Leadership Flashcards
What is leadership
This is the process of influencing others to achieve their goals. The influence of the leader who in sport could be a coach, captain or teacher is vital in developing the individual and the group.
It refers to the manner in which a leader decides to interact with the group group . It may depend on the situation and the nature..
What are the two types of leaders?
They can be divided into two types in terms of how they are selected
-emergent leaders
-Prescribed leaders
What is an emergent leader?
A leader can emerge with leadership qualities from within the group or can be prescribed by an outside source such as the sports government body
What is a prescribed leader?
They bring new ideas but may risk alienation by the group while an emergent leader retains the status quo.
What are the three different leadership styles?
-autocratic
-Democratic
-laissez-faire
Lewin 1939
Autocratic and task orientated style
An autocratic leader makes all the decisions and dictates to the group. The leader tells the group what to do. The task orientated style is outcome-based and focuses on efficiency and completing the task.
Democratic and person orientated style
This type of leader listens to the members of the group and follows their suggestions. It’s very popular as it allows group input and shared decision-making so individuals feel part of the group. The person orientated style relies on group consultation and is based on the leader recognising the importance of group relationships.
Laissez-faire style
This is a laid-back do nothing approach the only works with experienced groups. The leader lets the group get on with it.
Where is the autocratic style most effective
-cognitive learners
-Command style teaching
-task is complex and dangerous
-Clear and specific goals
-Limited time to complete tasks
-Decisions need to be made quick
-Involve team sports and large numbers
Where is democratic style most effective?
-involve individual sports or individual coach situation
-Performers more experienced
-Friendly relationship with group
-Limited facilities
-decisions don’t have to be made quick
-problem-solving
-associative to autonomous
Where is Laissez-faire style most effective?
-Situations where athlete is highly skilled and self motivated and capable of managing performance
-When athletes focused on individual development
-high trust
-In smaller less competitive teams
Advantages of autocratic leadership
-clear direction and structure
-Efficient decision-making
-Strong control
Disadvantages of autocratic leadership
-remove performer
-Decision-making leads to overreliance on coach
-Can be repetitive
Advantages of democratic leadership
-Increased athlete engagement
-Enhanced communication
-Improved moral and team cohesion
Disadvantages of democratic leadership
-Slower decision-making
-Potential for confusion
-Time consuming
Advantages of laissez-faire leadership
-encouraging creativity
-Developing leadership skills in athletes
-Fostering athlete in independence
Disadvantages of laissez-faire leadership
-Lack of direction
-Potential for decreased motivation
-Lack of accountability
Preferred leadership styles
Research suggested that at different times the leader should alter the leadership style adopted these are some suggestions for different groups and their preferred style.
Task orientated /autocratic approach
-Larger groups or teams
-Older players
-Male performance
-Novices or weaker players
Relationship orientated /democratic
-Smaller group of individuals
-Younger players
-Female performance
-Experienced or highly skilled players
Leadership model- fieldler’s contignency model
He suggested the effectiveness of a leader is dependent on a combination of personality traits and the situation
He identified two types of leadership styles
1. Task centred/task orientated
-these leaders are more concerned with meeting goals and objectives
-They tend to create plans
-They decide on priorities
-They assign members to
-they insure members stay on task with the focus of increasing overall group productivity
-Tend to be more effective with less experience less skilled performers who need constant instruction and feedback
- Relationship centred/person orientated
-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 trust and respect with others
-More effective with experienced highly skilled athletes
According to Fidler, the correct style of leadership to adopt depends on the favourableness of the situation…
Highly favourable situation
-Leaders position is strong
-Task is simple with clear structure
-Warm group and leader relations
Highly unfavourable situation
-Leaders position is weak
-Task is complex with vague structure
-Hostile group and leader relations
Autocross leaders are more effective in both most favourable and least favourable
But democratic leaders are more effective in moderately favourable situations
Leadership model- chelladurai’s multidimensional model of leadership 1980
He 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
Characteristics affecting leaders behaviour
-situational characteristics-such as whether the opposition is strong or weak (task difficulty). Group size nature of the activity time available-1
Leader characteristics- such as the leaders level of experience personality whether task or social orientated skill level-2
-member characteristics- such as experience gender age motivation ability personality-3
Type 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-1
-actual behaviour-this is what the leader actually does in a situation.G the coach issues directions in an effective clear manner. This is often determined by the experience of the coach
-2
-preferred behaviour-this is what the group want depending on their skill and goals E.G a team which is gold orientated will want clear instructions-3
The more the leaders actual behaviour matches the expectations and preferences of the members of the group and the specific demands the grade to the group satisfaction enjoyment and performance is
Leadership model- trait AKA the great man theory
-This theory suggests leaders are born with the skills
-early research into leadership suggested leaders are not made so they possess personality traits that suit them to a leadership role
-The great man theory suggests that a great leader in one sphere (work) would also be a good leader in another (sports)
Leadership model- the social learning theory
The skills of leadership can be a acquired
by copying others and then developed through experiences. Copying successful role models is called vicarious experiences.
Leadership model-interactionalist theory
Leaders emerge because of inherited abilities (traits) and learned skills (social).
This theory gives a more realistic explanation of human behaviours in sport and it considers other factors that would affect the effectiveness of leadership mainly interactions between the individual and the situation .
2 main types of leader are identified through the interactionalist approach-
- person/relationship oriented leaders
-tasked orientated leaders
