2) 5.3 leadership in sport

• characteristics of effective leaders:

  • empathetic
  • experienced
  • good decision making skills
  • charismatic
  • ambitious
  • good communication skills
  • self confidence
  • determined
  • high motivation
  • enthusiastic
• Carsons (1982) two types of leaders:

  • emergent leaders
  • prescribed leaders
• emergent leaders

  • already a member of the group
  • they can assume the role of leader or be voted in by other group members

  e.g a team captain who is voted in by the rest of the team
• prescribed leaders:

  • are appointed outside of the group

  e.g a externally appointed football manager
• emergent leaders - benefits

  • they have good knowledge of the other team members so can work and communicated with each individual in the most effective way
  • they should already have respect of the team who trust their decisions and are motivated to work
• emergent leaders - disadvantages

  • team members may struggle to adjust to the new status of the leader; they may be perceived favouritism e.g in team selection
  • may be more difficult for the leader to make changes in the way the team play, as the leader has been involved in the previous system
• prescribed leaders - benefits

  • they can more easily make changes to the system/tactics, as the team expect this
  • team members may feel they have a 'clean slate' with the prescribed leader and so work harder than before, they may display a more positive attitude
• prescribed leaders - disadvantages

  • they have no previous experience with the team members and so may not manage individuals in the most effective way
  • buildings relationships and earning respect may take time
• leadership - an individual having enough influence over the behavioural of others to motivate them to follow individuals own set goals
• leadership styles:

  • autocratic
  • democratic
  • laissez-faire
• autocratic leadership

  • task orientated and more dictational
  • make most of decisions and tend to have commanding and directing approaches
  • show little interest in the individuals making up the group
• democratic leadership

  • person orientated
  • values the views of other group members
  • tend to share decisions and show a good deal of interest in the individuals of the group
• laissez-fair leadership:

  • makes very few decisions
  • gives very little feedback
  • individual group members do as they wish
• autocratic - when the leader makes most of the decisions and concentrates on the job to be done or the end product such as performance or winning.
• autocratic uses:

  • used when discipline and control is needed or when there are hostile groups involved
  • used if there is a lack of time or for the cognitive stage of learning
  • novices, team players and makes generally prefer this style
  • best if the situation is dangerous or when the task is unclear
• Democratic - leader is more concentrated with interpersonal relations and is more person orientated in their approach. Invited contributions and shares decision making.
• democratic uses:

  • suits more advanced performers who have the knowledge to contribute and motivate group members
  • suits a friendly match or when a task demands greater interpersonal communication
  • suitable if the leader and group members are well known to each other and task not dangerous
  • females, small teams and individual performers tend to prefer this style
  • suitable if the leaders personality lends itself to a democratic approach and time is available
• laissez-faire - leader has no direct influence on group members or the leaders takes a back seat and lets the group members make their own decisions
• laissez-faire uses:

  • suitable for elite performers
  • helps to develop creativity for team members or individuals
  • leader has full trust in members capabilities
  • suitable if the task involves individual decision making or leader is assessing group members
  • often appears if the leader is incompetent or is unable to employ any other style of learning
• leadership theories:

  • trait perspective
  • social learning theory
  • interactionist theory
• trait perspective

  • leader have a generic disposition/innate characteristics that show leader qualities
  • leadership traits are stable and enduring and can be generalised across different situations
  • certain traits produce certain patterns of behaviour
  • patterns are consistent across different situations
  • people are born with leadership traits
• trait perspective - argument

  • in sport leadership skills are specific depending on the situation
  • too simplistic
  • doesn't consider situational and environmental factors
• contingency approach - the success of leadership traits is determined by situational factors
• social learning theory

  • strong influence on behaviour
  • leadership characteristics are learned from others
  • behaviour of others is watched and copied - vicarious reinforcement
  • if you observe a significant other you are more likely to copy behaviour
  • social environment important for adopting leadership qualities, rather than traits which doesn't take into account the environment
• interactionist theory

  • an individual may have certain innate traits but are not evident unless a situation demands the leadership behaviour
  • some people are not generally leaders in everyday life but they can show leadership qualities in sporting situations
  • involves interaction of traits and changing environment