Preferred Coaching Styles and Leadership Methods by Athletes and Their Effectiveness!

Preferred coaching styles and leadership methods by athletes and their effectiveness!

Jason Appleton

Southerrn Oregon University, Instructor: Garth Pittman

Research Strategies, Fall 2005

Summary:

This is an investigation of different coaching methods and styles of leadership in which are most effective and preferred by Athletes. The various leadership styles are explained and examined. The present study found that there isn't one style that is most effective or preferred by all athletes specifically.

As we enter the world of sports several different theories and methods of coaching are used and preformed each day. Each coach innovates their specific style or way of coaching to their athletes. When viewing coaching and leadership styles it becomes apparent that there are many different styles of coaching and leadership in general, each possessing a level of effectiveness in success and preference. The question that is commonly raised is which method is most effective and or preferred by athletes. This study is being preformed to analyze and accumulate a solution or result to the preference by athletes and also which method or style is most effective. To conclude and answer that question the idea or concept we are left with is that there isn't one style or technique of coaching and leadership that is most effective and preferred.

It is important to reveal and identify what leadership entails and represents. As we take a look at (Adams, Brilhart, Galanes, 2004 ) they do a great job of focusing on the difference between leadership and a leader. When focusing on leadership in general they keen in on the idea that it is an interpersonal influence. Even further the way that Hackman and Johnson describe it with the focus on communication it reveals or is defined as "human symbolic communication which modifies the attitudes and behaviors of others in order to meet group goals and needs."(pg. 229) When reaching further into the article it explains how leadership is essentially controlled by power or it is present by the superior leader, but with it comes the proper use of its possession. They continue to explain leaders can influence others by using power thus creating a relationship of some magnitude based on perceived power. With this relationship the many power levels vary by situation and enforcement. To be more specific effective leader and to know how to use their power by punishing followers when necessary and reward followers when positive performance is achieved. These are concepts of an effective leader must posses. Directly incorporated in leadership is a leader or the person who posses the power. This person is explained to be influential to the group behaviors and or is elected by the group or designated by the group to lead. The big difference explained in this article is leadership being a process and leaders as a person with influence. This concept directly relating to coaching effectiveness and the aspects a coach must withhold in order to be an effective leader. The article also hits an interesting part in which is often forgotten when thinking about leaders and that is as a leader or individual the success of the group or team is directly reflected back to you.

An area of leadership that is not often focused on is the nonverbal aspect of leadership. As author Remland (2003) analyzes the importance of effective nonverbal cues and communication. Remland describes the different techniques and knowledge a coach or leader needs to specifically insert towards individuals. An example the author discusses is "sudden and dramatic changes in behavior may be viewed as insincere and manipulative by subordinates" (pg. 28). The idea of athletes or followers each having specific abilities to comprehend nonverbal cues and an effective leader has to be able to recognize this. Therefore, stating that "managers need to develop some skills in the encoding and decoding of nonverbal messages. Much of what a manager says may be contradicted by what he or she does" (pg.28). This directly relates with athlete-coach relationships and their nonverbal communication. This idea that much of the nonverbal cues displayed have a great effect on the relationship and thoughts between the coach-athlete.

Leadership has been researched extensively but yet scholars are yet to find or compile an exact definition. As (Kent, Todd, 2004) explain there have been many efforts in defining leadership and several ideas have been compiled yet there is still a distinct discrepancy amongst scholars. Author Chelladurai breaks down leadership into three elements: "(1) leadership is a behavior process, (2) leadership is interpersonal in nature, and (3) leadership is aimed at influencing and motivating members toward group goals" (pg. 160). These are the ways he focuses leaderships and their intentions towards leading. Kent and Todd further discuss the importance of leadership and its distinct aspect to society and organizations, and that future successes are largely dependent upon it (2004). Another area in the domain of leadership styles is when (Zorn & Violanti 1993) define leadership as "patterns of behaviors, assumptions, attitudes, or traits exhibited by individuals in attempting to provide leadership" (pg. 70). Additionally we further examine (Bloom, Vallйe, 2005; Chelladurai, 1990; Chelladurai & Seleh 1978; Zhang et. al. 1997) in which "they break down the different styles of leadership into five categories, autocratic, democratic, positive feedback, social support and training and instruction. They believed that these were the prominent methods of coaching in athletics. They then ran various surveys to compile as they mention more accurate reflection of coaching process" (pg 74). Source after source continues to mention the impact of the multidimensional model of leadership and how it is the first of its kind specifically generated for sports situations. While many focus on Chelladurai's model Cфtй, J.; Salmela, J.