and limited financial incentives in Zimbabwean soccer clubs. We recommend education and training, business coaching, ethical leadership, transparency, accountability, and punitive measures for corruption to improve soccer development in Zimbabwe. This study contributes to the understanding of soccer development in Africa and highlights the need for urgent reforms to address corruption and maladministration in sports management.

The coach bots are coming: exploring global coaches’ attitudes and responses to the threat of AI coaching

ABSTRACT Artificial intelligence (AI) in business coaching, as in other human resource development professional service roles, opens up the possibility of multiple chances, such as cost- and time-effective gains. However, as AI can act autonomously and may surpass human performance, it can both lead to unforeseen risks as well as create a threat for professional service workers, including business coaches. Using a within-subject threat manipulation design, the present research investigated whether business coaches (N = 436; from over 50 different countries) respond to the topic of AI in coaching with heightened threat-related affective states and how this change affects their attitude towards the topic. Expectedly, the topic evoked higher behavioral inhibition and lower behavioral activation threat-related affective states, leading to lower curiosity in and a more negative opinion of AI in coaching. Theoretical and practical implications are addressed to lower the coaches’ threat-related affective states towards AI application in professional services. A hybrid approach between responsible AI and an ethically skilled and professionally trained coach is recommended.

Fragetypen zur Lösungsentwicklung im Business Coaching – Eine gesprächsanalytisch motivierte Untersuchung ihrer sprachlichen, frage- und interaktionstypspezifischen Charakteristika

Abstract According to coaching literature, coaches’ questions serve as a central intervention to support clients’ learning and development, i. e., solution-generation and change. To date, there is very little empirical research regarding coaching-specific questions and how they function as agents of change in this professional helping format. The few available psychological coaching outcome studies address ‘solution-focused questions’ due to its (theoretical) endemic orientation towards identifying solutions. Linguistic research, drawing on (methods of) Conversation Analysis, has only recently started to address coaching as a field of scientific inquiry. This paper builds on the scant available research and focusses on questions that support solution generation as the ‘target actions’ of question sequences. These question types are sequence-initiating actions that are intended to generate ideal solution projections and to help identify client’s resources or hindrances; they also focus on solution strategies and measures to find solutions as well as the interim results within the client’s change process. The goal of this contribution is to document and analyze the formal, functional, thematic, and semantic features of questions that generate solutions in business coaching and – on this basis of this analysis – to describe their interaction- and question-type specificities, something which has hitherto not been done. The data analysed here are 12 audio-/video-recorded and transcribed sessions from three authentic coaching processes that form part of a larger corpus of systemic solution-oriented business coaching in German.

Measuring Satisfaction of Islamic Business Coaching Towards Small Business in the Post-Pandemic Era

Measuring Satisfaction of Islamic Business Coaching Towards Small Business in the Post-Pandemic Era

Resisting wh-questions in business coaching.

This study investigates clients' resisting practices when reacting to business coaches' wh-questions. Neither the sequential organization of questions nor client resistance to questions have yet been (thoroughly) investigated for this helping professional format. Client resistance is understood as a sequentially structured, locally emerging practice that may be accomplished in more passive or active forms, that in some way withdraw from, oppose, withstand or circumvent various interactional constraints (e.g., topical, epistemic, deontic, affective) set up by the coach's question. Drawing on a corpus of systemic, solution-oriented business coaching processes and applying Conversation Analysis (CA), the following research questions are addressed: How do clients display resistance to answering coaches' wh-questions? How might these resistive actions be positioned along a passive/active, implicit/explicit or withdrawing/opposing continuum? Are certain linguistic/interactional features commonly used to accomplish resistance?. The analysis of four dyadic coaching processes with a total of eleven sessions found various forms of client resistance on the active-passive continuum, though the more explicit, active, and agentive forms are at the center of our analysis. According to the existing resistance 'action terminology' (moving away vs. moving against), moving against or 'opposing' included 'refusing to answer', 'complaining' and 'disagreeing with the question's agenda and presuppositions'. However, alongside this, the analysis evinced clients' refocusing practices to actively (and sometimes productively) transform or deviate the course of action; a category which we have termed moving around.

Entrepreneurial Competencies, Business Coaching and Business Success among Women Micro-entrepreneurs

The critical contribution of women micro-entrepreneurs to the growth and development of micro-businesses worldwide, particularly in Malaysia, cannot be overstated. These women generate income and employment opportunities, critical to economic progress. However, to ensure their continued success, it is essential to identify the key factors that contribute to this achievement. Additionally, the role of women micro-entrepreneurs has evolved, and they now require additional competencies beyond their traditional skill set to meet the challenges of the business world. Therefore, business coaching is an indispensable tool for enhancing these competencies, directly influencing their business success. For this study, we employed quantitative research methods to test sixteen hypotheses related to entrepreneurial competencies and the perceived usefulness of business coaching in influencing the business success of women micro-entrepreneurs. The data was collected through a selfadministered questionnaire completed by 261 women micro-entrepreneurs who participated in business coaching sessions. We used a cluster sampling technique to select the samples. Our findings showed that women microentrepreneurs typically start businesses between the ages of thirty-one and forty to achieve work-life balance and support their families. Many have children aged five to twelve and limited education, making entrepreneurship more appealing than traditional employment. Over half of the women micro-entrepreneurs had launched a business before and faced challenges sustaining their ventures. Moreover, our study demonstrated that commitment, conceptual, opportunity, and relationship competencies significantly influenced the business success of women micro-entrepreneurs, making them critical predictors of their success. This study also found that the perceived usefulness of business coaching plays a moderating role in the relationships of strategic, commitment, conceptual, and relationship competencies toward the business success of women micro-entrepreneurs. Therefore, strategic, commitment, conceptual, opportunity, and relationship competencies, along with the perceived usefulness of business coaching, are critical to the business success of women micro-entrepreneurs in Malaysia.

The effect of positive psychology on business

This paper explores and establishes a link between positive psychology coaching and business outcomes by investigating the benefits to employees, their well-being, job satisfaction, and organizational performance. The mixed-methods research design involved a quantitative survey involving 200 employees from various industries and qualitative input through semi-structured interviews with 20 managers. The study sought to establish empirical evidence (through statistical data and measurement scales) to support the benefits of positive psychology coaching in business through meeting key criteria and to illustrate the impact of positive psychology coaching on business outcomes both quantitatively and qualitatively. Generally, the findings indicate that there is a strong and positive benefit to implementing positive psychology coaching in the workplace environment, evidently enhancing employee well-being (mean score of 4.2), job satisfaction (mean score of 4.0), and organizational performance (mean score of 4.1). The qualitative analysis provided deeper insights into the process and types of positive psychology coaching interventions that stood out and were more effective. This strategy of thematic analysis on interview transcripts revealed that strengths-based development and goal-setting seemed to be key positive psychological interventions. The findings support existing literature and key theoretical models, such as the PERMA model and the Broaden-and-Build Theory.

The Incubation and Business Development Program for Students of University of North Sumatra (USU)

The Business Incubation and Development Program for USU Students aims to create new independent entrepreneurs based on science and technology, enhance the network between university entrepreneurship and the community, industry, and other institutions, and establish a suitable entrepreneurial guidance model for PMW/P2MW students, those initiating business ventures. This program is slated to run for 3 (three) years, from 2023 to 2025. In its inaugural year, it will nurture 20 (twenty) tenants, consisting of 1 (one) P2MW student and 19 (nineteen) PMW students forming 18 groups who are venturing into new businesses. The program begins with the Pre-Immersion Phase, involving the recruitment process for participants (tenants), followed by training encompassing 3 (three) stages: Product Design Training, Creativity and Business Innovation Training, Design Thinking and Business Model Training. Subsequently, participants undergo the Immersion Phase, engaging in internships at SMEs, followed by the Post-Immersion Phase involving business coaching, mentoring, business gatherings, curation, demo day, pitching, and concluding with program monitoring and evaluation. The output of this KBM program aims to generate 5 (five) new student entrepreneurs.

Less social media use – more satisfied, work-engaged and mentally healthy employees: an experimental intervention study

ABSTRACTIntensive Social Media Use (SMU) can negatively impact employees’ work performance and mental health. The present experimental study investigated how a reduction of daily SMU time influences employees from different professional sectors in Germany. The experimental group (N = 84; age: M = 29.38, SD = 5.84) reduced its non-work-related SMU by 30 min daily for seven days; the control group (N = 82; age: M = 30.06, SD = 8.39) used Social Media (SM) as usual. Work-related variables and mental health-related variables were assessed via online surveys at three measurement time points (baseline; post-intervention; one-week follow-up). The intervention significantly reduced the experience of work overload, stress symptoms, fear of missing out and addictive SMU. Work satisfaction, work engagement and positive mental health increased significantly. The present findings reveal that less time spent on SMU leads to increased work motivation and higher levels of mental health. Employers and employees should take the present findings into account. Business coaching programmes, mental health promotion programmes and clinical interventions could benefit from the integration of a controlled reduction of SMU time.

Strategi Meningkatkan Kinerja Produk Ayam melalui Pengembangan Kanvas Model Bisnis

ALIO (name abbreviated for confidentiality) is one of a medium-scale enterprise in Indonesia that engaged in the chicken trading business in Jakarta with the store name is ALIO. This business sells broiler, red, and parent stock chickens. Even though it has been established since 1976, it turns out that the business is still managed in a traditional way so that there were no breakthroughs. Our study aims at analyzing the business model canvas of chicken ALIO. We conducted the study between December 2022 and March 2023. We conducted a business model evaluation based on the SWOT questionnaire (Osterwalder and Pigneur 2020). The findings show that the strength-opportunity level is around 71% and the weakness-threat level is around 63%. This indicated gaps in both sides. The 71% SO needed enhancement. The 63% WO needs reductions. The business coaching approach has resulted in better formation of the business model canvas. The improvement in SO level has become 84% and the improvement of WO level has become 24%. This improvement is a manifestation of adaptive business model to respond to the changing business environment and to enhance business performance. This case study with a business coaching approach has facilitated the process of solving business problems in a focused and involving related entrepreneurs.

Virtual Collaboration Technology and International Business Coaching: Examining the Impact on Marketing Strategies and Sales

This paper studies the impact of international business coaching via virtual collaboration technology on the strategies and sales of emerging market entrepreneurs.

Transformational Games as a Tool for Developing Students' Effective Communication Skills

Purpose of the study. The skill of effective communication is not only the most important component in the activities of a qualified specialist, but also makes everyday communication more trusting, less aggressive and dependent. This is confirmed by the research of domestic and foreign scientists, business coach programs, and the practical work of coaching and consulting specialists. The purpose of our work is a theoretical and experimental study of the use of transformational games as a tool for developing students' effective communication skills. The article examines the skill of effective communication of students according to various criteria. The results of the application of the program for the development of effective communication skills of students using transformational games are shown. Methods. The methodology of «Diagnostics of communicative tolerance» by V. V. Boyko is designed to determine to what extent people are able to show tolerance to other people in business and interpersonal communication. The test «Communicative skills» of Mikhelson L. in the modification of Gilbukh Y.Z. we used to determine the level of communicative competence and the quality of formation of basic communicative skills. To study the ability to showempathy, the «Emotional Response Scale» technique is used (A. Mehrabyan, modification by N. Epstein). In the formative part of our work, we used transformational negotiation games «The Red Rose Effect. The best techniques of persuasion» and «Say NO». Results. it was revealed that a significant number of students have difficulties in managing emotions that negatively affect interpersonal communication. Testing showed that the majority of students have an average level of general communicative tolerance. Students use aggressive (oppressive behavior) and dependent (insecure behavior) positions in communication. A significant number of students demonstrate a low level of response with feelings, which makes it difficult to contact people around them. Conclusion. Thus, purposeful work is needed to develop students' communication skills. For this purpose, we have developed a program for developing students' effective communication skills using transformational games, the effectiveness of which has been proven in practice and statistically.

Проектирование прикладного программного продукта распознавания и оценки эмоций с использованием нейронной сети

During the analysis of the most common architectures for building neural networks for image analysis – a direct convolutional layer, a recurrent neural network, a convolutional neural network – the authors determined that the last architecture option for the task is the most suitable. The solutions available on the market, although they allow us to recognize emotions, do not evaluate them, and this is an important result for a wide variety of tasks, because such an assessment allows us to more accurately predict the possible future behavior of both individuals and groups of people. The purpose of this article is to design an application software product (application) and develop a prototype that could perform the functions of analyzing emotions and evaluating them. The objectives of this study include the choice of the architecture of the designed application; the development of an algorithm for the operation of the application; the design of the user interface; a description of the neural network learning process and its results, the model of which was defined in the previous article; demonstration of the prototype (control example). The scientific novelty of the projected application lies in the formation of an assessment of the psycho-emotional state of those people whose images of their faces were evaluated. Such an assessment with recommendations can be widely demanded in various branches of human activity, since it is important to be able to express emotions not only to ordinary people, but also to those whose job is to transfer their emotional state to others: business coaches, journalists, actors, animators, dancers, etc. The presence of emotional intelligence is very important at the moment time.

Teaching social business to Thai students: A case of LGBTIQ+ social business

This paper examined the learning experiences of a group of undergraduate business students from a Thai business school in a social business course. The key point to examine in this study is learning and teaching approaches for social business education that can promote understanding of gender diversity. To understand the experiences of stakeholders in social business education, a qualitative approach was adopted wherein students, teaching staff and social entrepreneurs engaged with the researcher in a real-time, hands-on social business environment. We collected secondary data from assignments, feedback, and presentations from students and their social business coaches. We also collected primary data in the form of personal interviews with two social entrepreneurs who coached students in this course. The results suggest that the development of pedagogy for social business requires multidisciplinary collaboration and codesign among course coordinators, teachers, social business, and students. We also summarized four appropriate learning approaches, LGBTIQ + social business, in the Thai higher education context: advocacy, problem-based, research-based and practical-operational approaches. We suggest that social business should also be taught by academic staff and industry representatives to help students in the learning process. This study also suggests that a student-centered approach can help students synergize social impacts with the financial returns of social business by adopting inquiry-based activities, role plays, and talking with LGBTIQ + social entrepreneurs.

The responsible business model canvas: designing and assessing a sustainable business modeling tool for students and start-up entrepreneurs

PurposeBusiness model (BM) canvases have been used in educational institutions and business incubators for over a decade to assist students and start-up entrepreneurs in developing their business projects. Given the urgency of tackling sustainability challenges, several tools have emerged to stimulate sustainable business modeling (SBM). However, these tools are often too complex for nonexperts in business modeling or sustainability, and thus insufficiently user-friendly for educational contexts. This study aims to address this pedagogical gap by describing the design process of the responsible business model canvas (RBMC).Design/methodology/approachThe authors relied on a design science research methodology involving the active participation of end users, entrepreneurship educators, business coaches and external partners. The authors proposed four criteria and ten subcriteria to analyze existing SBM canvases based on their user-friendliness and to design the initial prototype of the RBMC. The RBMC was subsequently tested in various settings, including classroom assignments and business incubation programs, with over 1,000 university students. The tool was refined and assessed throughout the development process, incorporating feedback from focus groups with start-up entrepreneurs.FindingsThrough the development process, the authors created a user-friendly tool to help novice student and start-up entrepreneurs integrate sustainability into their BMs: the RBMC. The canvas consists of 14 building blocks grouped into four areas: consistency (mission, vision, values), desirability (value propositions, customer segments, users and beneficiaries, customer relationships and channels), feasibility (key activities, key resources, key partners and stakeholders and governance) and viability (cost structure, revenues streams, negative impacts and positive impacts).Research limitations/implicationsThe research methods and user-friendliness criteria in this study can be applied in other contexts to design tools to support sustainable entrepreneurship education. While the RBMC is currently being used in several educational institutions throughout the world, its impacts in different pedagogical and cultural settings require further validation.Practical implicationsThe RBMC is a user-friendly tool to introduce students and start-up entrepreneurs to SBM. It helps raise users’ awareness about sustainability concerns, challenging them to consider issues they might have otherwise overlooked. Some participants even shifted their outlook and were motivated to develop a long-term vision integrating compensatory, mitigative or corrective actions into their BMs.Originality/valueThe RBMC is the outcome of a balanced approach that combines both pragmatic (i.e. user-friendliness) and normative (i.e. sustainability) perspectives. It provides users with a systematic approach for integrating and applying sustainability issues in their business projects.

Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behavior Coaching Intervention for Promoting College Students’ Financial Risk Tolerance and Attitudes Towards Financial Risk

In this study, we reported the effect of an online business coaching intervention based on the rational-emotive and cognitive behavior therapy coaching (RE-CBT coaching) approach that was tested to determine if it can improve college students’ financial risk tolerance and attitudes towards financial risk. The researchers used an open label, group randomized control design. During the study, fifty-four participants were part of the online business coaching group, whereas fifty-three participants were part of the control group. Prior to and immediately after the coaching program, as well as three months later, quantitative data was collected. Posttest data based on test of between-subjects effects revealed that online business coaching program based on RE-CBT coaching approach was significantly helpful in the improvement of students’ financial risk tolerance and attitudes toward financial risk compared to control group. Follow-up data based on test of between-subjects effects further revealed that the significantly helpful effects of online business coaching program based on RE-CBT coaching approach on students’ financial risk tolerance and attitudes toward financial risk were sustained when compared to control group. According to the findings, online business coaching based on RE-CBT coaching approach has the potential to enhance the financial risk tolerance and attitudes toward financial risk among college students.

Online, offline, or both? The importance of coaching format for side effects in business coaching

PurposeAccelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, in recent years, face-to-face coaching has largely shifted to online coaching. The authors examined both the side effects of and coaching success in face-to-face, blended and online coaching from both coaches' and clients' perspectives. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned examination.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted two independent studies to examine the differences between the side effects of face-to-face, blended and online coaching. In Study 1 (N = 119), the authors compared the side effects of these formats using a quasi-experimental design and tested differences in perceived coaching success from the coaches' perspective. In Study 2 (N = 104), the authors integrated the client perspective on the side effects of coaching formats into the design and tested the differences.FindingsCoaches in the face-to-face format experienced a significantly lower prevalence of side effects for their clients compared to coaches who engaged in the blended and online coaching formats. From the client perspective, clients experienced the most side effects of the blended coaching format. Neither study showed any differences between the coaching formats in perceived coaching success.Practical implicationsThe results provide guidance to practitioners in choosing the most suitable coaching format for themselves. Being aware of side effects in coaching can help both coaches and clients take appropriate measures to mitigate the impact of these effects.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to expand knowledge about side effects in coaching across different coaching formats from both coaches' and clients' perspectives. The findings provide evidence regarding the context in which coaching is currently performed in a post-COVID world, with sustainability remaining a global concern and a key driver for organizations.

Hands up for homework: exploring inter-sessional activities in coaching

PurposeThe use of “homework”, activities outside of the classroom or session, is widely applied in a range of disciplines including teaching, therapy and training. The argument advanced by advocates is that it provides an opportunity to consolidate knowledge learnt in the classroom and develop mastery in an applied environment. However, the use of homework has not been widely discussed or researched within business coaching, which is a form of personal development. This exploratory study aims to examine whether homework, as a coaching intervention, may enhance the clients' learning experience.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from eight early career coaches and eight coaching clients. Not all clients were related to the coaches. Each client had experienced a minimum of three coaching sessions. Interviews were recorded and analysed using thematic analysis. The study explored the use of (1) client-led, (2) coach-led and (3) collaboratively developed homework during the engagements.FindingsThe findings indicated that homework is widely used and was perceived to have mixed effects. The positioning of the homework by the coach, including the terminology used to describe the activity, and the type of work can affect the level of engagement and thus the perceived value generated.Originality/valueThis is the first study to explore the nature of “homework” in coaching. More work is needed to better inform the use of “homework” in coaching practice, including the type of work and how this is agreed with different types of clients, for example, should homework be coach, collaborative or client led?