leadership Flashcards
reading 9
Define leadership and describe the differences between leaders and managers.
Leaders influence individuals and groups toward set goals. They affect participants by establishing interpersonal relationships, providing feedback, influencing the decision-making process, and providing motivation. A leader knows where the group needs to go and provides the direction and resources to help it get there. Managers are more concerned with planning, organizing, scheduling, budgeting, staffing, and recruiting activities.
Understand the trait, behavioural, situational, and interactional approaches to studying leadership.
The trait approach assumes that great leaders possess a set of universal personality traits that are essential for effective leadership. The behavioural approach assumes that a relatively universal set of behaviours characterizes successful leaders. The situational approach argues that effective leadership is much more dependent on the characteristics of the situation than on the traits and behaviours of the leaders in those situations. The interactional approach posits that the interaction of the situation and a leader’s behaviours determines effective leadership. This approach assumes that there is not one best type of leader but rather that leadership style and effectiveness depend on fitting the situation and qualities of the group’s members.
Explain the cognitive–mediational model of leadership.
According to this model, athletes’ perceptions of coach behaviours primarily determine players’ reactions and responses to these behaviours. However, in the interactional model tradition, player and coach behaviours are influenced by situational factors as well as individual-difference characteristics of both the coaches and the players.
Explain the multidimensional model of sport leadership.
According to the multidimensional model of sport leadership, group performance and member satisfaction depend on how well three types of leader behaviour—required, preferred, and actual—mesh with the antecedent characteristics of the situation, the leader, and the members. Positive outcomes, better performance, and group satisfaction typically occur if the three types of leader behaviour are congruent. That is, optimal performance and member satisfaction will result if a coach or other leader uses behaviours prescribed for the particular situation that are consistent with the preferences of the members.
Explain the transformational, servant, and authentic leadership models of sport leadership.
Transformational leadership occurs when the leader takes a visionary position and inspires people to follow that vision. It involves having the ability to motivate and inspire followers to achieve new heights and accomplish more than they originally believed they could. Transformational leadership has four components: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. Servant leadership focuses on service to others. The leader’s focus is on leading followers to build a better tomorrow. They are described as being caring, good listeners, empathic, stewards, and strong community builders. Authentic leaders focus on being genuine and creating a positive and ethical sport climate with one’s followers, a climate that fosters greater self-awareness, internalized ethical standards, transparency in relationships, and positive self-development.
Discuss research investigating leadership in sport settings.
Research has found that several personal and situational factors affect leader behaviour in sport and exercise. These antecedents include such specifics as age and maturity, gender, nationality, and type of sport. The consequences of the leader’s behaviour can be seen in terms of the satisfaction, performance, and cohesion of the group. For example, satisfaction of athletes is high when there is a good match between their preferred coaching style and the coach’s actual coaching style.
Discuss the four components of effective leadership.
Effective leadership in sport depends on the qualities of the leader, leadership style, situational factors, and characteristics of the followers. How these four interact is what determines what makes a leader effective.
