Leadership

By the end of the lesson you should be able to:

• Identify the characteristics of leaders.

• Understand the importance of effective leadership.

• Describe emergent and prescribed leaders.

• Understand trait, social learning and interactionist perspectives on leadership.

• Explain the theories of leadership.

• The behavioural process influencing individuals and groups towards set goals.

• In the activity you have just done, do you think anyone acted as a leader? Did this influence the group in any way? How effective were they as leaders?

Leadership is ……..

Sporting Non Sporting

Michael Vaughan Hitler

Alex Ferguson Winston Churchill

Sir Alf Ramsey Robert the Bruce

Vince Lombardi Nelson Mandela

Sir Matt Busby Pope John Paul II

Clive Woodward Gandhi

Martin Jol Margaret Thatcher

What characteristics do these people all have which make them good leaders?

Good Leader

Good Communication

Experience

Be carefully selected

Be friendly with their subjects

Ambition

Determination

Shows Empathy Good at making decisions

Charisma

High Motivation

Have a clear goal

Be a born leader

Has respect of group

Disciplinarian

Must be the best player

• An effective leader has a number of qualities, no single quality will ensure effectiveness on its own. Qualities of leadership include:

• Good communication skills

• High motivation

• Having a clear goal or vision of what needs to be achieved

• Empathy

• Ambition

• Charisma/presence

• Determination

• Good at making decisions

• Experience

Are Leaders Born or Made?

This is a controversial issue. There are 3 theories:

Trait Approach

This theory suggests that leaders are born with the skills necessary to take charge. It suggests that leadership traits such as intelligence, assertiveness and self confidence are stable personality dispositions

If this is true, the trait approach suggests that a leader should be able to take control of any situation.

How likely is this?

Social Learning Theory

This theory suggests that all behaviours are learned. For example, when an aspiring captain judges a situation to have been handled well by an experienced leader, the method will be remembered and copied should the situation arise again.

This is called ‘vicarious reinforcement’.

Interactionist Theory

According to this theory, leadership competencies emerge because of both inherited abilities and learned skills.

This is generally perceived as giving a more realistic explanation of human behaviour in sport.

• Individuals can become leaders in one of 2 ways

• Emergent leader – come from within the group because they are skilful or because the rest of the team select them by vote or interview.

• Prescribed leader – are appointed from an external source to a team.

Selection of a Leader

• Think of advantages and disadvantages of an emergent leader and a prescribed leader.

Prescribed or emergent?

Emergent

Advantages Disadvantages

Respect gained quickly by the group who rate his/her skill

Respect may well be short lived and ‘familiarity can breed contempt’

They tend to be more popular individuals and are well liked

They tend to be more popular individuals and are well liked

other group members feel less threatened

Other group members feel less threatened

Prescribed

Advantages Disadvantages

They have externally recognised authority and therefore high status

slow acceptance from other group members because of perceived

threat

May be able to see problems more objectively and be more detached

the new leader does not know group members and therefore may make incorrect decisions initially

Leadership Styles

• Two main types:

• Task oriented or autocratic – concerned with the task demands of the group.

• Person oriented or democratic – concerned with the interpersonal behaviour of the group members.

Person Task

• Makes all decisions.

• Does not take into account the opinions of the group.

• Focuses on group performance and achieving goals.

The Autocratic Leader ……….

Is used …………..

• When quick decisions are needed

• With large groups of people

• In potentially dangerous situations

The Democratic Leader ……………

• Will share decision with the rest of the group

• Is interested in developing meaningful inter-personal relationships within the team.

• Tries to give ‘ownership’ of the task to each individual.

Is Used …………………..

• In a game situation when there are no time constraints and personal support may be required

• Which style did the leaders of the group activity use?

• Which style of leadership would you adopt in the following situation:

1. You are introducing yourself as the new coach to a hostile group.

Task / Autocratic

2. You would like to bring together a very large group of athletes as a team before a big meeting. Task /Autocratic

3. You are coaching a highly skilled squash player. Person /

Democratic

4. A friendly, successful team of lacrosse players asks you to be their coachPerson /

Democratic

5. A novice weightlifter needs coaching just before the lift

Task & Person

According to Fiedler, the correct style of leadership to adopt depends on the ‘favourableness, of the situation

Highly favourable situation

Highly unfavourable situation

Leaders position is strong

Leaders position is weak

Task is simple with clear structure

Task is complex with vague structure

Warm group and leader relations

Hostile group and leader relations

Fiedler states that autocratic, task oriented leaders are more effective in both the most and least favourable situations

Democratic, person oriented leaders are more effective in moderately favourable situations

Least favourableMost favourable

Low

High

Group

Performance

Effectiveness

Situation Favourableness

Laissez Faire Style

In this style the leader will stand aside and allow the group to make its own decisions.

Lewin (1985) found that members of this type of group tended to be aggressive towards each other when mistakes occurred and they gave up easily.

Chellandurai’s Multidimensional Model of Sports Leadership

Situational

Characteristics

Leader

Characteristics

Member

Characteristics

Required

Behaviour

Group Performance / Group Satisfaction

Actual

Behaviour

Preferred

Behaviour

Characteristics affecting behaviour

Type of Leader

BehaviourConsequences

• Chellandurai identified three factors that affect leadership. These are called Antecedents

• Situational Characteristics.

• Leader Characteristics

• Group Member Characteristics

Next, Chellandurai recognises 3 types of leader behaviour that would be guided by the antecedents

• Required Behaviour

• Actual Behaviour

• Preferred Behaviour

All 3 behaviours must coincide exactly (be congruent) before effective leadership can take place.

Are you able to:

• Identify the characteristics of leaders.

• Understand the importance of effective leadership.

• Describe emergent and prescribed leaders.

• Understand trait, social learning and interactionist perspectives on leadership.

• Explain the theories of leadership.

Have you met the objectives?