25.4: Leadership Development

While understanding and describing leadership behavior is important, applying this knowledge and understanding to enhance leadership for both individuals and teams is crucial to enhance both individual and team performance. As such leadership development has emerged as a scholarly discipline in its own right. Key factors in leadership development include leader identity (Lord & Hall, 2005), cognitive and metacognitive skills (Marshall-Mies et al., 2000), affect, and behavioral skills (DeRue & Myers, 2014). A distinction can also be drawn between developing individuals as leaders (leader development), and meeting the leadership needs of a specific context (leadership development). Historically, more emphasis has been placed on leader rather than leadership development. In trying to resolve this distinction, Day (2001) suggested that the “preferred approach is to link leader development with leadership development such that the development of leadership transcends but does not replace the development of individual leaders” (p. 605). In a sporting context, this distinction is important because there has been a tendency to focus on trying to develop the individual rather than to meet the context-specific leadership needs. Following this line of thought, coaches should seek to develop the leadership abilities of all members of a team to maximize the leadership provision within the team rather than focus on just developing certain individuals as leaders (e.g., captains).

25.4.1. Coach Leadership

A useful starting point when considering how to further develop coaches as leaders is to reconsider the factors influencing the coach’s leadership approach, a summary which is presented in Table 25.1.

Over the last 20 years a number of specific approaches to coach leadership development have also been suggested in the coaching literature that encompass both formal and informal development approaches that focus on the coach’s ability as a leader (Mallett et al., 2009). There has also been increasing recognition of the experiential learning that takes place within the coaching context as coaches reflect upon their own coaching practice and those of others (Cushion et al., 2003). One example of a coach development program was developed by Smith and Smoll (2007). They developed a coach effectiveness training (CET) intervention designed to enhance coach practice. The training program emphasizes five core coaching principles that can enhance coaches’ leadership:

1. Having a coaching philosophy that prioritizes learning and development (with a focus on athlete effort and enjoyment)
2. The coach possesses a positive approach to coaching (demonstrating positive reinforcement and encouragement)
3. Embedding norms that emphasize athletes’ obligations to help and support one another
4. Engage in decision making that involves athletes (to achieve greater compliance with team roles and responsibilities)
5. Demonstrate increased self-awareness of one’s own behavior and its consequences (through observing and recording one’s coaching behaviors)

A coach self-monitoring form was also developed by Smoll and Smith (2005) designed to be completed straight after training and competition as a tool for individual coaches to reflect upon their leadership behaviors and associated individual and team outcomes. Research exploring the CET approach suggests that it can be effective in reducing dropout (Barnett et al., 1992) and increasing self-esteem in coaches (Smith et al., 1995).

An alternative approach to coach leadership development was suggested by Ferrar et al. (2019), who explored the effectiveness of the coach-athlete relationship aspect of the United States Olympic Committee’s National Team Coach Leadership Education Program (NTCLEP). This component of the NTCLEP focused on developing coaches’ self-awareness, people acuity (i.e., the ability to discern and maximize others’ strengths), interpersonal agility (i.e., adaptability in interpersonal interactions), and self-management. Based upon feedback from the program attendees, researchers concluded that: (a) interpersonal and intrapersonal skills were crucial for coaches to be effective leaders of teams, and (b) coaches had an important role to play in determining and influencing team culture. The authors emphasized that the coach wears many hats (including instructor, manager, and leader), and a key role of the leader is to create a climate and personal interactions that allow individual athletes and the team as a whole to thrive and succeed.

25.4.2. Athlete Leadership

There has been a growing interest in athlete leadership, and athlete leadership development in the sport psychology literature over the last decade. Initially there was a focus on the development of personal leadership skills in youth athletes through sport (e.g., Gould & Voelker, 2012; Gould et al.,2010; Martinek & Hellison, 2009), with limited research exploring approaches to developing leadership approaches, knowledge, and behaviors in adult and/or elite sport (Cotterill & Fransen, 2016; Voight, 2012). However, in recent years there has been a significant expansion of studies exploring adult and elite sport athlete leadership development.

Table 25.1. The Main Factors Influencing Coaches’ Leadership Approaches

Factor	Description
Coaching context	The coaching context is defined by key environmental factors such as the sport, the level of competition, the age and gender of the athletes, cultural and ethnic identity, and socioeconomic background. The most effective coaches will develop a good understanding of these contextual factors and implications for the way that they conduct themselves. For example, youth and collegiate athletes differ in the coaching style they prefer, so coaches should adjust their approach accordingly.
Coaches’ personal characteristics	This factor includes coaches’ interpersonal and intrapersonal knowledge, values, beliefs, personality, and goals. Self-awareness is important for developing leadership ability. By understanding what they do, how they do it, and why, coaches can operate in ways that are better aligned with their own beliefs and values while also considering the needs of the group they lead.
Athlete outcomes	The competence, confidence, connection, and character of athletes are outcomes that are also the focus of successful leadership. Effective coaches are able to develop each of these key characteristics and, in particular, help to enhance confidence at both an individual level (self-efficacy) and a team or group level (collective efficacy). Which in turn may be reflected in athlete performance outcomes.
Athlete characteristics	The perceived effectiveness of coaches in the eyes of athletes is also influenced by the athletes’ perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes. Even if coaches are doing a good job (objectively), individuals might view this differently. As a result, there is sometimes a need for coaches to manage perceptions and to challenge existing beliefs and attitudes.
Coaching behaviors	How coaches actually act or behave is a major factor influencing how they lead and how they are perceived by others. Having a coaching mentor can be a very effective way to help coaches to reflect on how they behave and why. This increased self-awareness can further help coaches to maximize their effectiveness in a given situation.

25.4.2.1. Youth Athlete Leadership

A number of published studies have reported the effectiveness of leadership programs with youth athletes. One example of this is the work of Gould and Voelker (2010). They developed a workshop-based development program for high school captains that included a clinic (development group) and a self-study team captain’s guide. Examples of workshop topics included “What you need to know as a leader” and “Handling common team problems.” The guidebook, titled, Becoming an Effective Team Captain: Student-Athlete Guide, focused on topics such as the role of a team captain, effective communication, team motivation, team building and cohesion, handling tough team situations, and recommendations from captains and coaches. One particular concern regarding the development of youth sport athlete leaders is the support and guidance provided to them by their coaches (Collins et al., 2009; Voelker et al., 2011). Part of the problem is that often the coaches are not sufficiently equipped or educated (in relation to leadership development) to develop the leadership skills and abilities of their athletes (Gould et al., 2013).

A relatively recent development in the leadership development literature relating to sport is the application of mentorship (Mead & Gilson, 2017). In this approach, the more experienced leader (the coach) trains a protégé by consistently interacting and sharing ideas (Day, 2001). The effectiveness of this approach relies heavily on how positive the relationship is between the mentor and the protégé (Riggio, 2013). In a study of American high school basketball, Mead and Gilson (2017) explored the impact of coach mentoring on athlete leadership development. The study itself provided a rich and detailed description of the coach’s approach to mentoring, and their successes and failures. Specifically, the coach sought to allow captains to use their personal voice, distribute and delegate leadership tasks to the captains, offer reminders of important leadership concepts, and set an effective example as the coach. The captains in this study were also encouraged to reflect on their own leadership development—an approach that has been suggested to be an important part of the leader development process (Grandzol et al., 2010).

25.4.2.2. Adult Athlete Leadership

There is an increasing focus on adult athlete leadership development within sport. According to Grandzol and colleagues (2010), occupying the position of captain within NCAA Division III intercollegiate athletics teams appears to lead to the development of the leadership skills of the individuals involved, suggesting that effective programs of leadership development should include the opportunity for future leaders to practice leading and applying leadership skills. However, historically, the focus on the development of athlete leaders in sport has not been great. In reviewing current practices at the collegiate level, Voight (2012) reported that much of the leadership training that team captains received consisted of either receiving a list of books or articles about leadership or being given a list of responsibilities without guidance or instruction.

Building upon these initial gaps in the approach to leadership development for athletes,a number of studies have sought to systematically apply and report the implementation of structured leadership development programs. For example, Voight (2012) implemented a 15-stage leadership development program with two regional U.S. volleyball teams. Although the program proved to be effective at this level, it was recommended that future research explore the delivery of similar intervention programs at different levels (e.g., youth, recreational, and professional levels). In addition, Cotterill (2016) developed a leadership development program for elite (international) U.K. professional cricketers. The program sought to develop athlete leadership at three specific levels: (a) captaincy development, (b) leadership skill development (e.g., teamwork, honesty, respect, excellence, enjoyment, resilience), and (c) personal growth and leadership development. These three levels have been identified as crucial in helping to cultivate leaders at an international level of performance. Captaincy development was delivered through a leadership development group, which focused on awareness of the self and others using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) tool. This structured program used a range of relevant guest speakers and offered the opportunity to get practical experience as a captain and to receive leadership performance debriefs from a sport psychologist and coaches. Reflections on the program by the participants suggest that a formal development program can be beneficial in enhancing the leadership capabilities of elite players.

Recently, an alternative approach has focused on seeking to develop individuals’ social identity (i.e., leadership identity). This approach has been implemented with both athlete leaders (Fransen, Vanbeselaere, et al., 2018) and athletes and coaches (Slater & Barker, 2017). In the Slater and Barker study, the intervention was informed by the five Rs program created by Haslam et al., (2017): reflecting, representing, realizing, readying, and reporting. Slater and Barker focused on the three Rs that related to identify leadership—reflecting, representing, and realizing—and included a number of new activities delivered with the senior leadership team (SLT). An outline of the specific components of the program is presented in Table 25.2.

In a similar vein, Fransen and colleagues (2018) reported the implementation of a leadership development program that focused on teaching the athlete leaders how to create a sense of “we” and “us”, as a way to create a shared identity for the team. This program adopted a team-centered approach where workshops were delivered with the entire team and the appointed athlete leaders were given additional responsibilities to further enhance the process.

Table 25.2. Overview of the Stages of the 3R Model as Implemented in the Slater & Barker (2017) Study

Stage	Overview
1. Reflecting	Purpose: increase participant understanding and application of reflection. In the first workshop the concept of #whatstrending was used to allow athletes to raise awareness of current issues in a non-judgmental way. Identity mapping was also undertaken in the second workshop.
2. Representing	The focus in this stage was to explore values and barriers that would interfere with the team living those values. Then, in developing an action plan relating to behaviors that align to the agreed values.
3. Realizing	In this stage the senior leadership team reviewed the operationalization of the values and behaviors agreed in the representing stage, then focused on creating a team vision.