“Female Managers and Sports: Does a Collegiate Athletic Background Influence Overall Philosophy of Leadership Within

The Workplace?”

Kelsey Harris14094037

MSc International Management and Global Business

Supervisor: Sarah MacCurtainSeptember 2015

“Female Managers and Sports: Does a Collegiate Athletic Background Influence Overall Philosophy of Leadership Within

The Workplace?”

Kelsey Harris 14094037

Word Count: 8938Supervisor: Sarah MacCurtain

MSc International Management and Global BusinessSeptember 2015

“This project is solely the work of the author and is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of MSc in International Management and Global Business”

AbstractResearch on gender in business leadership has been an increasingly popular topic in

recent years. With the advocacy of gender rights, equal pay, and the highlighting of the “glass

ceiling” for females in corporations, research regarding female leadership in particular has

supported the claims that the typical male-dominated organizational structure has to be analyzed

(Eagly and Karau 2002; Eagly and Carli 2007; Dreher 2003; Cook and Glass 2014).

When focusing on female leadership in the workplace, it is also important to recognize

experiences and backgrounds that may contribute to effective leadership in the future.

Participation in collegiate sports, especially in the United States, has been one of those

experiences highly regarded as one that sets candidates apart from the rest (Chen et al. 2010).

Time management, discipline, and teamwork are just three of the transferrable skills from

collegiate athletics. Therefore, it is assumed that these experiences would have a positive effect

on future leadership ability and success in the workplace (Chen et al. 2010).

This study aims to provide insight into female managers and their leadership

philosophies, as well as differences in college experiences that may appear in future leadership

styles. The researcher conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews to maximize research

efforts and observe subject perspectives first-hand. Participants fall into three different groups:

those with collegiate athletic background from the U.S., those with collegiate athletic background

from Ireland, and those with no collegiate athletic background from either country.

According to the interviewee transcripts, the overall definition of leadership did not differ

among participant groups. The personal leadership philosophies did differ but only on an

individual basis; the individual differences seemed related to the participant’s careers and

workplace dynamic. There are various implications for the future in looking at the interview

transcripts and comparing the background experiences of the participants. For example,

regardless of the participant’s motivation to play sport and their home country, it seems that the

experience of collegiate athletics itself leads to similar lessons and takeaways for the future. The

Irish female managers mentioned the social benefits from college sports more frequently than the

U.S. participants as a motivational factor or reason for deciding to play. The data also reflects the

ongoing struggles of females within the workplace, especially in typically male-dominated

industries. While the interviewees did not mention the ‘female glass ceiling’ theory explicitly,

many of them still recounted stories of stereotyping, discrimination, and overcoming various

obstacles in the workplace.

Research Question: Does a collegiate athletic background influence female managers’

philosophy of leadership within the workplace?

Table of Contents

Literature Review:.................................................................................................................. 5Leadership Defined........................................................................................................................... 5Leadership: Theoretical Background.........................................................................................5

Great Man............................................................................................................................................................ 5Trait Theory.......................................................................................................................................................5Behavioral Theory...........................................................................................................................................6Situational Theory...........................................................................................................................................7Contingency Theory........................................................................................................................................7Transformational Leadership.....................................................................................................................8

Women in Leadership...................................................................................................................... 9Female Glass Ceiling.......................................................................................................................................9Female Leadership Advantage...................................................................................................................9Female Sport Networks..............................................................................................................................10

Sports as Future Success Indicator...........................................................................................10Leadership Styles Related to Sport...........................................................................................11Sport in Ireland................................................................................................................................ 12Sport in the United States.............................................................................................................13Sports and Work Environment...................................................................................................15

Method...................................................................................................................................... 16

Results...................................................................................................................................... 17Leadership......................................................................................................................................... 18

Definition.......................................................................................................................................................... 18Leadership Skills............................................................................................................................................18Personal Leadership Style.........................................................................................................................19

Early Experiences (Excluding Sports)......................................................................................19College Athletics.............................................................................................................................. 20

Motivational Factors to Play College Sports and Overall Experience....................................20Athletic Skills Transferred into Workplace/Overall Experience.............................................21

Overcoming Adversity................................................................................................................... 21Challenges/Successes/ Lessons Learned from Sport....................................................................21Challenges/Successes/Lessons in the Workplace..........................................................................22

Discussion............................................................................................................................... 23Future Topics to Consider............................................................................................................25Possible Limitations....................................................................................................................... 26

References............................................................................................................................... 26

Appendices.............................................................................................................................. 30Appendix A........................................................................................................................................ 30Appendix B........................................................................................................................................ 32Appendix C........................................................................................................................................ 33Appendix D........................................................................................................................................ 34

Literature Review:

Leadership DefinedLeadership is a term that has been defined in many different ways, according to its

context. For the sake of this particular research, leadership will be defined as having these core

components: leadership is a process that involves influence in a group context, while also aiming

for goal achievement as an end result (Loughead et al. 2006). While effective leadership can also

act as a change agent for organizations, the leader’s influence is inevitably an important asset to

the environment. In the past century, research has focused on several different theories of

leadership, ranging from the born vs. made debate to authentic leadership (Popper 2004; Judge et

al. 2002). Leadership is a complex topic that proves its importance in the sheer vastness of its

research. Effective leaders are heavily sought after for managerial roles, but the relationship

between past experiences and gender are also interconnected with effectiveness (Zaccaro 2007;

Judge et al. 2002; Yukl 1989). To introduce a brief historical view of leadership theories, we will

first begin with the Great Man theory.

Leadership: Theoretical Background

Great ManHistorically, the Great Man theory, proposed by Thomas Carlyle in 1907, opened the

dialogue among researchers for the Born vs. Made theory of leaders. According to Carlyle, the

leader himself was the most important piece to the theory of leadership; the great man, or hero,

was not only influential as a leader of the people, but also spiritually, socially, and politically

(Popper 2004). The influential leader, at birth, separated himself from the non-leaders, and

therefore followed the basis for the born argument (Hoffman et al. 2011). Inevitably, the “Great

Man” theory followed the idea that a very select number of heroes, with extraordinary leadership,

would forever shape history (Judge et al. 2002).

Trait TheoryTrait theory of leadership was formed next as an adaption of the Great Man theory. Similar

from the surface, both theories suggested that innate personal qualities led to leadership abilities,

but the trait theory of leadership broadened the pool of possible leaders and eventually moved

away from the idea that traits had to be inherited. Leader traits can therefore be defined as

personal characteristics that reflect individual differences and enhance effective leadership

abilities (Zaccaro 2007). Throughout the 20th century, various researchers aimed to identify the

traits most associated with effective leadership. Traits such as self-confidence, adjustment,

alertness, and integrity were among some of the common traits related to the theory (Judge et al.

2002).

While the “Born” vs. “Made” leadership argument is still very valid among researchers, the

importance of individual characteristics also shines through in leadership styles.

Some people are born as natural competitors or driven achievers or empathetic people. These

sorts of attitudes are more deeply embedded and less trainable than other skills and abilities.

On the other hand, some of these characteristics, such as good communication, are teachable.

(Doh 2003, p. 64)

By identifying and categorizing characteristics into trait-like (personality and intelligence) and

state-like (knowledge and skills) categories, it becomes easier to see how some aspects of

leadership can fit either into the “Born vs. Made” continuum (Hoffman et al 2011). Yukl (1989)

also emphasizes the importance of balancing traits in order to optimize leader effectiveness.

While technical skills, conceptual skills, and personal skills are all mostly agreed upon as skills

needed for effective leaders, Yukl (1989) contends that balancing competing traits, as well as

balancing the concern for the task along with the concern for people, is another important

component for trait theory. However, the trait theory has been criticized as oversimplifying

leadership, as Hughes et al. (1996) and Yukl and Van Fleet (1992) cited in Judge et al. (2002),

stressing the importance of situational factors in regards to traits and leadership.

Behavioral TheoryThe behavioral theory of leadership emphasizes the actions of leaders and managers

within the organizational environment, and how those actions in turn are related to effectiveness.

Many researchers have focused on classifying leadership behavior and the measurement of leader

effectiveness. For example, Kotter (1982) in Yukl (1989) suggests that effective managers create

agendas with long-term and short-term goals to accurately plan decisions and processes, and

allow accurate time to change based on various conditions. Taxonomies have also been used to

help classify various leader behaviors. The two major categories of leader behaviors are task-

oriented behaviors and relationship-oriented behaviors (Kotter 1982; Yukl 1989). The Quinn

Model of Leadership Roles falls beneath the behavioral theory of leadership, as it suggests that

people create and define roles for themselves and others (Appendix A). With the formation of

these roles, expectations are then also developed, thus leading to anticipated behaviors (Denison

et al. 1995). The behavioral complexity involved with leadership has opened the door to even

more multifaceted leadership theories.

Situational Theory The situational theory of leadership stresses the importance of contextual factors in the

internal environment, including the leader’s authority or power, the nature of the work at hand,

external environment, as well as the attributes of subordinates involved. Hersey and Blanchard’s

1982 Situational Leadership Theory Model (SLT) is one of the most widely known views of

situational leadership, and focuses on subordinate maturity and appropriate leader styles in

relation to subordinates (Vecchio 1987).

Situational influence has also been split into two subcategories since the SLT model was

developed: how the situation influences leader behavior, and how the situation moderates the

relationship between leader behavior/attributes and leader effectiveness (Yukl 1989). The most

important takeaway from the situational theory of leadership is the idea that there is not ‘one best

way’ to lead or influence employees. With variations in subordinate skills, subordinate and leader

relationship, and leader behavior, the situational theory aims to examine the interactions between

these three core pieces of the organization (Fernandez and Vecchio 1997).

Contingency TheoryContingency theories were mainly created to also combat the classical idea that there is

‘one best way’ of organizational management and leadership, along with situational theory.

Contingency theories suggest that the “uncertainty and instability of the environment” heavily

influences the organizational structure and management/leadership style. However, many

criticisms of the contingency theory have centered around the lack of clear, concrete concepts and

blurry relationships (Tosi and Slocum 1984). In fact, Schoonhoven (1981) cited in Tosi and

Slocum (1984), stated that contingency theory “is not a theory at all… it is more of an orientating

strategy… it suggests ways in which a phenomenon ought to be conceptualized or an approach to

the phenomenon ought to be explained.” Peters et al. (1985) focuses on Fiedler’s Contingency

Theory of Leadership research in particular, citing the many controversial issues surrounding it.

Many researchers found that Fiedler’s data was not replicable, and therefore did not support the

theory. In all, the contingency theory places another perspective on the unpredictable

environment and adds to the situational theories as well.

Transformational LeadershipTransformational leadership is characterized by being able to “inspire followers to

become their better selves” by collectively having charisma, inspirational and motivational skills,

individualized consideration of followers, and high intellect (Hawkins and Tolzin 2002 p.105).

Charisma as a leadership trait is defined, by Robert House (1977), as having four characteristics:

articulation of a central vision, willingness to take risks for the sake of the vision, emotional

intelligence when dealing with followers, and exhibiting authenticity through actions (Judge et al.

2006). By combining these characteristics, it is easy to see how transformational leadership is

often the most sought after form of leadership within organizations. Further, the Full Range of

Leadership Model (Appendix B) developed by Bass, Yammarino, and Avolio (1991) cited in

Judge et al. 2006 creates a visual model that includes both transformational and transactional

leadership on opposite ends of a spectrum. On the bottom end, transactional leadership falls in the

ineffective and passive level with four dimensions: contingent reward, management by exception

(active), management by exception (passive), and laissez-faire. Key characteristics of

transactional leadership include avoiding leadership responsibilities, only leading when

necessary, substituting resources for obedience, and reacting on performance when necessary. On

the other end of the spectrum, transformational leadership is composed of: idealized influence,

inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. Key

characteristics of transformational leadership include stimulating followers’ creativity, attending

to individualized needs, motivating and inspiring followers, and serving in a charismatic role.

Researchers contend that the best leaders often have a combination of transactional and

transformational leadership styles (Bass 1985 cited in Judge et al 2006).

As an added dimension of transformational leadership, leaders with high ethical and

morality standards serve as positive role models to the follower, and explicitly hold high ethical

values to the rest of the organization. Accountability for unethical behavior by the subordinates

was also an important aspect of ethical leadership, and thus strengthening the perspective of

transformational leadership (Brown and Trevino 2006).

Women in Leadership

Female Glass Ceiling

The need for research surrounding women in managerial and leadership roles is

imperative, as there is still a prevalent prejudice towards women in the theories of the “glass

ceiling” and the “glass cliff”. The female glass ceiling refers to the shortage of women and

minorities in major leadership roles. While the amount of women at the lower and mid-level

management positions has increased significantly over the past two decades, the number of

women in top C-Suite (CEO, COO, President, Chairman, etc.) positions is still minimal (Eagly

and Karau 2002). In 2007, women only made up 6% of C-Suite positions in Fortune 500

companies; only 2% of the CEOs were female, and women only occupied 15% of seats on boards

of directors (Eagly and Carli 2007). The glass-ceiling concept is troublesome due to the need for

diversity at the corporate level, as well as the possible psychological effects on female managers

at the lower or middle level. If lower and mid-level female managers perceive that there are

limited opportunities to reach the senior management level, it may alternatively affect their

motivation to compete for those top positions (Dreher 2003). The theory of the glass cliff refers to

the prevalence of women and ethnic minorities being promoted CEO of firms that are performing

weakly and in risk of failure, therefore not being placed in situations to succeed from the onset. If

the struggling firm continues to decline during their tenure, women and minorities are therefore

more likely to be replaced by white males. Their replacement by the “majority” (white males) is

termed as the “savior effect” (Cook and Glass 2014). Further studying women in leadership roles,

and factoring in their background experiences, may lead to strides being made in the right

direction for female leadership.

Female Leadership AdvantageEagly (2007) examines the theory of the female leadership advantage in her 2007

research. By defining good leadership as “future oriented and fostering followers’ commitment

and ability to contribute creatively to organizations”, transformational leadership is often viewed

as the ideal leadership style for the ever-changing organizational environment (Eagly 2007 p.2).

Female leaders have been found to be more transformational than their male counterparts, and in

one particular study, also exceeded males in the ‘individualized consideration’ aspect of

transformational leadership (Eagly et al. 2003). Because women are more prone to be nurturing

and caring in their gender roles compared to men, the individualized leadership in turn shows to

be a more effective style. While the differences may be small in scale, the findings still support

that women may in fact have a leadership advantage, making them more effective and

individualized leaders (Eagly and Carli 2003). Transformational leadership has also been

interrelated as an important leadership type in athletics, which may give females an even larger

leadership advantage for the future (Loughead 2006). While previous experiences are critical

during the application and interview process of a leadership position, how is a former female

collegiate athlete’s experiences viewed by her future employers?

Female Sport NetworksAnother perceived advantage of collegiate athletics is the immense network formed

through teammates, coaches, and opponents alike. While past research shows that women in

organizational settings have limited access to professional networks for job advancement

compared to their male counterparts (Ibarra 1993), having an athletic background may serve as

another avenue to create more networks for women in leadership positions. Developmental

networks and programs designed to create mentorships, coaching, support networks, and role

models for women in senior positions have been found to serve a major role for women who have

reached the director level in their respective organizations (Clarke 2011). In fact, Ernst and

Young (EY), one of the largest international professional services networks in the world, has

developed their own Women Athletes Business Network to provide discussion forums,

mentor/mentee pairings, and job postings for elite women athletes after their sporting careers.

Female athletes from all levels, including university and Olympic levels, are welcome to join the

free network and connect with other female athletes around the globe (Ernst and Young 2014).

Sports as Future Success IndicatorAmong the research surrounding female leaders and managers, several studies have

examined the influence of sport participation as a factor in determining future success. According

to the Ernst and Young (2014) “Making the Connection: Women, Sport and Leadership” report,

400 female executives from Brazil, Canada, China, United Kingdom, and the United States were

surveyed to gain a better understanding between the connection of sport and leadership. Out of

the 400 participants, 94% of the women had participated in sport at some point in time. Forty-

nine percent of the respondents were executives in the C-level suite (CEO, COO, etc.), while 51%

were in other management positions. Of the C-level participants, only 3% had never played any

sport at all. Competitiveness, discipline, seeing projects through to completion, motivational

skills, team building, and strong work ethic were all phrases used by the respondents to describe

positive skills and traits seen both in the workplace and among former athletes. In another study

completed by Ernst and Young in 2013, they found that 55% of C-suite women had been former

athletes at the university level, compared to just 39% of other female managers.

Research by Sauer et al. (2013) indicates that males and females have fundamentally

different experiences in collegiate athletics as preparation for the work force. While looking

specifically at emotional intelligence and mentoring, females on average already possessed

mentoring and emotional skills that males subsequently improved through collegiate athletics.

Mentoring skills in collegiate athletics are referred as the act of giving mentoring advice or

receiving mentorship from teammates, coaches, or other peers. Male student-athletes seem to

have a bigger opportunity for developmental growth through sport participation in this context.

Meanwhile, Long and Caudill (1991) reiterated that participants in collegiate athletics may

“enhance self-control, perseverance, and discipline, and may prepare to follow orders and

cooperate in team production which increases efficiency” (Alchian and Demsetz, 1971 in Long

and Caudill (1991) p 526), adding that athletic participation is a form a ‘human capital’ as an

investment for the future.

Henderson et al. (2006) subsequently found that former collegiate athletes, on average,

tend to earn more in salary in industries such as business, manual labor, and military – but are

also more likely than nonstudent-athletes to become high school teachers, which has a lower

paying salary.

Leadership Styles Related to SportDoes the idea of leadership incorporate one singular leader or the group as a whole?

According to Bligh et al. (2011), society tends to have a heroic or “romantic” view of leadership

in today’s world. This romantic view means that we often times look to one leader at such high

expectations of success that there is no way that these impossible expectations can be fulfilled.

One question brought up in the article - “can we always blame the coach for losing seasons?”- is

the epitome of romance of leadership. We tend to look to the leader to blame in times of failure,

but also look to praise them as individuals in times of success (Bligh et al. 2011, p. 1059). In the

United States collegiate athletic system, coaching turnover rate has been an impending problem

among teams: if a coach does not have a successful winning percentage within a certain number

of years, they have a higher risk of being fired. The coach inherently falls victim to the romantic

idea of leadership. On the other end of the spectrum, relational leadership involves the idea of

leadership being a shared process between a leader and followers – leadership comes from the

community of people working together to solve their problems, versus having just one individual

leader being the forefront (Drath 2001). From this idea, sports teams would most likely be

assumed to have a relational type of leadership, but does this include all sports?

Athlete leadership is an area of research that has gained tremendous ground in the past

decade of leadership research. While previously researchers chose to focus on the leadership

styles and importance of leadership from the coach, the participating athletes’ leadership is

equally as important. Past research has spent significant time examining the nature and

characteristics of team captains on sport teams – athletes who are often chosen by coaches or

voted for by peers for a leadership role within the team. Study results found that team captains are

often better individual performers and have more senior roles on the team (Loughead et al. 2006).

However, Fransen et al. (2014) specifically studied comparisons of the formal leadership

role (team captain) with informal leaders on sports teams, and found that oftentimes the role of

the formal team captain was overrated. Four leadership roles on athletic teams were established:

task leader, social leader, external leader, and motivational leader. The Task Leader is “in charge”

on the field, gives tactical advice during game situations, and is a main proponent of decision-

making and goal setting. The Motivational Leader is the leading motivator during the game, has

excellent control of emotions, and knows how to encourage teammates towards the right direction

to perform at the optimum level. The Social Leader has a bigger role off the field: fostering good

relations between teammates as well as overall team atmosphere (including conflicts, etc.).

Lastly, the External Leader serves as the connection between the team and outside influences,

most often as a representative or communicator. Forty-four percent of their subject participants

did not distinguish their team captain as the main leader in any of those roles (Fransen et al.

2014). Fransen et al. (2014) concluded that leadership, therefore, is most often spread throughout

the sport team, supporting the relational leadership theory from Drath (2001).

Sport in Ireland In the Irish context, the major organized sports within Irish culture include the Gaelic

games, soccer, and rugby. Eight percent of male adults in Ireland participate in Gaelic football,

which is the most popular of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) family. On the women’s

side, ladies football and camogie together have a combined participation rate of 3 percent of Irish

adult women (Delaney 2013). The sport of soccer is the most popular played team sport among

Irish adults, and is played by 17 percent of adult men and about 2 percent of adult women. While

soccer does not have the organizational strength in Ireland as the Gaelic games, soccer has a large

number of participants who play in both informal and formal contests (Delaney 2013). Rugby is

another popular team sport within the Irish community, as the Irish Rugby Football Union now

has hundreds of rugby clubs located both in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

There has been limited research on specific sports, however, within the Irish university

environment and organization. While college students may participate in community sport clubs,

collegiate athletics in Ireland are more difficult to draw insight into, due to its lack of an

encompassing institution similar to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the

United States. As a whole, university sports in Ireland are largely for enjoyment and love of

competition, as the availability of full-tuition sport university scholarships is fairly uncommon

(Denny 2014). Oftentimes, university students are the main organizers of the university club team

– for game fixtures, game officials, travel, and subsequent planning.

According to Lerner et al. (2011), 57.8% of Irish college aged males and 27.5% of Irish

college aged females participated in an organized physical activity or structured sport teams;

inherently, college aged females were more likely (74%) to participate in unorganized physical

activity. However, almost half of the participants had dropped out of a sport or physical activity

between the ages of 16 to 18. Also, participants claimed that demanding college coursework

caused the dropout from sport 35% of the time, while females dropped out due to having too

much coursework almost 50% more than males. Lack of time and loss of interest were the second

and third most popular reasons, respectively, given for dropout in physical activity/sport among

college students. The general transition to college was found to negatively affect physical activity

and sport because of the combination of increased coursework, social life, and part-time jobs.

Finally, Lerner et al. (2011) determined a positive correlation between intrinsic motivation and

physical activity (fitness, enjoyment of competition, interest, fun/enjoyment), while the exact

intrinsic motivating factors were not specified among individuals.

Sport in the United States The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was created in 1910 to provide an

institution for regulating and expanding collegiate athletics in the United States. It is also valuable

to recognize that full-scholarship collegiate athletics in the United States is a privilege afforded to

only 3% of college students (Smith 2000). In all, research has been aimed to look at the influence

of collegiate athletics on student-athletes in reference to academics, social lives, and personal

development during their time at the university. While studies pinpoint both the possible benefits

and negatives of participation in collegiate athletics, it is important to note that the extent of the

consequences may depend on the student’s commitment to the sport, as well as their overall

athletic commitment. Athletic identity refers to how much athletic participation and involvement

affects the athlete both psychologically and cognitively (Chen et al. 2010).

In Chen et al. (2010), results found that, in general, female U.S. collegiate student-

athletes had a very similar level of sport commitment to male U.S. collegiate student-athletes. It

is also interesting to point out the differing results between team sport and individual sport

participants. According to the research, team sport participants had higher ratings of roles

reflected in teamwork, unity and support, while individual sport respondents (track and field,

cheerleading, and tennis) had higher ratings of extrinsic motivation (Chen et al. 2010).

Traditionally, male athletic participation rates have been higher than female participation rates,

but the gap is consistently closing in recent years (Appendix C).

Sport researchers and educators have studied the positive benefits of athletic participation

and viewership/spectatorship, which include:

1. Developing life-skills that can be transferrable after college

2. Improving health (physical and mental)

3. Learning to obey rules

4. Promoting self- confidence, motivation, self-esteem, personal achievement

5. Providing environment for social amusement

6. Possibilities of earning scholarships/opportunities for free education

7. Learning how to cope with failure

8. Making more life-long friends and exposure to other experiences

(Chen et al. 2010).

However, there have also been studies that show the possible negative sides of collegiate athletic

participation. One study found that male collegiate student-athletes’ either had negatively

influenced or non-effected academic motivation, academic development, and learning ability

compared to non-athletes (Pascarella et al. 2001). Meanwhile, other studies found that collegiate

student-athletes did not have better Grade Point Averages, academic motivation, or cognitive

learning techniques compared to non-athletes (Shulman and Bowen 2001 cited in Chen et al.

2010). Student-athletes have often been the targets of criticisms surrounding the NCAA, as many

now believe that student-athletes should be compensated as employees. NCAA student-athletes

“work” up to twenty hours per week (no more than four hours a day) with meetings, film,

practices, conditioning, and games, not including “voluntary” meetings, training, academic study

hall, and rehabilitation services for injuries. Some consider collegiate athletics to be a part-time

job, as student-athletes have to juggle sports, academics, and social/extracurricular activities

throughout their college career (Carodine et al. 2001).

One main difference between collegiate athletics in the United States and Ireland is due

to one major factor: cost of college attendance. In the United States, college tuition has increased

to an average of $30,000 per year for private four-year universities and an average close to

$10,000 per year for public four-year universities (Appendix D). In 2010, total student loan debt

increased to over $800 billion to try to pay for the rising college tuition, often plaguing students

right after graduation (Avery and Turner 2012). While Ireland affectively eliminated university

tuition costs for undergraduates in 1996, mainly due to the extremely low number of low socio-

economic university students, Irish students therefore do not necessarily feel compelled to search

for scholarship opportunities to pay for university costs (Denny 2014).

In a study focused on international student-athletes in the NCAA, Popp et al. (2009)

found that international student-athletes placed a higher importance on academic achievement, as

well as less importance on the mental and competitive aspect of sport compared to their American

student-athlete counterparts at their respective schools. These results could point to differences in

athletic identity and prioritization of sports between countries and cultures. It is important to note

the study could not fully distinguish between all countries and cultures as separate, and therefore

is an important limitation to consider. However, this same study could support the motivational

factors of participating in collegiate athletics across cultures.

Sports and Work Environment Historically, the world of team sports, especially baseball, football, and basketball, has

been compared and shown to parallel the work environment in several aspects - “The world of

sports mirrors the world of work… game or play structures parallel work structures (Keidel, 1987

p. 591). Keidel’s framework of sport also includes the relationship between the part to part

(player to player or worker to worker) and of the whole (player to team or worker to

organization). In comparing the team sport of baseball to postmodern organizations, Hawkins and

Tolzin (2002) note that both have characteristics of a chaotic and ambiguous external

environment (constantly changing situations), workplace diversity, opportunities to move up and

down in an organization, and working with strangers. Katz (2001) also compares workplace

teams to sport teams, as both are groups with “clearly defined membership whose members are

interdependent to perform a specific task and who operate in the context of a larger organization”

(p. 57). Katz (2001) also goes on to outline lessons that workforce managers can learn from

sports team, from how to motivate a team and how to structure a team and team

performance/results.

When looking at the similarities between the modern-day organizational structure and

sports in general, the question is then brought up – are there also similarities in leadership

philosophy and style between athletics and work environments? Does a collegiate athletic

background influence leadership philosophy in the workplace? I hypothesize that there will be

leadership philosophy differences between the participants with collegiate athletic background in

Ireland and the United States, as well as with the group of participants with no collegiate athletic

background.

Method

This study aimed to provide insight into female managers and their leadership

philosophies, as well as differences in college experiences that may appear in future leadership

styles. In order to explore these insights, I conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews to

maximize research efforts and observe subject perspectives first-hand. I selected the interviewees

through convenience sampling, mainly from the network of female managers I have come into

contact with from various experiences and schedule availability.

From this network, I then focused on choosing between twelve and sixteen total

participants from both the United States and the Republic of Ireland for in-depth and semi-

structured interviews. Participants would fall into three different groups: those with collegiate

athletic background from the U.S., those with collegiate athletic background from Ireland, and

those with no collegiate athletic background from either country. I originally sent out 20 emails to

possible subjects who met the criteria, and received correspondence from 14 women. One of the

fourteen women was unable to complete the interview due to work and time constraints. The

demographics of the participants were as follows: four of the women identify as Black, eight

identify as White, and one participant identified as a Mixed Race. Six of the subjects grew up and

currently live in Ireland, one subject was born in South Africa but currently resides in Ireland,

and the other five subjects grew up and currently reside in the United States. Two of the

interviewees completed their responses through email correspondence, due to schedule restraints.

Four of the participants were not involved with collegiate athletics, while nine subjects

did participate in collegiate athletics. A majority of the participants (7) competed in collegiate

basketball, one competed in soccer, and one competed in collegiate volleyball.

In defining collegiate sport background, I included team sports such as basketball,

soccer, GAA, hurling, baseball, rugby, softball, and doubles tennis (i.e. team sports that

incorporate a ball). Individual sports will include running, cycling, swimming, gymnastics, track

and field, cross country, weight-lifting, golf, and tennis (singles), taking into account the

structured collegiate athletic differences between Ireland and the United States.

To define female managers, the subjects will have to currently be (or have previously

held) a job position that supervises and manages other employees in some capacity. Ideally, the

job environment will be in the business sector – but not solely limited to the business sector.

The semi-structured interviews had a formal set of questions, but were permitted room to

deviate and probe further into questions to allow for more in-depth exploration, and to also

acknowledge the unique and individualized experiences of the interviewees. The first set of

questions asked about the participant’s current job position, as well as their definition of

leadership, skills necessary to be a successful leader, and personal leadership style. For the

subjects who participated in collegiate athletics, the next set of questions pertained to their

motivations behind playing a collegiate sport, their personal experiences with collegiate athletics,

and how that may have influenced their idea of leadership in the workplace. For the subjects who

did not participate in collegiate athletics, the second set of questions focused on their current

internal work culture and any early experiences that may have impacted them as leaders today.

Lastly, the third set of questions for both groups of subjects asked about their conflict

management skills, team building methods, and personal definitions of success.

The analysis of the transcripts began with a thorough reading of each interview, as well

as highlighting and identifying themes throughout the content. As the questions centered around

leadership definition, collegiate athletics background, other early experiences, and overcoming

adversity, these were the first codes identified. With each read through, the codes and themes

were broken down even further and re-organized to account for interrelated ideas.

ResultsThe results are derived from direct analysis of the interview transcripts. From the

transcripts, I pulled away main themes: definition of leadership and encompassing skills, as well

as personal leadership style; motivation to play sport; early experiences (minus sport) that led to

leadership experience; skills transferred from athletics into the workplace; and overcoming

adversity as a female leader both in sports and outside of sports.

Leadership

DefinitionFrom the interviews with the participants, the definition of leadership was similar across

the board. Interviewees often said that leadership consists of an ability to influence others

through communication, perseverance, trust, respect, vision, and transparency. Being able to

communicate the common goal to the rest of the team; gaining the trust and respect of your

employees and teammates; and having the transparency of your actions and ethics shine through

in the vision or common goal. Faith and Robyn, respectively, probably simplified the definition

best: “I think leadership is about the ability to influence others. Leadership is about vision...

leadership is getting people to follow you, to execute that vision I guess”; “Probably in its

simplest form, it is the opportunity to influence others. At the end of the day, I think that

leadership is about influencing both positively and negatively, and people do that in different

kinds of ways.” Anucha concluded, “I guess for me, the result of strong leadership is the ability to

leave a strong set of individuals in tact whenever and if I decide to move on... in such a way that,

your absence is transparent.”

Leadership SkillsAlong those same lines, I also asked the participants about the most important values and

skills that a leader should demonstrate. Alongside communication, listening, and trust, the

interviewees also stressed the importance of empathy, honesty, knowledge, patience, confidence,

empowering others, and remaining true to oneself. Lastly, participants also noted that leaders

have to have a tough skin and have to be able to handle criticism appropriately. Empowering

others could include giving more responsibilities to employees, giving them feedback at the end

of assignments, and preparing them for their own future roles.

Cathy found that “communication, patience, listening skills, and flexibility” were all

important skills found in a leader. Synthia. affirmed, “I think communication is one of the most

important skills that are important in a leadership role, because you have to communicate to

everyone and make sure that they understand what the common goal is! Also... honesty… and

trust… those go hand in hand...” Faith also declared, “I think also as a leader you have to have

tough skin. Because as a leader there are going to be times where you piss people off and they

don’t understand why you’re making the decision you’re making... and you’ve just gotta be able

to take it.”

Personal Leadership StyleResults found that the personal leadership styles of the female managers are very

individually based, and could also tie in to their position or context of the career and industry.

Participants often continued their response of their personal definition of leadership by listing

qualities and skills that pertain particularly to themselves, as well as what the idea of leadership

should look like. For example, Jacqui found that her leadership style consisted of “having an open

channel of communication, expecting honesty from other people and always giving it back ten-

fold…” Robyn would define her leadership style as “independent-minded team player... I think

being a team player is defined as an individual who understands what the team goal is, and is

willing to do what is necessary in order to make sure that the team wins…” Lastly, Synthia’s

description of her leadership style falls closely in line with her career, as she is a public servant

with the fire department. She states, “I would describe my leadership style as a servant leader...

who puts others first in a personal sense, and always to show my team that I care for them outside

of the work place as well.”

However, even with the individual differences found in leadership styles, by combining

the interviewee’s previous definitions of leadership, a majority of responses fall closely towards

the transformational leadership end of the leadership spectrum due to the obvious emphasis on

influencing others, emotional intelligence, and transparency related to workplace goals.

Early Experiences (Excluding Sports)Three of the four participants who did not have collegiate athletic experience credit being

one of the oldest siblings or their family structures to their future leadership style and/or abilities.

Jenny stated, “I’m a Gastonia native – eldest of four kids so I guess I was born into leadership”.

Along the same lines, Sheila said, “Having five brothers! And being at the top end of the family,

as one of the eldest in the family, you’re given the responsibility, and that’s it.” For family

structure, Karen thought that, “Being raised by a single mother and growing up with limited

resources in the developing world teaches you what is important and how to appreciate the little

things in life.” Meanwhile Lael expressed, “I went to high school in a big international school, so

I think it really helped me out… it exposed me to having to work with a lot of different types of

people”.

College Athletics

Motivational Factors to Play College Sports and Overall ExperienceFor the interviewees, both in Ireland and in the United States who participated in

collegiate athletics, I posed the question, “What were the motivations and reasons why you chose

to play collegiate sports?” The Irish participants referred more to the social aspects of playing

sports as a motivational factor. For Jacqui, “Basketball was always there”, as well as her former

Irish (international) teammates that she previously knew. Amy stated, “I play basketball because

it’s the only place I switch off. It’s the only thing I genuinely enjoy. I think you start playing at

such a young age that it becomes a part of you. College (basketball) I definitely enjoyed. It was

lovely - less pressure compared to playing SuperLeague or National League. It was sociable.”

Cathy found that, “Basketball was my passion since I was a child… good fun, to me UL

(University of Limerick) was like a second family. I felt very at home, supported and allowed the

opportunity to practice and develop”.

Meanwhile, for the participants from the United States, the majority had played sports

from a young age and continued on to play in college. Synthia had “grown up as a real tomboy,

and I played every sport imaginable… I actually didn’t start to play soccer until I was already in

college… I didn’t go into college wanting to play soccer at that level – it just kind of happened

because I was continuously playing sports.” Anucha credited her competitive spirit, saying, “I

was just incredibly competitive… I enjoyed the sport… I found a lot of joy in it and I saw it as an

opportunity to grow. I enjoy team sports more than individual sport because it really forces you to

play a role.”

All interviewees from Ireland and the United States also reiterated the personal

enjoyment from the sport as well. Surprisingly, only one interviewee mentioned the potential full

athletic scholarship as a motivation behind her playing collegiate sports. Robyn understood that

she came from:

“A family of sports lovers and athletes… so doing well in school and doing well in sports

was just part of what was going on in our household... I think the decision to play was 1. I

wasn’t depending on basketball to pay for college. And 2. I really wanted to see if I could

play at a Division 1 level. And 3. I just thought it would be a heck of a lot of fun to play

basketball...”

Athletic Skills Transferred into Workplace/Overall ExperienceWhen asked specifically about athletic skills that may transfer into the workplace, the

interviewees mentioned time management, organizational and teamwork skills, working through

adversity, learning to win, and communication as the main skills. Jacqui summed up her overall

experience of collegiate athletics with, “I would honestly say that playing a collegiate sport is

responsible for so much of your grounding as an adult… it teaches you time management for

sure, and at the same time you get to meet so many different people. It teaches you a lot of the

highs and lows that go along with it a well, you need to be quite a balanced individual to be able

to take it all in as well. (Also)... communicating – if you’re a good communicator at that then I

can probably guess that you’re a good communicator at life in general. That’s probably the

biggest thing that sport has taught me.” Amy reflected, “Things that are worthwhile are always

hard at first – if it’s not hard work then it’s not as much fun really. And when you’re successful, it

means that all of the hard work, all the suicides, early mornings, late night sessions, are all worth

it.” Synthia also found that “…once you learn how to win, it just becomes second nature almost.

We knew what it took to get back there, so we knew how to prepare… It taught me that you have

to do the little things in order to be successful.”

Collegiate athletics often presents opportunities to travel, as well as meeting other people

from different backgrounds. Robyn reiterated, “…the most fun thing about sports and basketball

is that you can always live somewhere else in the world… and that you can still go to a basketball

court and you can play a pickup game...”Along the same frame of mind, Anucha stated,

“It (collegiate athletics) changed my life... I met people from everywhere. It just

reinforced the importance of understanding and celebrating diversity… it has taught me

the value of bringing people from different backgrounds together to work as a team… I

have modeled that from my experience in sport... where everybody isn’t a star but

everybody plays a specific role and you need to try to get the most from that person

depending on where they are.”

Overcoming Adversity

Challenges/Successes/ Lessons Learned from SportParticipants referred frequently to overcoming obstacles and barriers both while playing

their sport, and also within the workplace. Deidre stated that, “…leadership is when someone

demonstrates an ability to push through boundaries despite barriers and constraints you may

face…” While playing sports, participants spoke about rehabbing from injuries, learning their

role on the team (even if it was on the bench), adjusting to new positions, dealing with losing and

winning seasons, and other criticism faced in those experiences.

In college volleyball, Faith was forced to adjust to a new playing position. She expressed,

“Because I could move reasonably well they wanted to try to teach me to be a middle – I hated it.

And it drove me crazy. And I just didn’t want to do it... And I shouldn’t have bitched and

moaned, I shouldn’t have complained... I should’ve just figured out a way to tough it out.”

Anucha echoed, “We played overseas and I rode the bench for most of the experience so I had

gone from (the) nation’s leading scorer to not playing at all. That was pretty defining for me.

Because it forced me out of my comfort zone and I had to learn to play a different role.”

Collegiate athletics in general are a source of learning through practical experience, both

from winning and losing contests. Amy reflected, “I also had a really bad injury – I had to get

reconstructive knee surgery when I was 19 in my third year of college. I had some good times and

I had some bad times… I suppose, before that (injury), I never had a setback. And you always

have to have goal setting.” Collegiate sports taught Deirdre how to effectively deal with a

disappointing situation. Lastly, Robyn concluded,

“And I do think that sometimes from a motivational perspective, if you are – you know

when you bump into challenging positions in the workplace, sometimes I will reflect to a

situation in sports where I was down and we won. Or I had an injury and it seems like

you’re never going to get better. So I think in terms of individual motivation, I do think

that having been an athlete at that level, allowed me to maybe dig deeper in order to

maybe do some things, or get through some barriers or obstacles.”

Challenges/Successes/Lessons in the WorkplaceIn the workplace, the interviewees recounted several situations and overall

acknowledgments of obstacles that they may face on a daily basis. As a sport referee, Sarah faced

mounting criticism from spectators and players alike – “So when you got kicked back and were

told you had a tough game or someone told you (that) you weren’t very good... you crawl into a

shell... and doubts come into your mind that maybe I’m not good enough to be at this level –

maybe I should do something else.”

During the interviews, a number of participants also mentioned the various gender

differences recognized throughout their professional careers as a female in the workplace. Amy,

when referring to her leadership style as a professor and business owner, stated that she supposes

that she isn’t “bossy”, a term frequently used to describe women in a negative context (Sandberg

2013). Sheila stated that as she signed up for a leadership seminar, one of her colleagues in her

office remarked, “Why are you going on this – you’ll just turn into a bitch”. Jenny also observed,

“As a woman, people tend to either characterize you as a pushover or a bitch. I’d rather be known

as a pushover and surprise people, than be known as a bitch and not be able to change people’s

opinions.”

Often, the women have had to prove themselves to their fellow colleagues and employees

in previously male-dominated industries. Synthia, the first female Battalion Chief of the local Fire

Department, found that “many of the guys weren’t very accepting of my position at the

beginning... it certainly took some time for them to accept me, and ultimately gain their respect,

once they realized that I was there to stay.” As an executive in the collegiate sport business

industry, Anucha observed, “I have learned over my career that as a woman, when you are direct,

you are viewed differently than if you are direct and you are a male… especially in the sports

business. So there are times when I have to soften how I come across in order to achieve my

goal.” As a basketball coach, Deidre expressed,

“For 20 years I was a female coach, coaching a men’s senior team, and I faced a lot of

barriers as a female coach… coaching Senior men, and you had to try to push on

constructively, despite the traditional stereotypes that surround that line of work... it can

be a little more blatant when you’re coaching in terms of the stereotypes you would be up

against, but it’s not very dissimilar to the types of barriers you can face as a woman

trying to lead in different fields. People tend to be a little more implicit about their types

of discrimination in the workplace rather than in sports (where) it can be quite in your

face.”

DiscussionThe need to study the female manager’s experience within the workplace, as well as their

leadership background, may bring more understanding to the phenomenon known as the ‘female

leadership advantage’ (Eagly and Carli 2003). Collegiate athletics are regarded as an ingredient

for future success in the workplace, as well as added leadership experience (Loughead 2006).

This study aimed to observe these aspects in conjunction with each other, as well as hear first-

hand definitions of leadership from female managers.

Leadership has historically been a difficult and often, impossible, term to truly define,

thus the reasoning for including various categories of leadership (Popper 2004; Judge et al. 2002).

While there are many shared adjectives for the leadership definition among the interview

participants, it seems that there is one main crossover: the ability to influence others. This

important finding provides a unified and interconnected definition for the ambiguous term

‘leadership’, among women with varying experiences, backgrounds, and careers. The ability to

influence and empower others (whether colleagues, employees, or employers) from your job

position seems to be an integral skill of a successful leader (Eagly 2007). As previously

mentioned, the definition of leadership identified by the interviewees falls closely in line with the

theory of transformational leadership, by inspiring or influencing others to be the best they can be

(Hawkins and Tolzin 2002).

I originally hypothesized that there would be leadership philosophy differences among

the interviewees from the United States, Ireland, and the non-sport participants. According to the

interviewee transcripts, the overall definition of leadership did not differ among participant

groups. The personal leadership philosophies did differ but only on an individual basis; the

individual differences seemed related to the participant’s careers and workplace dynamic.

There are various implications for the future by looking at the interview transcripts and

comparing the background experiences of the participants. For example, regardless of the

participant’s motivation to play sport and their home country, it seems that the experience of

collegiate athletics itself leads to similar lessons and takeaways for the future. The Irish female

managers mentioned the social benefits from college sports more frequently than the U.S.

participants as a motivational factor or reason for deciding to play. This may tie into the often-

professional collegiate athletic system in place in the United States, as student athletes can

sometimes earn full scholarships to attend a university. With the increased costs of tuition in the

United States, reaching as much as $50,000 a year in some private institutions, the competitive

nature of high school athletes to strive for scholarships is steadily mounting year to year (Avery

and Turner 2012). While the motivations to play sport fell in line with the related cultural

perspectives, it seems as if each collegiate athletic experience, regardless of the country, taught

similar leadership skills and expectations, as the participants still expressed similar definitions of

leadership and skills needed for their careers. It also implies that the participants who did not

participate in collegiate athletics also shared similar experiences that taught them leadership skills

for the future. The non-sport participants further articulated that they believe familial

circumstances and family structure helped spur their leadership capabilities at a young age.

Another implication from the interview transcripts suggests the ongoing struggles of

females within the workplace, especially in typically male-dominated industries. While the

interviewees did not mention the ‘female glass ceiling’ theory explicitly, many of them still

recounted stories of stereotyping, discrimination, and overcoming various obstacles in the

workplace (Eagly and Carli 2003). While there is evidence that the gender gap in the workforce is

slowly closing, there is still a long way to go to help women and their colleagues transition to a

more accepting environment (Eagly 2007). Perhaps diversity training, deeper understanding of

stereotypical ideas, and the presence of more women will help close this gap even more. Each of

the participants, regardless of their background, recounted an incident of overcoming obstacles in

the workplace. While the participants with collegiate athletic backgrounds frequently narrated

incidents both from collegiate sports and from the workplace, a majority felt that overcoming the

challenges in sport helped prepare them even more for the workplace.

Future Topics to Consider

There are several topics from this study that should be considered for future research.

Firstly, the Born vs. Made debate was unintentionally mentioned by three of the interviewees.

Sarah expressed, “I think the thing that can be taught in college is how to deal with people – how

to manage people, I think can be taught. But a natural leader doesn’t come from college

background – it’s not something you can be taught – you either have those characteristics or you

don’t”. The Born vs. Made debate begins historically with the Great Man theory, which was

proposed by Thomas Carlyle in 1907 (Doh 2003). The theory suggests that the ultimate leader is

determined at birth, and separates himself as a leader from that moment on due to being a natural

born leader (Zaccaro 2007). All three of the interviewees suggest that while there may be certain

personality characteristics that a person can be born with to help become a better leader, there are

also skills and qualities one must learn as well. Specifically related to sport and leadership

qualities, Deirdre believes, “I think sport gives you an opportunity to express those sorts of

qualities you have; it does certainly challenge qualities you may have and allows you to develop

those further. I do think that some of those qualities can be developed, but also think that the

roots of them have to be there.”

Secondly, all of the subjects in the study who competed in collegiate athletics were apart

of various levels of competition – from collegiate athletics in Ireland, to NCAA Division 3, and

top NCAA Division 1 programs. Future considerations should explore the effect of these varying

competitive levels, as they could also vary the level of dedication, team cohesiveness…

surrounding the athletic experience.

Thirdly, a majority of the participants (6 out of the 13) competed in collegiate basketball,

one competed in soccer, one competed in both cycling and basketball, and one competed in

collegiate volleyball. While each of these activities is categorized as a team sports, it may be of

interest to explore the differences between team sports and individual sports in relation to

leadership skills (Evans et al. 2012). As one participant noted, “Now possibly the only regret I do

have is never trying an individual sport. I never tried an individual sport simply because I played

basketball, and I’m sure that an individual sport would possibly give you some life long lessons –

and team sports would too - and would teach you more about yourself as an individual, than a

team sport would because you have other people to rely on”. Along those same lines, all 13

participants are involved in some sort of team setting in their work culture. Whether it may

involve temporary teams or permanent teams, it may be interesting for future research to look at

subjects who work in independent based work cultures.

Possible LimitationsThe possible limitations of this study should also be considered when analyzing the

implications. The small sample of interview participants (13), as well as their convenient manner

of sampling, may be possible limitations, as a larger sample may be more representative. The risk

of inter-rater reliability is also high, as I solely interpreted the interviews on my own and did not

have an extra researcher to control for possible biases. It is also important to keep in mind that

there may be individual differences based on collegiate athletic experiences.

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Appendices

Appendix A

Quinn Model of Leadership, 1984, Quinn

Appendix B

Appendix C

NCAA Student-athlete Participation Rates, 2002-2011, NCAA

Appendix D

Trends in College Pricing, 2013, College Board