LDRS 598: Research and Assessment Tools for Leaders

by Gareth Tomlinson

Research Question

Do collegiate athletes receive the necessary leadership training to fulfill athletic leadership

roles?

What the scholars said…

• “leaders are individuals that, by their actions, facilitate the movement of a group of people toward a common or shared or objective” (House and Podsakoff 1994).

• college athletes are more likely to experience directive approach to leadership causing college athletes to interpret the world as they would a college athletic environment; in dichotomous terms of right or wrong, or good or bad (Sparent’s 1988).

What the scholars said…

• athletic involvement has a positive association with the motivation to develop interpersonal skill and leadership ability (Dobosz and Beaty, 1999).

• team captains scored significantly higher in all five leadership practices between the present and the post-test due to the fact that they were often thrust into a situation that forced them to seek out their own leadership style and operate on a system of trial and error. (Lencioni, P., 2002).

What the scholars said…

• athletic participation alone is not a sufficient enough tool to contribute to significant leadership growth. (Lencioni, P.,2002).

• effective leaders are an absolute must if any organization or group is to run efficiently. Although developed leaders are unable to prevent or solve every dysfunction that occurs they are able to contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency when provided with the right resources. (Avolio & Gardner, 2005)

Conducting Research

• Quantitative & Qualitative (mixed-methods)

• 30 current student athletes– soccer, baseball, basketball, football, track & field– All 4 classes represented, freshman-senior

• Survey– 3 components

Key findings…• All but 2 scored lower than a 4.0 average on a 5.0 scale

– A team leader must be in senior standing (3.1 average)– A team leader should be one of the best players (3.6 average)

• “A leader on the team must be willing to confront fellow players about any issue” was what was most desired (4.5 average).

• 5 of the 12 leadership behaviors; “have abided by school and team rules,” “be willing to invest more time than any other players,” “have a good working relationship with the coaching staff,” “be good at delegating tasks to other players,” and “must keep fellow players accountable to team rules,” had the second highest expectancy (4.3 average).

• not a single participant selected disagree or strongly disagree in the first section of the survey, showing that all 12 leadership behaviors are expected to be displayed to some scale.

15 Leadership Strengths

Integrity Vision Strategy Communication Relationships

Persuasion Teamwork Coaching & Development

Adaptability Decision-making

Planning Accountability Self-Awareness Confidence Honesty

Key findings

14

14

8

10

12

888

8

14

10

8

10

108

Leadership Strengths

integritycommunicationteamworkdecision-makingself-awarevisionrelationshipscoaching & developmentplanningconfidentstrategypersuasionadaptabilityaccountabilityhonest

Personal Leadership Development

Key findings…

• not one participant ‘strongly agreed’ that they were aware of their own current leadership qualities. (2.8 average, joint lowest)

• “you have become more aware of the practice of leadership as a result of intercollegiate athletics?” (2.8 average)

• Athlete leadership training– 4.1 average– 40% ‘strongly agreed’

Conclusion/Suggestions

• athletic departments to strongly consider initiating a leadership development program that is available to student-athletes to encourage growth and development in the field

References

• Adler, P., & Adler, P. A. (1988). Intense loyalty in organizations: A Case study of college athletics. Administrative Science Quarterly, 33, 401-417.

• Avolio, B. J., & Gardner, W. L. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership

Quarterly, 16, 315-338.

• Bergsma, J. (2011). The impact of leadership training on collegiate student athletes. Western Michigan University). ProQuest Dissertations

and Theses, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/867244348?accountid=8459

• Brungardt, C. (1996). The making of leaders: A review of the research in leadership development and education. The Journal of Leadership

Studies, 3(3), 81-95.

• Day, D. V. (2001). Leadership development: A review in context. The Leadership Quarterly, 11, 581-613.

Dobosz, R.P., & Beaty, L.A. (1999). The relationship between athletic participation and high school students' leadership ability. Adolescence,

34(133), 215-220.

• Eich, D. (2008). A grounded theory of high-quality leadership programs: Perspectives from student leadership development programs in

higher education. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 15(2), 176- 187.

References

• House, R. J., & Podsakoff, P. M. (1994). Leadership effectiveness: Past perspectives and future

directions for research. In J. Greenberg (Ed.), Organizational behavior: The state of science (pp. 45-

83). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

• Lencioni, P., (2002). The five dysfunctions of a team: A leadership fable. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-

Bass.

• Sparent, M. E. (1988). The student-athlete in the classroom: Developmental issues affecting college

athletes and their impact on academic motivation and performance. (ERIC Document Reproduction

Service No. ED294617)

• Yukl, G. (1994). Leadership in organizations (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.