Sports Leadership

Sports Leadership

Sports are bodily activities usually meant for competition and pleasure. They run under a set of agreed regulations that all the participants should follow. Therefore, there is a need for an appropriate system of leadership to manage a sport and ensure its success.  A proper administration facilitates the formulation of understandable visions, apposite communication of the ideas among the team members, and provision of necessary resources to implement the views. Moreover, several studies conducted previously outline what encompasses suitable sports leadership.

Leadership exists in a social environment, which entails interactive groups forming one unique body. As such, social setting functions through the principle of shared roles. Since a sport creates a social network, it incorporates the principle of shared responsibilities (Fransen et al., 2015). Besides, every member of a team is essential and participates in making the team whole. Thus it is necessary to acknowledge patrons, coaches, captains, and other resourceful support units not directly engaged in sporting. Therefore, appropriate sports leadership appreciates the presence and input of all team members.

According to research on transformational leadership in sports, expressing individual concern to team members and setting high goals constitute good leadership. Also, coaches and captains should show an excellent example for the team to emulate (Smith, Young, Figgins, & Arthur, 2017). Sports leaders ought to express high motivation, inspire players, encourage them, and promote creativeness and teamwork. Moreover, in this approach, the leaders call for justifiable actions and proper consideration of the prevailing situation. Leaders should encourage members to act with rational judgment and to always ask for assistance where necessary.  Also, they should be ready to offer counseling advises in cases where team members are in either internal or external conflicting situations. Leaders should never abandon their followers in troubles or ignore them when they need help

Additionally, transformational leadership appreciates the positive influence of sports and teamwork spirit in instilling the courage to the team members.

Moreover, the approach concurs with the study by Scott, who finds a positive proportional relationship between sports and personal identification. His research suggests that competitions create a critical space for individuals to explore their identity within a social ambiance (Scott, 2015). Primarily, sport offers an essential environment for individuals to interact and socialize. As a result, individuals learn about each other, and most importantly, they discover a lot about themselves concerning mindset, capabilities, and focus. Consequently, through sports, individuals gain the confidence necessary to maintain positive psychological and social networks.

Social networks form the underlying mechanism through which leadership works. Similarly, through social settings, leadership positions have been created based on necessity. Therefore, it is crucial to consider appropriate leadership traits in selecting a potential leader. Contrary to some myths that physical posture qualifies a leader, a study by Elgar 2016, suggests otherwise. The study established a significant positive relationship between older captains and the discipline of the team (Elgar, 2016). Therefore, good leadership is not subjective to the physique of an individual but to a range of other vital factors.

Although age comes with experience, it does not spell absolute success. Henceforth, for a successful sports leadership, other factors are further considered. Successful leadership depends on the emotional stamina of the leader. Moreover, emotional intelligence entails the ability to adequately and appropriately express ideas and cope with both perceived and unforeseen challenging situations (Lee, & Chelladurai, 2018). Mainly, emotions play a significant function in the leadership process by managing eminent setbacks like burnouts. Also, emotions determine the health of both the leader and the team. Besides, emotions guide the strategies to be used and thus determine the satisfaction and overall success of a team.

As more concern is placed on the space sports offer for personal development, it is essential to match it with appropriate sporting content and mode of sharing it. Furthermore, the content should be transmitted in a swift way to get the desired outcome. Therefore, sports leaders should have ample communication skills and the mental power to assess the level of understanding among the team members. Also, they should apply the necessary tools where applicable to ensure the whole team moves as one. Besides, it is always possible to reach high performance by sportsmen and women when correct management and leadership are applied.

In conclusion, it is crucial to understand and appreciate the need for good leadership in sports. Moreover, to manage a sports team and ensure its success, the  the satisfaction of every member should be considered. Also, each member of the team should be given the space to carry out their specific roles cooperatively to make the team successful. Besides, each is endowed with distinctive abilities indispensable for the good of the entire team. Leaders should not monopolize their positions but should allow a shared role concept which promotes teamwork. However, each person should carry out tasks they suitably qualify for, and clear instructions should be given to avoid confusion. Although age denotes the level of experience, other factors like emotional balance should be considered in selecting leaders. Finally, sports leaders should always strive to motivate team members and encourage them to perform to their level best.