Leadership in Sport

• Leadership


  The behavioural process of influencing individuals and groups towards set goals
• 4 factors that affect team cohesion (dynamics)


  • Leadership style
  • Personality-background, attitude, commitment, opinions
  • Environmental factors - location, group size, language
  • Team factors-how long teams been together, creation of partnership
• Prescribed Leaders


  Chosen by higher authority e.g. team manager
• Emergent Leaders


  Those who achieve leadership status by gaining the respect and support of the group
• Leadership Styles

  • Autocratic
  • Democratic
  • Autonomous
  • Laissez-faire
• Autocratic leadership


  • Task orientated, makes all decisions, didactic approach, command style for cognitive performers
• Democratic leadership


  • Makes some decisions, allows players to volunteer
• Autonomous leadership


  • Requires high level of trust, used with highly motivated and experienced performers, little input/decisions
• Laissez-faire leadership


  • Little group input/decisions, "laid back" approach, can lead to little group cohesion
• Theories of Leadership

  • Trait Theory
  • Social/Observational Learning Theory
  • Interactional Theory
• Trait Theory


  Leaders are born with traits and qualities to be a leader, leadership is innate
• Social/Observational Learning Theory

  Leaders are made, anyone can be taught, learned by observing behaviour of other good leaders
• Interactional Theory


  Interaction between individual and their situation, traits and environment interact
• Leader Behaviours

  • Relationship-orientated
  • Task-orientated
• Relationship-orientated leader


  • Focus on support, motivation, development of people on their team, encourage communication, more successful in moderate situations, develop respect and trust
• Task-orientated leader


  • Highly goal focused, complete tasks within deadlines, define roles of whole team, ensure members stay on task, effective with less experienced, less skilled performers
• Fielder's Contingency Model

  Correct leadership style is dependent on the favourability of the situation
• Situations in Fielder's Contingency Model

  • Most favourable
  • Moderately favourable
  • Least favourable
• Most favourable situation


  • Coach has good relationship with players, strong support, clear and structured discipline, excellent facilities, skilful and motivated athletes
• Moderately favourable situation


  • Coach has friendly relationship, accept most decisions, good discipline, limited facilities, reasonable relationship with group
• Least favourable situation


  • Coach not respected, poor discipline structure, poor facilities, no community support, poor relationships, poor performer ability and motivation, hostile environment
• Most favourable situation

  Task-orientated leader
• Moderately favourable situation


  Relationship-orientated leader
• Least favourable situation

  Task-orientated leader
• Chelladurai's Multidimensional Model of Leadership

  • Antecedents
  • Leader Behaviour
  • Consequences
• Antecedents in Chelladurai's Model


  • Situational Characteristics
  • Leader Characteristics
  • Member Characteristics
• Leader Behaviour in Chelladurai's Model


  • Required Behaviour
  • Actual Behaviour
  • Preferred Behaviour
• Consequences in Chelladurai's Model

  • Performance
  • Satisfaction
• Autocratic leadership


  • Team at top of league, can win title, high ability players, high respect and experience
• Democratic leadership

  • Team in middle of table, comfortable position, achieved beyond expectations, moderate skill level players
• Laissez-faire leadership


  • Team in relegation battle, limited games left, poor facilities, lack of experience/skills/time, cognitive learners