THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LEADERSHIP

Leadership is a complex process that has significant influence on: Group Cohesion; Motivation; Arousal and Anxiety; Aggressive Behavior; Level of Satisfaction; Performance

LEADERSHIP

BEHAVIORAL PROCESS OF INFLUENCING INDIVIDUALS & GROUPS TOWARD SET GOALS

COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

1) Leader’s Qualities; 2) Leadership Style; 3) Situational Factors; 4) Followers’ Qualities

LEADER’S QUALITIES

Personality traits of leader; Relatively stable; Common traits of effective leaders: integrity, flexibility, confidence, resourcefulness, patience, optimism, empathy, courage, vulnerability… * What qualities would you add to this list??? - Brené Brown

LEADERSHIP STYLE

Observed behaviors of leaders; Can be learned & modified to suit specific situations; Includes leader’s behavior in relation to defining relationships with players (or clients/students, etc.) and colleagues, establishing an organizational structure and climate (team policy, norms, roles), and communication; Main research focus in sport psychology is understanding how good leaders behave – as strategists, managers, & in relation to players; Two categories of leadership style: consideration and initiating structure

CONSIDERATION

More democratic, relationship-oriented, egalitarian approach to leadership that’s based on value for inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration

INITIATING STRUCTURE

More autocratic, performance-oriented, authoritarian approach to leadership that’s based on value for rewarding productivity, performance monitoring, and error intervention

LEADERSHIP STYLE KEY POINT

Two approaches are NOT mutually exclusive – research shows that successful leaders usually score high in both; Challenge for leaders is to determine what approach best suits the circumstances and team members

SITUATIONAL FACTORS

Leaders must be sensitive to environmental factors: Is it a team or individual sport setting? (teams usually prefer more autocratic styles); Is it an interactive or coactive sport? (interactive sport athletes prefer initiating structure styles); What is the size of the group? (it’s harder to be democratic with a large group); What’s the level of competition? (e.g., youth sport, intramurals, college sport, pro sport); What point of season? (structure important early in season); What point of game? (trust crucial in last minutes of game/pressure situations)

FOLLOWERS’ QUALITIES

There’s need for compatibility between leader’s style and participants’ preferred style of leadership; Higher levels of perceived compatibility are positively correlated with group cohesion, intrinsic motivation, satisfaction with playing experience, and optimal performance

LEADERSHIP RESEARCH (Chelladurai & Turner, 2006)

The more a leader’s actual behaviors match the preferences of group members & situation requirements, the better the group’s performance and the higher group members’ satisfaction

LEADERSHIP RESEARCH (Wright & Cole, 2003)

Interviewed male collegiate leader-athletes; Identified 4 components of leadership among their experiences: High skill level, strong work ethic, sport knowledge, good rapport; Identified the following as helpful for developing leadership: Feedback, acknowledgement, support, conversations w/ adults, cognitive engagement, interaction w/ older peers