Abstract
This chapter is about sports coaching and implications for future research, with specific attention being given to the area of leadership in coaching. Foundational information about leadership is provided. The leadership content is connected to the areas of relational exchanges and culture development. A brief overview of these areas and how they connect to leadership in coaching is an important precursor to the identification of limitations present in the coaching research literature. Without first understanding the basics of leadership and how it impacts essential organizational and team processes such as relationship and cultural building, it is difficult to arrive at recommendations for improving the study of sport coaches as organizational (team) leaders. The chapter also focuses on social effectiveness to introduce readers to an understudied yet essential area of scholarly inquiry that would greatly enhance the leadership effectiveness of coaches. Social effectiveness research is summarized before singling out the concept of political skill as a social effectiveness construct that may hold particular significance to the advancement of leadership and coaching research. The chapter concludes with a brief overview of coaching research and the presentation of an agenda for improving the study of social effectiveness and leadership in the sport sciences.
A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.
– John C. Maxwell
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aditya, R. N., & House, R. J. (2002). Interpersonal acumen and leadership across cultures. In R. E. Riggio, S. E. Murphy, & F. J. Pirozzola (Eds.), Multiple intelligences and leadership (pp. 215–240). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Anand, S., Vidyarthi, P. R., & Park, H. S. (2015). LMX differentiation: Understanding relational leadership at individual and group levels. In T. Bauer & B. Erdogan (Eds.), Oxford handbook of leader-member exchange (pp. 263–292). New York: Oxford University Press.
Archer, D. (1980). How to expand your social intelligence quotient. New York: Evans.
Banister, C. M., & Meriac, J. P. (2015). Political skill and work attitudes: A comparison of multiple social effectiveness constructs. Journal of Psychology, 149, 775–795.
Bennis, W., & Goldsmith, J. (1997). Learning to lead: A workbook on becoming a leader. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley.
Brouer, R. L., Douglas, C., Treadway, D. C., & Ferris, G. R. (2013). Leader political skill, relationship quality, and leadership effectiveness: A two-study model test and constructive replication. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 20, 185–198.
Burton, L., & Peachey, J. W. (2013). The call for servant leadership in intercollegiate athletics. Quest, 65, 354–371.
Burton, L., Welty Peachey, J., & Wells, J. (2017). The role of servant leadership in developing an ethical climate in sport organizations. Journal of Sport Management, 31, 229–240.
Case, R. (1998). Leader member exchange theory and sport: Possible applications. Journal of Sport Behavior, 21, 387–396.
Chelladurai, P. (2007). Leadership in sports. In G. Tenenbaum & R. C. Eklund (Eds.), Handbook of sport psychology (3rd ed., pp. 113–135). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Chelladurai, P., & Riemer, H. A. (1998). Measurement of leadership in sport. In J. M. Williams (Ed.), Advances in sport and exercise psychology (pp. 227–253). Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.
Cho, O., & Kim, S. (2014). The impact of coaches’ servant leadership on athletes’ athletic performance. Paper presented at The American Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance National Convention and Expo.
Côté, J., Salmela, J., Trudel, P., & Baria, A. (1995). The coaching model: A grounded assessment of expert gymnastic coaches’ knowledge. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 17, 17(1).
Cushion, C. J. (2007). Modelling the complexity of the coaching process. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 2, 395–401.
Cushion, C. J., Armour, K. M., & Jones, R. I. (2003). Coach education and continuing professional development experience and learning to coach. Quest, 55, 215–230.
Dansereau, F., Jr., Graen, G., & Haga, W. J. (1975). A vertical dyad linkage approach to leadership within formal organizations—a longitudinal investigation of the role making process. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 13, 46–78.
Deshpande, R., & Webster, F. E. (1989). Organizational culture and marketing: Defining the research agenda. Journal of Marketing, 53, 3–15.
Douglas, C., & Ammeter, A. P. (2004). An examination of leader political skill and its effect on rating of leader effectiveness. The Leadership Quarterly, 15, 537–550.
Ellen, B. P., III. (2016). Politics and pigskins: Leader political support and Doug Williams’s termination from Grambling State University. Journal of Applied Sport Management, 8, 71–92.
Epitropaki, O., Kapoutsis, I., Ellen, B. P., III, Ferris, G. R., Drivas, K., & Ntotsi, A. (2016). Navigating uneven terrain: The roles of political skill and LMX differentiation in prediction of work relationship quality and work outcomes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37, 1078–1103.
Ferris, G. R., Blickle, G., Schneider, P. G., Kramer, J., Zettler, I., Solga, J., … Meurs, J. A. (2008). Political skill construct and criterion-related validation: A two-study investigation. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 23, 744–771.
Ferris, G. R., Davidson, S. L., & Perrewé, P. L. (2005). Political skill at work: Impact on work effectiveness. Boston, MA: Davies-Black.
Ferris, G. R., Perrewé, P. L., Anthony, W. P., & Gilmore, D. C. (2000). Political skill at work. Organizational Dynamics, 28, 25–37.
Ferris, G. R., Perrewé, P. L., & Douglas, C. (2002). Social effectiveness in organizations: Construct validity and research directions. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 9, 49–63.
Ferris, G. R., Treadway, D. C., Kolodinsky, R. W., Hochwarter, W. A., Kacmar, C. J., Douglas, C., & Frink, D. D. (2005). Development and validation of the political skill inventory. Journal of Management, 31, 126–152.
Gentry, W. A., Leslie, J. B., Gilmore, D. C., Ellen, B. P., III, Ferris, G. R., & Treadway, D. C. (2013). Personality and political skill as distal and proximal predictors of leadership evaluations. Career Development International, 18, 569–588.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam Books.
Goleman, D., & Boyatzis, R. (2008). Social intelligence and the biology of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 86, 74–81.
Graen, G. B., & Uhl-Bien, M. (1995). Relationship-based approach to leadership: Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership of 25 years: Applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective. Leadership Quarterly, 6, 219–247.
Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. New York: Paulist Press.
Griffo, J. M., Jensen, M., Anthony, C. C., Baghurst, T., & Kulinna, P. H. (2019). A decade of research literature in sport coaching (2005-2015). International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 14, 202–215.
Hammermeister, J., Burton, D., Pickering, M., Chase, M., Westre, K., & Baldwin, N. (2008). Servant leadership in sport: A concept whose time has arrived. International Journal of Servant Leadership, 4, 185–215.
Henderson, D. J., Liden, R. C., Glibkowski, B. C., & Chaudhry, A. (2009). LMX differentiation: A multilevel review and examination of its antecedents and outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly, 20, 517–534.
Henderson, D. J., Wayne, S. J., Shore, L. M., Bommer, W. H., & Tetrick, L. E. (2008). Leader-member exchange, differentiation, and psychological contract fulfilment: A multilevel examination. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 1208–1219.
Herdman, A. O., Yang, J., & Arthur, J. B. (2014). How does leader-member exchange disparity affect teamwork behaviour and effectiveness in work groups? The moderating role of leader-leader exchange. Journal of Management, 40, 1498–1523.
Herrera, R., Duncan, P., & Ree, M. (2013). Aligning organizational culture with leader-member exchange. Global Business & Organizational Excellence, 32, 53–65.
Kim, T. T., Karatepe, O. M., & Chung, U. Y. (2019). Got political skill? The direct and moderating impact of political skill on stress, tension and outcomes in restaurants. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31, 1367–1389.
Kim, M., Kim, Y., & Wells, J. (2017). Being a servant-leader in sport: Servant leadership as the key to the coach-athlete relationship. International Journal of Sport Management, 18, 19–43.
Kim, M., Wells, J. E., Chan, A., & Kim, H. (2016). What are they saying about your head coach? The relationship among political skill, reputation, and effectiveness. Journal of Applied Sport Management, 8, 48–67.
Klenke, K. (1994). Information technologies as drivers of emergent organizational forms: A leadership perspective. In R. Baskerville, S. Smithson, O. Ngwenyama, & J. I. DeGross (Eds.), Transforming organizations with information technology. Elsevier: North Holland.
Klimoski, R., & Koles, K. (2001). The chief executive officer and top management team interface. In S. Zaccaro & R. Klimoski (Eds.), The nature of organizational leadership (pp. 219–269). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Knowles, Z., Gilbourne, D., Borrie, A., & Nevill, A. (2001). Developing the reflective sports coach: A study exploring the processes of reflective practice within a higher education coaching programme. International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 2, 185–207.
Laios, A., Theodorakis, N., & Gargalianos, D. (2003). Leadership and power: Two important factors for effective coaching. International Sports Journal, 7, 150–154.
Lennox, R. D., & Wolfe, R. N. (1984). A revision of the self-monitoring scale. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 1348–1364.
Magnusen, M., & Kim, J. W. (2016). Thriving in the political sport arena: LMX as a mediator of the political skill – career success relationship. Journal of Applied Sport Management, 8, 15–42.
Magnusen, M., Kim, J. W., & Perrewé, P. L. (2014). Gaining a competitive edge when recruiting student-athletes: The role of political skill. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 9, 1291–1310.
Magnusen, M., Kim, Y. K., Perrewé, P. L., & Ferris, G. R. (2014). A critical review and synthesis of student-athlete college choice factors: Recruiting effectiveness in NCAA sports. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 9, 1264–1286.
Magnusen, M., & Perrewé, P. L. (2016). The role of social effectiveness in leadership: A critical review and lessons for sport management. Sport Management Education Journal, 10, 64–77.
McCullick, B., Schempp, P., Mason, I., Foo, C., Vickers, B., & Connolly, G. (2009). A scrutiny of coaching education program scholarship since 1995. Quest, 61, 322–335.
Megheirkouni, M. (2019). Responsible leadership as a mediator between emotional intelligence and team outcomes in sport organizations. International Journal of Sport Management, 20, 87–107.
Meng, J., & Berger, B. K. (2019). The impact of organizational culture and leadership and performance on PR professionals’ job satisfaction: Testing the joint mediating effects of engagement and trust. Public Relations Review, 45, 64–75.
Miao, C., Humphrey, R. H., & Qian, S. (2018). A cross-cultural meta-analysis of how leader emotional intelligence influences subordinate task performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of World Business, 53, 463–474.
Miller, G. A., Lutz, R., Shim, J., Fredenburg, K., & Miller, J. J. (2006). A national study of nonrenewal in high school coaching. Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 77, 40–45.
Minsu, L., Mayfield, C. O., Hinojosa, A. S., & Yooshin, I. (2018). A dyadic approach to examining the emotional intelligence-work outcome relationship: The mediating role of LMX. Organization Management Journal, 15, 1–16.
Nazarpoori, A. (2017). A survey of the effect of leader’s social intelligence on employee’s perception of interpersonal justice: The mediating role of shared leadership. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 20, 618–631.
Neubert, M. J., Hunter, E. M., & Tolentino, R. C. (2016). A servant leader and their stakeholders: When does organizational structure enhance a leader’s influence? The Leadership Quarterly, 27(6), 896–910.
Ogbonna, E., & Harris, L. C. (2002). Managing organisational culture: Insights from the hospitality industry. Human Resource Management Journal, 12, 33–53.
Perrewe, P. L., & Ferris, G. R. (2016). The utilization of political skill as leverage in sport management research. Journal of Applied Sport Management, 8, 6–14.
Potrac, P., & Jones, R. (2009). Power, conflict, and cooperation: Toward a micropolitics of coaching. Quest, 61, 223–236.
Rahim, M. A. (2014). A structural equations model of leaders’ social intelligence and creative performance. Creativity & Innovation Management, 23, 44–56.
Rieke, M., Hammermeister, J., & Chase, M. (2008). Servant leadership in sport: A new paradigm for effective coach behavior. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 3, 227–239.
Riggio, R. E. (1986). Assessment of basic social skills. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 649–660.
Robinson, G. M., Magnusen, M., & Kim, J. W. (2019). The socially effective leader: Exploring the relationship between athletic director political skill and coach commitment and job satisfaction. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 14, 197–204.
Robinson, G. M., Neubert, M. J., & Miller, G. (2018). Servant leadership in sport: A review, synthesis, and applications for sport management classrooms. Sport Management Education Journal, 12, 39–56.
Rose, C. (2013). Review details ‘toxic’ environment on Australian swim team. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved from https://www.si.com/more-sports/2013/02/18/australian-swim-team-toxic-environment.
Rowold, J. (2006). Transformational and transactional leadership in martial arts. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 18, 312–325.
Rudd, A., & Johnson, B. (2010). A call for more mixed methods in sport management research. Sport Management Review, 13, 14–24.
Russell, R. V. (2005). Leadership in recreation. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 9, 185–211.
Scandura, T. A., Graen, G. B., & Novak, M. A. (1986). When managers decide not to decide autocratically: An investigation of leader-member exchange and decision influence. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 579–584.
Schein, E. A. (1985). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Semander, A., Robins, G., & Ferris, G. R. (2006). Comparing the validity of multiple social effectiveness constructs in the prediction of managerial job performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27, 443–461.
Smoll, F. L., & Smith, R. E. (1989). Leadership behaviors in sport: A theoretical model and research paradigm. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 9, 1522–1551.
Snyder, M. (1974). Self-monitoring of expressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30, 526–537.
Sørensen, J. B. (2002). The strength of corporate culture and reliability of firm performance. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47, 70–91.
Sosik, J. J., Potosky, D., & Jung, D. I. (2002). Adaptive self-regulation: Meeting others’ expectations of leadership and performance. Journal of Social Psychology, 142, 211–232.
Stober, D. R., & Parry, C. (2005). Current challenges and future directions in coaching research. Evidence-based coaching. In M. Cavanagh, A. M. Grant, & T. Kemp (Eds.), Evidence based coaching: Volume 1 Theory, research and practice from the behavioural sciences (pp. 13–20). Sydney, NSW: Australian Academic Press.
Stone, A. G., Russell, R. F., & Patterson, K. (2004). Transformational versus servant leadership: A difference in leader focus. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 25, 349–361.
Thomas, G., Martin, R., Epitropaki, O., Guillaume, Y., & Lee, A. (2013). Social cognition in leader–follower relationship: Applying insights from relationship science to understanding relationship-based approaches to leadership. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34, 63–81.
Treadway, D. C., Adams, G., Hanes, T. J., Perrewe, P. L., Magnusen, M. J., & Ferris, G. R. (2014). The roles of recruiter political skill and performance resource leveraging in NCAA football recruitment effectiveness. Journal of Management, 40, 1607–1626.
Türetgen, I. Ö., Unsal, P., & Dural, U. (2017). The role of leadership perception as a mediator between managers’ self-monitoring and subordinate attitudes. Journal of Social Psychology, 157, 295–307.
Turman, P. D. (2003). Coaches and cohesion: The impact of coaching techniques on team cohesion in the small group sport setting. Journal of Sport Behavior, 26, 86–104.
Van Dierendonck, D. (2011). Servant leadership: A review and synthesis. Journal of Management, 37, 1228–1261.
Walumbwa, F. O., Cropanzano, R., & Goldman, B. M. (2012). How leader-member exchange influences effective work behaviors: Social exchange and internal-external efficacy perspectives. Personnel Psychology, 64, 739–770.
Wu, J. B., Tsui, A. S., & Kinicki, A. J. (2010). Consequences of differentiated leadership in groups. Academy of Management Journal, 53, 90–106.
Yukl, G., & van Fleet, D. D. (1992). Theory and research on leadership in organisations. In M. D. Dunnette & L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 147–197). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Magnusen, M., Kim, J.W., Robinson, M. (2020). Coaching and Effective Leaders: An Overview and Recommended Research Agenda. In: Resende, R., Gomes, A.R. (eds) Coaching for Human Development and Performance in Sports. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63912-9_21
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63912-9_21
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-63911-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-63912-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)