PHED 3 Sport Psychology Leadership in Sport A2 PE PHED 3 Sport Psychology Leadership in Sport

Leadership and the role of a leader in physical activities

Review of learning from last week. Starter Activity.

Lesson objectives Describe the qualities of an effective leader Describe the 3 characteristics of leaders (Autocratic / task-orientated), (Democratic / social or person orientated), (laissez-faire leaders) Know the difference between emergent and prescribed leaders Critically evaluate the 3 theories of leadership Outline and evaluate Chelladurai’s multi-dimension model of leadership Outline and evaluate Fiedler’s Contingency Theory of Leadership

Leadership Examples Kid’s Coaching Marv Levy

Qualities of a leader (GIVE HOPE) Good communication skills Interpersonal Skills Vision Empathy with Individuals Highly knowledgeable Organised Perceptual Skills Effective Decision Making

Characteristics of Leaders Autocratic / task orientated Democratic / social or person orientated Laissez-faire

Autocratic / Task orientated Dictates to the group Inflexible with their approach to the group Task needs to be completed Advice, ideas or comments not asked for Cool and impersonal Group members tend to be passive Group members tend to stop or slow down if leader is absent Aggressive towards each other when things go wrong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ioE0v_XyNQ

Democratic / social or person orientated Makes decisions after they have been through a process of consultation with the group members Actively encourage involvement of the group Adopt a more informal and relaxed approach to leadership Leader makes final decisions based on all the information collected from the group members and their own thoughts and ideas Group members continued to work on their tasks when the leader is absent

Laissez-faire ‘no leadership’ the leader will stand aside and allow the group to make its own independent decisions Group members get on with things in their own way Leaders may help members get out of difficulties but they offer no direction or involvement and group goals are less likely to be achieved. Group members tended to be aggressive towards each other when things went wrong and gave up easily

Prescribed vs Emergent leaders Prescribed leaders are those who are appointed by some form of higher authority e.g Fabio Capello was appointed England manager by the FA in 2007

Emergent leaders are those who achieve their leadership status by gaining the respect and support of the group. These leaders generally achieve their status through showing specific leadership skills or being particularly skilful at their sport e.g David Beckham emerged within the team and became the leader of the England National team before he was appointed to captain it. He emerged because of his impressive performances, gaining the respect of other players

Exam question (2011) Identify three characteristics of a good leader and explain the difference between an emergent and prescribed leader (3 marks) Need three from – confident, orgainsed, inspirational, good communication, knowledgeable, good decision maker, motivational, Emergent – elected by the team Prescribed – appointed by an external authority

3 main theories of leadership Trait approach (The Great Man Theory) Early research into leadership suggested that leaders are ‘born not made’ i.e they possess personality traits that suit them to a leadership role The Great Man theory suggests that a great leader in one sphere (say industry) would also be a good leader in another (sports)

Weaknesses This approach has not been widely supported and is now generally accepted that there is no definitive set of traits that characterise a good leader

Behavioural approach This theory argues that a good leader is made, not born and suggests that anyone can be taught to be a good leader This theory links with Social Learning theory as it suggests that people will learn to be good leaders by observing the behaviours of other good leaders in a variety of situations, reproducing those behaviours in similar situations and then continuing them should they be reinforced

Example A newcomer to a team watches how the captain handles a disagreement between players. When the captain is successful in their efforts, the newcomer will remember how the disagreement was handled and is likely to use this approach themselves.

Interactional approach This approach considers other factors that would affect the effectiveness of leadership, mainly the interaction between the individual and the situation in which they find themselves. Two main types of leader are identified through the interactional approach: relationship-orientated leaders and task-orientated leaders

Fiedler’s Contingency Model

Democratic leaders are best in moderately favourable situations According to Fiedler, the correct style of leadership depends upon the ‘favourableness’ of the situation Highly favourable Highly unfavourable Leaders position is strong Leaders position weak Task is simple with clear structure Task is complex Warm relations with group Hostile group relations Fielder states that autocratic leaders are more effective in both favourable and unfavourable situations Democratic leaders are best in moderately favourable situations

Relationship–Centered/ Person-Orientated leaders The leaders are focused on developing relationships with the people in the group They work hard to maintain communication with members Always help to maintain levels of social interaction between members and themselves Develop respect and trust with others These type of leaders are generally more effective with experienced, highly skilled athletes

Task-Centred/Task-Orientated leaders These leaders are more concerned with meeting goals and objectives They tend to create plans Decide on priorities Assign members to task Ensure members stay on task, all with the overall focus of increasing overall group productivity Tend to be more effective with less experienced, less skills performers who need constant instruction and feedback

Chelladurai’s Multidimensional Model of Leadership (MML) Chelladurai (1980)suggests that before a leadership style can be chosen, three characteristics or antecedents must be considered: He argues that certain characteristics generate particular types of leader behaviour

Chelladurai’s Multidimensional Model of Leadership (MML) Characteristics affecting leader’s behaviour Type of leader behaviour Consequences Situational characteristics Required behaviour Leader characteristics Actual behaviour Quality of performance Levels of member satisfaction Member characteristics Preferred behaviour

Three Characteristics affecting leader’s behaviour are: Situational characteristics such as whether the opposition is strong or weak (task difficulty). Group size, nature of the activity, time available Leader characteristics such as the leader’s level of experience, personality, whether task or social orientated, skill level Group member characteristics such as experience, gender, age, motivation, ability, personality

Three types of leader behaviour When these have been assessed, the next stage involves consideration of the three types of leader behaviour: Required behaviour: this is the behaviour required by the situation or task e.g the coach may need to give instructions quickly during a timeout as time is limited Actual behaviour: this is what the leader actually does in a situation e.g the coach issues directions in an effective, clear manner. This is often determined by the experience of the coach Preferred behaviour: this is what the group want depending on their skill and goals e.g a team which is goal-orientated will want clear instructions

The more the leader’s actual behaviour matches the expectations and preferences of the members of the group and the specific demands of the situation, the greater the group’s satisfaction, enjoyment and performance is

Extent of group performance and satisfaction Leader Behaviour Extent of group performance and satisfaction Degree of congruence (coincide exactly) Actual leader behaviour is the required behaviour to complete the group task successfully & is also the type of leadership that is preferred by the group FULL CONGRUENCE IN LEADER BEHAVIOURS EXISTS Outcome The group will perform effectively and the satisfaction of the group members will be high Degree of congruence required behaviour to complete the group task successfully, but is not the type of leadership that is preferred by the group. INCONGRUENCE IN LEADER BEHAVIOURS EXISTS but the satisfaction of the group members will be low Actual leader behaviour is not the required behaviour to complete the group task successfully but is the type of leadership that is preferred by the group. The group will perform ineffectively but the satisfaction of the group members will be high

Example of how a coach can provide effective leadership (Scenario) Under 11 boys football team playing its first match of the season. Many boys are new to club and for a few its their first experience.

Situational characteristics: Do not create pressure to win Required behaviour: For players to try out their skills and practise working for each other Members’ characteristics: Youth and inexperience Preferred behaviour: Coach is encouraging and supportive If the coach’s actual behaviour fits these needs, then a high level of performance and satisfaction results.

Task Using Chelladurai’s multidimensional model of sports leadership, consider the following scenarios: The instructor of a group of novice climbers attempting an abseil for the first time The Captain on an international team Fill in the boxes relating to the characteristics affecting leader behaviour and the type of leader behaviour. Discuss how both leaders would attain high performance while ensuring group member satisfaction