Chapter 10, Leadership
Four components of effective leadership (Fig. 9.3; components, descriptions)
Development of high skill, a strong work ethic, good rapport with people, enriched tactical knowledge
Antecedents of leadership (categories, characteristics)
Age and maturity- Older, more athletically mature athletes prefer coaches who are more autocratic and socially supportive. Preferences for training and instruction behavior decrease from early to senior year of high school but increase again at the university level./Sex- Males prefer training and instructive behaviors and an autocratic coaching style. Females prefer democratic and participatory coaching that allows them to make decisions./ Nationality-Cultural background may influence leadership preferences (e.g., United States, Britain, Canada, Japan)./ Type of sport- Participants in highly interactive sports (e.g., volleyball players) prefer an autocratic style more than participants in coaching sports (e.g., bowling) do.
Leadership selection strategies
Appointed or prescribed leaders are individuals appointed by some authority to a leadership position (e.g. health club, manager, coach, head athletic trainer). Emergent leaders are individuals who emerge from a group and take charge (e.g. captain of an intramural team, student leader of an exercise class.)
Psychological characteristics related to leadership
Athletes with internal locus of control show a strong preference for training and instruction, while athletes with external locus of control prefer more autocratic behaviors. Females high in trait anxiety prefer more positive and social support behaviors than their counterparts with low trait anxiety.
Integrity, flex Democratic vs. autocratic leadership styles (descriptions, research findings)
Autocratic leadership is one wherein a line of demarcation exists between the leader and his followers and all the decisions are taken by the leader solely. Democratic leadership alludes to a type of leadership in which the leader shares decision making power and other responsibilities with the group members. Research findings show that interactive sports athletes prefer coaches with autocratic leadership qualities and coactive sports (individual sports) prefer democratic leadership styles.
Smoll & Smith's (2001) behavioral guidelines for coaching young athletes
Based on 25 years of research, Smoll and Smith (2001) provide some guidelines for coaching young athletes:Provide reinforcement immediately after positive behaviors and reinforce effort as much as results. Give encouragement and corrective instruction immediately after mistakes. Emphasize what the athlete did well, and not what they did poorly. Do not punish athletes for mistakes. Fear of failure is reduced if you work to reduce fear of punishment. Do not give corrective feedback in a hostile, demeaning, or harsh manner.
Behavioral approach to leadership (description, example)
Behavioral Approach-Key question: What are the universal behaviors (not traits) of effective leaders? Leaders in non-sport setting results: Successful leaders use both consideration (focus on friendship, mutual trust, respect) and initiating (focus on rules, goals, and objectives) structures. Leaders in sport-instructional and demonstrational. Effective coaches focus on the positive while providing clear feedback and technical instruction. Coaches versus peer leaders-Coaches exhibit mostly training and instruction and autocratic behaviors. Peer leaders display social support, positive feedback, and democratic behavior. "NO BORN LEADERS"
Athletic leadership development (four outcomes/essential characteristics)
Development of high skill, a strong work ethic, good rapport with people, enriched tactical knowledge
Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (scales, research results)
CBAS (Coaching Behavior Assessment System) Facilitating positive coaching behaviors (reinforcement and mistake-contingent encouragement) ensures greater enjoyment, higher self-esteem, and lower dropout rates in young athletes.
Coaches vs. peer leaders (characteristics, behaviors)
Coaches exhibit mostly training and instruction and autocratic behaviors. Peer leaders display social support, supportive feedback, and democratic behavior.
Cognitive-mediational model (description, characteristics)
Cognitive-Mediational Model-Coach leadership behaviors are a function of their own personal characteristics, which are mediated by situational factors and the meaning athletes attribute to those coaching behaviors
Sport-specific interactional approaches to leadership (two models)
Cognitive-mediational model, Multidimensional model of sport leadership
Bill Parcells' qualities of successful leaders (qualities, descriptions)
Integrity, flexibility, loyalty, confidence, accountability, candor, preparedness, resourcefulness, self-discipline, and patience.
Interactive approach to leadership (description, example) Fiedler's contingency model (two types of leadership styles)
Interactional Approach-Personal and situational factors need to be considered in order to understand effective leadership. Implications-No one set of characteristics ensures successful leaders (but characteristics are important).Effective leadership styles or behaviors fit the specific situation.Leadership styles can be changed. Relationship-versus task-oriented leaders. A relationship-oriented leader focuses on developing and maintaining good interpersonal relationships; a task-oriented leader focuses on setting goals and getting the job doneThe effectiveness of an individual's leadership style stems from its matching the situation and the athletes involved in those situations.Relationship-oriented leaders are effective in moderately favorable situations.Task-oriented leaders are effective in very favorable or unfavorable situations
Leadership (definition, description)
Leadership is the process whereby an individual influences a group of people to achieve a common goal.
Leadership Scale for Sports (five dimensions; descriptions, characteristics)
Leadership scale for sport (LSS) dimensions: Training (instructive behaviors) Democratic behavior (decision-making style) Autocratic behavior (decision-making style) Social support (motivational tendencies) Positive feedback (motivational tendencies)
Multidimensional model of sport leadership (Fig. 9.2; antecedents, leader behaviors, consequences)
Multidimensional model- Leader effectiveness in sport can vary depending on the characteristics of the athletes, leader behaviors, and characteristics and constraints of the situation. Antecedents- Age and maturity, sex, nationality, type of sport, psychological characteristics.
Coaching Behavior Assessment System (two major categories of behavior; descriptions, characteristics)
Reactive behaviors-Reinforcement, Mistake-contingent encouragement, Mistake-contingent technical instruction, Punishment, Punitive technical instruction,Ignoring mistakes, Keeping control./ Spontaneous behaviors- General technical instruction, general encouragement, organization, general communication
Relationship-oriented and task-oriented leadership styles (effectiveness in favorable and unfavorable situations)
Relationship-oriented leaders are effective in moderately favorable situations. Task-oriented leaders are effective in very favorable or unfavorable situations
Consequences of leadership (categories, characteristics)
Satisfaction- Coach- compatibility in decision-making style, generous social support of the coach, rewarding, and democratic decisions are generally associated with higher satisfaction of athletes. Team sport athletes find positive coaching behaviors even more important than individual sport athletes do./ Cohesion-Coaches high in training and instruction, democratic behavior, social support, and positive feedback and low in autocratic behaviors have teams with greater cohesion. Exercise leaders exhibiting more task-related behaviors and providing task-specific reinforcements were associated with more cohesion exercise groups./ Performance-Losing teams need more social support from their leaders to sustain motivation
Situational approach to leadership (description, example)
Situational Approach-Effective leadership is much more dependent on characteristics of the situation than on the traits and behaviors of the leaders in those situations. This approach is not widely endorsed by itself, but it was more important in facilitating our understanding of leadership because it showed that situational features have a major influence on leader success.
Trait approach to leadership (description, example)
Trait Approach-Key question: What personality characteristics are common in great leaders? Results: Leaders have a variety of personality characteristics. There is no set of personality traits to make a successful leader. "LEADERS ARE BORN, NOT MADE"
Transformational (transformative) leadership (definition, description)
Transformational leadership occurs when the leader takes a visionary position and inspires people to follow that vision and supportively work with each other to excel. Transformational leadership involves having the ability to motivate and inspire followers to achieve new heights and accomplish more than they originally believed they could. Transformational leadership has been found to be more effective than transactional leadership that focuses on reinforcing and punishing relative to team tasks and monitoring follower performance.
Five primary styles of decision-making (styles, descriptions)
Visionary, Guardian, Motivator, Flexible, and Catalyst.