leadership Flashcards
leadership
an individual having influence over the behaviour of others to motivate them to follow set goals
examples of leaders
- captains
- coaches
- managers
- vice captains
- team sports psychologists
- head physios
characteristics of leaders
- good communication skills
- flexible or adaptable (able to change leadership style)
- being good at the sport/ experienced, good knowledge + understands the sport
- shows empathy/ sees alternate points of view
- clear goal/ vision
- good decision maker + organised
- motivated/ enthusiastic/ persistent/ ambitious
- confidence
two ways you can become a leader
- emergent leader
- prescribed leader
emergent leader
comes from within the group, usually due to their performance level + close connections to other members of the team e..g voting in one of the players to be captain
prescribed leader
appointed from outside the group due to their managerial abilities and status e.g. Sarina Wiegman manager of the England National Women’s team by F.A. in 2021
ads of emergent leader
- readily accepted by the group
- knows the players + team dynamics
- understand how the different people communicate within the team
- already shown their commitment/ effort/ ability proved by themselves
disads of emergent leader
- may lack objectivity + have their own friendships within the group that may colour their judgement e.g. captain or manager making team selection decisions
ads of prescribed leader
- more objective
- could bring a new perspective resulting in more creative strategies being implemented
- may carry more authority or power that has been given to them by others
disads of prescribed leader
- do not share/ not aware of the team culture/ ways of working or friendship groups which may delay effective decision-making
- takes time to build trust an prove themselves/ their worth
leadership styles
- autocratic/ authoritarian
- democratic
- laissez-faire
autocratic
- “Do what I say, yes boss”
- Leaders are task-orientated/ have a clear pre-determined goal e.g. performance or winning
- Dictatorial in style
- Make all the decisions
- Direct/ command approach
- Show little personal interest in individuals within the group
- Works quickly
explanations of use - autocratic
- For novice performers
- For large groups
- For safety
- When discipline/ control is needed
- With hostile groups/ if there is. Alack of time
- If task is clear
disads of autocratic
- Perceived as controlling/ can deter athletes from taking on any personal responsibility
- Stifles creativity
democratic
- “So we lost our last game, how can we improve this?”
- person/ social oriented + involve the group in the task + value their opinions
- show interest in individuals within the group on a personal level
- share decisions with others
- delegates responsibility
- believes ownership of task increases motivation
- works slower than autocratic
explanations of use - democratic
- when group members want to be involved in decision making
- if a situation is not dangerous + task requires greater interpersonal skills
- if more time is available
- advanced performers
- small teams/ individual athletes
disads of democratic
- time consuming
- can lead to teammates being unsure of their roles
laissez-faire
- leaders take a backseat, without adding input/ feedback
- sessions/ decisions are governed by the other team members
- there is a focus on problem-solving
explanations of use - laissez-faire
- with high level/ elite athletes
- with developing creativity for team members
- when leader can fully trust member capabilities
- when group is being assessed
- if leader is incompetent/ unable to employ any other style of leadership
disads of laissez-faire
- low productivity
- lack of guidance leads to confusion
- lack of organisation
- lack of team cohesion
which style of leadership would be best in each stage of group dynamics/ formation?
forming + storming = autocratic
norming = democratic
performing = laissez-faire
theories of leadership
- trait perspective
- social learning
- interactionist theory
trait theory
claims “leaders are born, not made”
- characteristics of a good leader ate innate, inherited, genetically determined
- traits are stable + enduring
= unchanging in all situations
= will not lose their influence over time
- doesn’t take into account the environment or other people at all
e.g. charisma, confidence, interpersonal skills
= can lead any size team, in any sport, at any level cus born a leader
evaluation
- argument against this theory is that people in sport tend to be quite specific in their leadership skills, depending on PARTICULAR situations
e.g. why some sporting managers are successful in one team but they can’t replicate the same level of managerial success when they move to a new team
e.g. females are just as able to become leaders as males
social learning theory
claims that leadership characteristics can be learner form others
- through observing + copying = vicarious reinforcement
- copying from significant others/ role models
= doesn’t consider the effects of traits/ innate characteristics on leadership at all
e.g. captain of a team copies leadership style of coach as they look up to them
e.g. watching someone lead badly enables you not to make same mistakes when leading
interactionist approach
acknowledges that a leaders behaviour is determined by their own personality and the situation in which they find themselves
contingency approach
- the success of leadership traits is determined by situational factors
- two types of leaders: task-orientated/ person-orientated
- task-orientated = more effective in extreme situations (most/ least favourable)
- effectiveness of leader depends on the ‘favourableness’ of the situation
favourable - relationships are positive/ task is clear/ strong position of authority
unfavourable - relationships are not so good/ task is unclear/ weak position of authority
Chelladurai’s multidimensional model
- the more elements of this model that match each other
= the more effective the leadership is likely to be
factors:
1. situational characteristics = environmental conditions
2. leader characteristics = style/ skills/ past experience/ personality
3. member characteristics = gender/ skill level/ age of group
leader behaviour:
4. required behaviour = should/ needs to be done by leader
5. actual behaviour = what the leader chooses to do
6. preferred behaviour = what group wants the leader to do
consequences:
7. performance + satisfaction = good performance + satisfied members occur when the actual matches required + preferred behaviour of leader
