Section A
Introduction and definitions
This personal investigation will aim to consider a range of effective leadership and sports management techniques and strategies that could be utilised in coaching. In particular the focus will be on the leadership strategies and interaction, as part of an effective programme, suggested by current authors and research, to integrate leadership methods in order to improve the management of athletes’ performance. To maintain currency, I have utilised research from the past 10 years, with the exception of Reid, G. (2005) Learning styles and inclusion, London, Sage publications. Which is just outside of the set parameters. The scope of this investigation is to review current knowledge in effective leadership practice. It will not be able to summarise all scientific knowledge or specify styles for specific sports.
Approach taken
The focus has very much been on the direct interaction between athletes and the people that coach or lead them. Looking at processes and models has been a key part of this study.
Trustworthiness of sources
All sources are from published books or scientific journals and were accessed from the Open University Library.
Main findings from the literature
Management and leadership styles
The main difference between management and leadership is that we manage things and lead people. Things can include physical assets, processes, and systems. People include athletes, external stakeholders, and people within the coaching team. Although there are several published texts on leadership styles early texts focus on very ‘black and white’ styles, such as; Lewin et al (1939) three behaviourist styles authoritarian, democratic and laissez-fair, as identified by Boyle et al (2015). Arguably, there is a need for transformational leadership, as both the situation and relationship between coach and athlete will vary and the coach’s basic remit is to develop athletes and a team. Doyle and Smith (cited in Preedy et al, 2014 p.193) identified that leadership is often required to change, dependent on the task and the staff or team and that the leader must be flexible and adaptable.
The many different ways of leading differ in their focus, delivery and outcomes e.g. whether the aim is to focus on relational, coaching effectiveness, athlete-centred, group centred strategies. However, there seems to be a general consensus within the literature that both the process of leadership and the process of sport coaching are very similar in their makeup and should work in synergy with one another. All leadership styles are dependent on coach’s preferred style and characteristics, athletes characteristics, in the context of the interaction, and the quality of the relationship between the coach and athlete.
This need for a leader to adapt within the sporting environment and often quickly reflects, Hersey and Blanchard’s (Doyle and Smith, 2009, p.155) model on leadership style and situation. The model illustrates four main leadership styles, which a good leader is able to switch between, depending on the situation and the team's maturity relating to a particular task. The model should also be used to develop a team from being dependant to independent and is applicable to any new situation or skill development. The four styles are;
1. Telling. This is the first stage and is a clear and direct style with detailed instructions very little autonomy from the team.
2. Selling. The second stage would be used where the team are willing but have little experience with the task. This is very much a coaching style used to motivate the team.
3. Participating. All decisions are shared between the team and the leader will consult all the team to increase motivation. There will be far less instruction and the team will have a greater level of independence.
4. Delegating. In the last stage, the leader will inform the team of the task and provide support where required but the decision how the task is completed is left to the team.
Bond and Seneque (cited in O’Boyle, et al 2015, p.44) developed a leadership framework and continuum based on five approaches to leadership within a sporting environment; managing, consulting, mentoring and coaching. They stated that, ‘coaching, when used as part of an organisation-wide strategy, can offer a framework for human resource development that is grounded in the ‘here and now’ and assist with balancing individual, team and organisational development needs’. We often think of coaching in terms of skill development. However, Bond and Seneque show that coaching itself is an effective leadership and management technique and is much more relevant in modern sports management.
Teaching and learning strategies
Thorndike (Cited in Power, 2009, p.232) looked at the relationship between the stimulus and the response. He stated that there are 3 primary laws that exist within that relationship. The law of readiness states that the individual must be both mentally and physically ready to learn. This will vary greatly within a sporting environment and will depend heavily on the motivation of the athlete or team. The law of affect states that responses that result in success will strengthen the relationship between stimulus and response and that failure will lead to the response being avoided. The coach should ensure that the drill being carried out is designed for the athletes to be successful, although challenging, which is why the entire practice should be broken down into stages. Regular encouragement and praise will also be used to ensure success. The law of exercise states that repetition will strengthen the relationship between stimulus and response. The method of teaching all sport and physical activity should lend itself to this well. The method will follow a set pattern such as; Explanation, demonstration, impersonation and practice. Or introduce, demonstrate explain and activity. In other words, listen, watch, attempt, and repeat.
However, for this kind of physical skill to be effective, stimulus and response is not enough. There is a requirement that the recruits must learn from the experience in order to adapt if required and also to know what they are doing is correct. Skinner (Cited in Power, 2009, p.233) in his theory of operant conditioning said, that we learn not just from the environment but rather the effects of our actions within the environment. He established several ways in which we learn from our behaviour.
Firstly, positive reinforcement. Which will increase the probability of behaviour being repeated. This would work well with the athlete when they are praised by the coaches for achieving a particular task or completing a successful event. Secondly, negative reinforcement. This increases the probability that behaviour will be repeated because a negative affect will stop. As an example, a rugby player will learn how to receive a tackle, move to ground and get up again quickly in a way that results in the minimum of bruises and cuts and is more energy efficient. Lastly, Skinner identified punishment as a way we learn. Additional drills, repetitions or ‘run to the post’ may be added in to games and activities when mistakes are made. The athletes will learn to avoid making mistakes in order to avoid the extra work.
Skinner (cited in Power, 2009 P.233) later furthered this theory identifying that; positive reinforcement is much more affective at changing and establishing behaviour than punishment is. He also suggested that all people will learn from being punished, is how to avoid being punished the next time. Using his schedule of reinforcement, he identified three elements of positive reinforcement. Continuous reinforcement, or reinforcement after a specific action. Interval reinforcement, which can be at set or random times throughout the practice and he also considered the ratio, which can also be fixed or random and deals with set practice. As an example; feedback and praise at the end of a practice session.
Effective communication
The communication process in its simplest form is made up of four key components; encoding, method of transmission, decoding, and feedback. There are also two other factors in the process, and those two factors are present in the form of the sender and the receiver. The communication process begins with the sender and ends with the receiver. The receiver is the individual or individuals to who the communication is intended. How much the athlete understands the message will depend on a number of factors, which include; how much the athletes know about the subject, how receptive they are to the message, and the relationship and trust that exists between the coach and athlete. The message from the coach can be interpreted differently within a team, depending on the athlete’s experiences, attitudes, knowledge, skills, perceptions, and culture.
Communication in sport can be defined as ‘a process by which people in sport, in a sport setting, or through a sport endeavour share symbols as they create meaning through interaction’ Pederson et al (cited in Boyle, 2015, p.96).
Pederson et al (2007) developed the strategic sports communication model (SSC), which is made up of three separate components; personal and organisational communication, mass media and sport communication services. Within personal and organisational communication in sport are aspects of personal communication and aspects of organisational communication. Coaches may utilise all three of the models methods within their role to communicate within the team and outside stakeholders. Within the SSC, the method the communication is delivered is important. There are three main components a coach or manager must utilise in order to be effective in communication. The coach must be clear on what they are saying and should choose an appropriate channel. The message then needs to be delivered to the intended audience, it is important that the coach knows the audience for the message to be effective. And lastly, the coach must maintain the message, through feedback, repetition and coaching.
Pederson et al (2007) identified two dimensions to communication for a coach, task oriented and relationship oriented. Within this there are four styles of communication depending on their own natural style and the situation.
Junior athletic management
Career transitions are turning phases in an athletes' career development. They should be first defined in terms of their place in the athletes career. The broadest career term in psychology is a life career that encompasses an individual's life-long development and achievements, as identified by Ecklund and Tenenbaum (2014). In sport, an athletic career could be defined as a sequence of career stages and transitions. An athletic career should be looked at, as a developmental process that includes proceeding through career stages and coping with career transitions as turning phases in development.
Stambulova (cited in Ecklund and Tenabaum), provides a model that views athlete transition as a process of been able to cope with the demands faced by using various coping strategies. She further goes on to suggest that there are two major outcomes in the model; successful transition and crisis transition. Successful transition would be the result of effective coping when the demands of the transition period and the athletes' coping resources and strategies are evenly matched. Crisis transition would be the result of ineffective coping when low resources, barriers, and poor coping strategies make it hard to meet the transition demands. Stambulova also went on to say that, crisis is also conceptualised as a transition that the athlete is unable to cope with independently and perceives a need for transition intervention. Furthermore, according to the model, the crisis transition pathway could also have two possible other outcomes: delayed successful transition (this is where there is effective intervention) and unsuccessful transition (in case of ineffective or poor intervention) linked with negative consequences of avoiding coping with the crisis. Such as, droping out, overtraining, or turning to performance enhancing. There are several career transition interventions outlined in the model, these include crisis-prevention, crisis-coping, and negative-consequences-coping interventions.
Athletes' transitions can be classified into athletic and nonathletic, as well as into normative and nonnormative categories (Ecklund and Tenenbaum, 2014). Normative athletic transitions are relatively easy to predict and are based on the logical sequence of athletic development; the transition into organised sport, the transition to the development stage or more intensive training in the athletes’ sport, the move from junior to senior sports, the move to professional sport, the transition to maintenance career stage, and the leaving of sport as a career are all examples of the normative athletic transitions. Normative nonathletic transitions refer to the junior athletes' transitions in psychological, social, and academic–vocational development, such as moving from childhood to teenager, the transition from living at home to living on their own, the transition to college or university and the transition from education to working. Nonnormative transitions are less predictable, such as transitions caused by injury or changing team or coach. The fact that normative transitions are predictable, means that the coach or leader in sport should be able to prepare the junior athletes and have a plan in place for them in advance.
Ecklund and Tenenbaum (2014), go on to say that; the most research has been done on the transition from the development to the mastery stage (also known as the transition from junior to senior and elite sports) and the transition to the post-sports career (athletic retirement).
This could be explained by the fact that there would be a great deal of difficulty in this period and the how important this transition is to the junior athletes wanting to achieve an elite or professional level in sports. The junior athletes would believe that this transition is a big step and there would be a much higher standard expected in practice and performance than they might have experienced before. Issues outside sports are also very important, with education and social aspects been quite demanding during this period of their lives.
Ecklund and Tenenbaum (2014) suggest that the holistic lifespan perspective is currently an influential guide in career assistance, and is quickly developing as an important field in sports psychology aimed at helping junior athletes with various issues related to their careers, both inside and outside of their chosen sports. Career transition interventions would be planned based on the career development and transition frameworks as discussed previously. In addition to this, thorough a good knowledge of the junior athletes’ background, situation, needs, and future plans would be of a benefit in managing them.
Ecklund and Tenenbaum (2014), go on to recommend several interventions and strategies that would be suitable for junior athletes but cover all aspects of the transition model discussed: Career planning interventions are aimed at helping junior athletes increase their self-awareness; set realistic career goals, and prepare them for the transitions. Life development interventions and life skills training would consist of education and training with an aim instil transferable life skills, such as effective communication, dealing with success and failure. As well as time, energy, and stress management, that are important in both within their sport and outside of it. Lifestyle management interventions, that would involve education and training aimed at helping athletes combine sport and other activities in life, help to prioritise between them, and manage time and energy in a way that helps the junior athlete maintain a good level of health and well-being. Cultural adaptation interventions consist of needs assessment, education and training aimed at helping athletes adjust to the new environment if they are going to be doing both sport and education. Coaches and managers should help the junior athletes increase their awareness of the new culture they are now in and find compromise between their old sets of values, perceptions and habits and ones that are now required and expected by the new culture.
Main recommendations for coaching/instructional practice
The findings from this study support that effective managers and leaders should embed effective coaching at the centre of their dealings with athletes. It is clear that different styles of leadership should be taken dependent on the situation and the athletes being dealt with. Communication is a massively important part of every interaction within any coaching or leadership interaction. Coaches must understand how to communicate effectively in order for the athlete or team to operate at its