1. Inspiration in sport: Where does it come from and how can it be influenced?
Sean Figgins1*, Dr Matt Smith1, Dr Iain Greenlees1,
Dr Christopher Sellars2, & Dr Camilla Knight3
1 University Of Chichester, 2University of Wolverhampton, 3Swansea University *
1. INTRODUCTION
7. RESULTS & DISCUSSION (STUDY 2)
Anecdotally, Inspiration (See figure 1 for conceptualisation; Thrash & Elliot, 2003, 2004) has often been cited as the driving force behind outstanding athletic feats.
Figure 1. Model representing Thrash & Elliot’s (2003, 2004) conceptualisation of inspiration.
Recent research (cf. Thrash et al., 2014) has demonstrated inspiration to impact on important outcomes (e.g., motivation, productivity, energy, affect), alter the way individuals perceive their capabilities, and be triggered by external sources.
Despite the proposed benefits of being inspired, to date, we know little surrounding the ways in which athletes are inspired.
Context prior to inspiration
Participants described being inspired in a range of, mainly negative, situations(e.g., following positive performance, following injury, training in adverse conditions, following poor performance), which were accompanied by a range of cognitions (e.g., doubt, lack of confidence, lack of motivation) and emotions (e.g., anger, stress, frustration).
Providing an example to follow
“Seeing [the leader] compete was inspirational He was amazing at [the sport]; he could beat everyone with his left-hand even though he wasn’t left-handed.”
Facilitating opportunities to be inspired
“[The coach] had a lot of contacts and was able to bring people in at different levels to show us what we had to do to get to the next level We had an ex-Olympian come in. He was a great coach and very specific because he’s got a lot of experience, he’s been in the position we’re in.”
Showing the way forward
“[The coach] focussed on specific positional skills; what the defence needed to do and what the forwards needed to do and that triggered what we had done in training previously and what had happened in previous matches as well.”
Leader actions leading to inspiration
Direct expressions of belief
“My coach said, ‘Wow! If you’ve improved that much then you really could be something quite special, quite soon, and we must come up with some ideas of how we can improve you.”
2. STUDY 1
Aim – to identify what inspires athletes in sport.
Perceived demonstrations of belief
“So, he’s [the coach] come all that way just to see me and help me. He actually wants to be here, it’s not like he’s been told to be here I could tell that he believed in me, I knew he wanted to work with me and get the best out of me.”
3. METHODS
95 athletes (Mage = 20.3 years, SD = 2.75) from a range of sports wrote about a situation in which they were inspired in sport.
4. RESULTS & DISCUSSION
Showing support
“He [the coach] said ‘we both know that training prior to it [competitive event] wasn’t ideal, wasn’t what you wanted It’s not the end of the world.’ He sympathised with me at that point and said ‘I know you’re frustrated; I know you’re going to do better.’
Sources of inspiration (No. of mentions in parenthesis)
Self (10)
Unexpected performances.
Thoughts about performances.
“I was playing in the annual cricket match between my side and a touring side. [The touring side] turned up and was two players short, and I was chosen to join their squad. Heading on up to bowl to the most senior and skilled batsman from my team felt daunting, so I decided to bowl leg-spin for the first time. I had never been confident enough to compete with it before. To my surprise I took 3 wickets and haven’t looked back since.”
Consequences of inspiration
Cognitive
Increased motivation.
Increased confidence,
Increased awareness of potential.
Increased focus.
Increased trust with coach.
Improved perception of group functioning.
Affective
Excitement regarding opportunities.
Happiness.
Decreased frustration.
Increased pride.
Increased passion for sport.
Behaviour
More dedicated to training.
Change in training behaviours (e.g., challenging tasks).
Increased effort.
Improved performance.
Role-models (36)
Performances.
Characteristics.
Resilience.
“It was David Beckham versus Greece in 2001, the world cup qualifier. The importance of the goal he scored inspired me how did he do that with the weight of a nation on his shoulders? [When he scored] I was happy and excited.”
These findings build on our understanding of leadership by suggesting that, in addition to providing a vision (e.g., Searle & Hanrahan, 2011), leaders can inspire athletes with other actions including displays of belief, showing athletes the way forward, setting a positive example to follow, and demonstrating support in tough times.
These findings extend current knowledge regarding the consequences of inspiration as participants perceived being inspired to have an impact on group-functioning (e.g., team-bond & identification).
Leadership (49)
Communication
(e.g., team talks)
Behaviour (e.g., setting an example)
“I told my coach what I was feeling [that I didn’t want to carry on playing or training]. He pulled me aside during training and pointed out my friends he told me that these boys are my brothers, my family, and you can’t quit on family. He told me that I had “special talent” and that I shouldn’t quit instead I should keep going and get reward from it. That blew my mind and I carried on.”
Leadership was cited as the major source of inspiration.
As athletes are exposed to numerous leaders at different stages of their careers and given the impact that leaders can have on athletes’ development, leaders may have greatest potential to inspire athletes.
However, little is known regarding the ways in which leaders inspire followers (Frese et al., 2003). Further, the design of this did not allow for in-depth exploration of inspirational leadership. Thus, further research to explore inspirational leadership was deemed necessary.
8. CONCLUSION
The findings provide support for Thrash and Elliot’s (2003) conceptualisation of inspiration and extend it to the context of sport.
Leaders can inspire change in athletes’ cognitive and affective states by influencing their perception and awareness of their capabilities. This may be explained by self-regulation theory (cf. Carver & Scheier, 1982), which suggests that an individual’s behaviour is driven by the desire to reduce or increase the discrepancy between their current state and their ought-, ideal-, or feared-self.
Research is needed to understand the whole process of inspirational leadership (e.g., what factors influence the likelihood that an athlete is inspired).
5. Study 2
Aims – (a) how leaders inspire followers; (b) in what situations athletes are inspired; and (c) the consequences of being inspired by leaders.
6. METHODS
9. REFERENCES
17 athletes (Mage = years, SD = 7.07) from a range of sports took part in a semi-structured interview regarding their experiences of inspirational leadership.
Thrash, T.M., & Elliot, A.J. (2003) Inspiration as a psychological construct. Journal of personality & social psychology, 84 (4),