Coaching or mentoring entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs

The concept of the entrepreneur (or within an organisation, the intrapreneur) has much in common with leadership. Both are hard to define. Both have in recent years come to be seen as important parts of the competency mix for managers, even in sectors of public service, where finding creative ways around the rules was discouraged.

One of the most common developmental issues at senior levels is that the organisation wants a client to become more entrepreneurial. But what does that mean? And how do you facilitate someone in developing skills, which may be innate and/or personality-based?

We have found it useful to break down the entrepreneurial process, in such a way that the coach or mentor can help a client identify where they have instinctive capabilities and preferences, and where they need support from other people, who have different strengths. In other words, how can they establish a cooperative grouping, which will deliver the required entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial behaviours?

It seems from the literature on entrepreneurism that there are a number of capabilities required, each representing a different stage of the process. These include:

Opportunity recognition, which has two parts:

• Having innovative ideas. In the main, these are not blue-sky, off-the-wall, but extrapolative thinking – for example, seeing new applications for existing technologies, or seeing the potential for putting together two or more existing ideas or processes.
• Adapting ideas – moving from the theoretical to the practical. Here, the entrepreneur uses creativity and experience to find ways to turn the idea into a saleable product, a reproducible process and so on.

Coalition-building, which involves:

• Networking – finding and bringing together people who will provide advice and help develop the concept
• Alliance-building – the politics of gaining support from people, who will cooperate in making the project work

Development, which involves:

• Product development — the detail of making the product or process market-ready. Conceptual thinkers often have lots of ideas, but lack the patience and focus to carry them through. Product development may also include figuring out how to make money from the innovation.
• Route to market – developing a clear understanding of who will buy the product and why; of how to reach them; and of the psychology of the sale.

Resourcing, which involves acquiring:

• Funding – the financial wherewithal
• Permission – (in an intrapreneurial context, the sign-off from key resource holders in the organisation)
• Expertise (in the form of people and other stores of know-how)

Risk-management

It’s common to confuse the audacity and creativity of innovation with taking great risks. In reality, successful entrepreneurs tend to be relatively risk-averse. The risks they take are considered and calculated rather than instinct or reckless. Once a decision is taken, however, they are typically impatient to see it implemented.

Action-orientation, consisting of:

• Championing the changes – taking ownership for them, promoting them at every opportunity
• Inspiring others to action – instilling a sense of urgency in others
• “Stickability” –working through setbacks with determination
• Chasing change – ensuring that support is maintained, that barriers to making it happen are overcome

There are very good frameworks of decision-making (Kennedy), which follow a similar pattern and to some extent, the qualities of a good decision-maker are similar to those of an effective entrepreneur. Similarly, decision-making consists of a series of processes, in each of which the client may be relatively strong or weak.

How the coach or mentor can help

The immediate need of the client will usually be to work out what is lacking in their entrepreneurial/ intrapreneurial inclinations. The coach can help by discussing each stage of the entrepreneurial process and how the client approaches them. Some useful questions at each stage are:

Opportunity recognition

• Do you often wake up with original ideas?
• Do you frequently see potential new business opportunities?
• Do you habitually see possibilities where other people see problems?
• Do you easily combine ideas to produce a new approach or perspective?
• When and how do have you been an active participant in coming up with innovative ways forward?

• Do you see ways, in which half-thought through ideas could be turned into something more practical?
• Have you ever found ways to capitalise on ideas that didn’t work before, so that they will work in a different context?
• Do you find you can borrow from other areas of expertise to make an idea more workable?
• Do other people use you as a sounding board for their ideas?

Coalition building

• Do you find it easy to identify people, who might be useful to you?
• Do you usually know where to find a source of advice or help, for the business issues you encounter?
• Do you actively construct and maintain networks?
• Do other people want to be networked with you?

• Do you find it easy to identify what’s in it for other people, to collaborate with you?
• Do you enjoy the politics of keeping people “on side”?
• Do other people see you as a source of influence or opinion former?
• Do you often act as the bridge between groups with different interests?

Development

• Do you frequently work through and test the logic of proposed innovations?
• Do you enjoy working at an idea until it feels completely “right”?
• Are you good at following through the implications of ideas until you have mapped out all the details?
• Are you adept at “packaging” a concept or product so that it is professionally presented?

• Can you visualise clearly who will buy a new product and why?
• Do you systematically investigate and define the intended market?
• Do you have the skill to distinguish between what you would like to believe about the market and what the evidence says?
• Do you instinctively work your networks to find people, who will be intermediaries to the market?

Resourcing

• Can you usually find a “crock of gold” for something worthwhile?
• Can you persuade people, who hold the purse strings, to back your judgement?
• Are you good at getting things done on an inadequate budget?
• Do you find it easier to ask for a lot of money than for a little?

• Do you often work on the principle of seeking forgiveness rather than permission, when you know something needs to be done?
• Do you often maintain support for a project by tackling it through small increments, which appear less of a risk or threat?

• Do you have a good mental picture of the skills and experience of the people around you?
• Do you usually know where to turn for specific expertise, directly, or through your networks?
• Do you frequently make a mental or physical note of a resource that might prove useful in the future?
• Are you good at persuading other people to give you access to resources they control?

Risk management

• How would you describe your attitude towards taking risks?
• Do you have a good understanding of and skill in using risk management processes?
• Are you often taken by surprise by failures, which you had not imagined?
• Can you easily describe and quantify for your own and other people’s benefits the risks of failure and the risks of success?

Action-orientation

• Do you take visible ownership for projects or ideas you want to succeed?
• Do you take every opportunity to talk about them to relevant other people?
• Are you prepared to risk your own reputation by championing the project or idea?
• Do people typically see you as a leader or follower of change?

• Do you demonstrate a strong belief in ideas you espouse?
• Are you perhaps a little obsessive about them?
• Do you communicate a sense of urgency about the project or idea?
• Do you listen to and work with other people’s concerns about the implications of change?

• Do you get easily discouraged if nobody seems interested?
• Do you get easily distracted by the next new idea?
• How do you sustain your own enthusiasm as the project progresses?
• How do you decide when enough is enough?

• What strategies and processes do you use to sustain other people’s enthusiasm?
• Can you easily predict when projects or people are likely to “go off the boil” and take preventative action?
• Do you monitor progress closely without getting bogged down in detail?
• Do people keep you informed of progress or do you have to go find out?

Of course, there are other questions, which could equally throw light on these topics and the questions listed here are not intended to be a quantifiable diagnostic tool. The aim is to help the client recognise why they sometimes fail to turn good ideas into good outcomes and to develop practical ways for them to be more effective – and to be seen to be more effective — in the future.

At the same time, it is important to recognise that even the most successful entrepreneurs fail frequently; they gain their reputation because they are able to accept failures, move on and try again with something slightly different. It is often the volume of ideas taken through to action stage that distinguishes a true entrepreneur from an aspirant. So, having clarified with the client where their natural entrepreneurial inclinations are strongest, the coach can help with questions such as:

• How can you make sure there are more ideas to consider, even if you don’t create them yourself? (How can you encourage people to bring you more ideas?)
• What can you do to question established ways of doing things?
• What could you do to improve your networking skills?
• How can you identify and attract the right coalition partners?
• Who will flesh out the idea, if you don’t?
• What expertise do you need to tap into, to ensure there really is a market and that it is prepared for this idea?
• What’s your strategy for getting the money to make this happen?
• What’s your strategy for making it less threatening?
• What will your ideal team for this project look like?
• How will you establish and manage the risks?
• What behaviours would you expect from a change champion?
• How will you capture and sustain your own and other people’s enthusiasm?
• How will you get over the inevitable setbacks?

© David Clutterbuck, 2015

Prof David Clutterbuck
Coaching and Mentoring International Ltd
Woodlands, Tollgate,
Maidenhead,
Berks, UK. SL6 4LJ

www.coachingandmentoringinternational.org
e-mail: info@coachingandmentoringinternational.org
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