There has been a lot of work been done trying to define what makes a good leader. In the beginning it was first thought that great leaders were “born and not made” Cox, H. (1976). This sort of thinking continued until the end of the Second World War, from this time on people started to look at different reason for being a successful leader or coach. One such person was Schutz, who started to look at weather it is the compatibility of a coach and his players. Schutz produced a questionnaire called the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior Questionnaire. Through this he was able to come up with the thought that only with compatible coach and players will a team be successful. This down to the fact that with a good relationship there was communication and interaction with the group where as without there was none and it would not be as effective. Schutz, (1966). So for any skill which is important that a leader needs is communication as without it there is no cohesion between the group and its leader so there is no why for the person to lead any team or group effectively. Again in 1998 Woods, B described that a good leader needs, “Relationship with others, which require communication and rapport with others, showing consideration, respect and trust.” This again shows the importance of communication if you want to become an affective leader.
To communicate is vital if a leader or coach wants to be successful. It is easy to find examples in sport. They come in various scenarios. It could be a coach trying to get new tactics across to his players with out his ability to communicate the message will not be able to be given to the team. Not only just say what he wants done but to be able to communicate in a way that his team will understand. The leader on the pitch or court also needs to communicate if it be making sure people no there roles or in conference with the coach on hat they believe to be the best strategy. Communications is important in the role of a coach. It is vital that he is able to communicate to the rest of the team. “the most important and challenging skill for building strong relationships with athletes staff, others involved in your program is communicating effectively.” Lynch. J (2001).To communicate well as a coach it is not always about getting your point of view across and being autocratic, but also has to be about being able to listen to the other people around you and take all the information in from them. “To encourage effective communication, you must make yourself available for your athletes, creating a receptive and welcoming environment.” Lynch, J (2001) the skill of listen is important if you are going to be able to communicate with a team effectively. Communicating can not be stressed enough in the importance in being an effective coach or leader. Without communication it would not be possible for a person to motivate his group that he/she is leading to meet the goals that have been set for them. This would result in the leader not being effective at is work. As communication itself is needed it self as we move on to a different necessity of motivation.
Communication is vital for the success of any team that you are looking at we can see from the past where communication has broke down a group has failed to reach there goals or have even in ended up in being disasters such as Pearl Harbour, and the space shuttle disaster of 1986 Aaltio-Marjosolam, I and Takala, T (2000) these all ended in disaster due to the lack of information given be it from there leaders or from the group to the leader and we can see the importance of being good communicators in being successful.
Motivation, motivation is to be looked differently from the normal view. It is not just the drive that a team or leader has. Instead it is made up of three different components these being more commonly known as the motivation construct. Steers, R. M, and Porter, L.W. (1991) these three components being:
- How the behavior is directed: the drive, or direction, component.
- How the behavior is energized: the vigor component.
- How the behavior is sustained: the persistence component.
Steers, R, M and Porter, L. W (1991)
Motivation is another key element to being a successful coach. It is not all about being the most skillful but sometimes who is the most motivated. So when you look at all of the most successful coaches around they all have the ability to make sure that there team is motivated or are able to motivate them throughout the match. When you are looking at trying to motivate as leader you must find the different whys for different groups of people. But here are some different pertinent ideas to motivate people that a coach can use on all levels:
- Be motivated yourself
- Treat each person as an individual
- Set realistic and challenging targets
- Remember that progress motivates
- Create motivating environment
- Provide fair rewards
- Give recognition
Adair, J (1990)
Motivation is big factor fair all levels and ages for example a child could have a completely different motivation from an adult. A big part of what motivates children is fairness in what they are doing Barnes, P (2002) where as an adult competitor might have a different motivation as winning the league or getting a bonus in there pay for playing well. But if you are able to find the different aspects that will motivate your group of individuals the best.
To be effective at you role as a leader or coach you have to look at your team and decide which method of motivation to use. Barrett, J (1998) suggests that you have to either use the ‘carrot’ or the ‘stick’. The carrot being giving your team praise and stick being shouting at them and making sure the person or team knows what they did wrong. And this is where you see good coaches excel, as they are able to separate when and at what time to use these two different types of motivation.
When you look at what stops a person from being a successful leader there is many obstacles that a leader has to over come, such as Insincerity, favoritism, lack of
Motivation, lack of recognition, poor response, or no response, lack of time Carling, W (1995) we see there that motivation or a lack of it is a reason that a leader will not be successful or even at least meet there potential. So to have the ability to motivate a team is vital without this attribute you will never be able lead a team to any effectiveness at all. Without this attribute the members of your team will be unable to reach there full potential without the proper motivation. Players respond differently when motivated without it they will look flat and work to the lowest of there capabilities. Without the motivation of your players you will never be an effective leader the people around you will just not reach there potential.
When looking for the different contributes of a good leader it will always come back to motivation and communication of the leader. Throughout this essay we have seen the difference that having good communication can have on a leader. You see this in all the top leaders day in day out. We see could leaders in football such as the managers who are continually in communication with here players getting there views across and making sure that they are performing the tactics that they have set. Where as if you look at less successful managers such as Sunday league football you would see team coaches who are not communicated with the other players which is so important for success. Without this important communication it is almost certain that there will be no motivational qualities in the coach. We see the importance of a leader to be able to motivate his group so that they meet their targets. We see this in coaches he when there team maybe be down at half time he is able to take them to changing rooms and motivate his players into putting in better performances. This is a sign of an effective coach or leader. With a coach or leader who communicates will with the group of people you are able to see the confidence that a leader has from his group they will no that he is a could leader or coach and so will work at there best for him. We see these effective coaches or leaders everywhere you look when at school your teacher at school was a leader, your local coach can be an effective leader he my not look as good as those in the premiership but they can be just as effective as them with there team. So in looking at all of the effective leaders that there is in the world it is vital for them to have an appropriate level of communication and motivational skills.
