There are two main types of leader, emergent and prescribed. Emergent leaders are those who come from within a team or group and have been elected as a result of their skill or ability. They are leaders who people in the team look to for guidance and support whilst out on the field or pitch. Such examples of emergent leaders are football team captains who have much experience and knowledge to lead the team forward and encourage team in their play. An example of such is David Beckham when he was captain of England football team. They tend to use a democratic style of leadership (see later) and have great respect from the players. Emergent leaders work well in team sports such as football and rugby as they boost team morale and work at connecting the team together. Prescribed leaders are appointed by a higher rank within the team or an outside agency. Such an example is football manager or chairman of the association. They too have the respect of the players yet in a different way. They tend to be more authoritarian and lead in a autocratic style. They are more suited towards racket sports such as badminton or tennis as they require less of the ‘team spirit’ ethic and more technical advice.
There are many factors associated with becoming an effective leader and good leaders often hold traits of all the essential qualities. It is important to incorporate all the qualities into the leading and not over emphasise one characteristic as this could lead to a decline in effectiveness. The following outline some of the essential qualities of an effective leader.
This is essential in leadership to engage the athletes in a way which encourages them to participate to their maximum potential. Communication techniques must be adapted to suit the needs of the performer.
A boys youth football team need to be spoken to with authority and the manager (leader) needs to exert his presence in order for them to co-operate and listen, yet he also needs to be praise worthy and speak ‘on their level’ so as not to build barriers between his team.
Confidence is often the key to being a leader. Shy, introvert people often get ignored or bypassed by those who have confidence in their skills. Confidence can spread throughout a team and thus provides an effective motivation for those around the leader.
Thierry Henry is often seen as an effective leader in Premiership football as he is confident enough to attempt passes and tricks which give the team confidence in themselves to also attempt such ideas.
It is highly important to gain the respect of your team or individual when elected as leader. The performers look up to the leader for guidance and support and therefore if the leader has not achieved their respect the athletes are less likely to listen or take into consideration his views/opinions.
This can be seen in championship football where Nigel Worthington lost the respect of his players and the fans alike when he made a series of decisions based around his gain rather than his team’s. This resulted in a high lack of respect and a drop in performance and ultimately the loss of his position.
All leaders should be totally committed to their club and country, always striving for the best and reaching for the maximum potential gain.
An example of such is the NFL coaches who spend all hours of the day working with and around their team in order to give them the ‘edge’ in a highly competitive sport.
An effective coach (leader) should have high standards for his team and be constantly bringing up ways of improvement and advancements within the individual or team.
An example of such is Gail Emms’ and Nathen Robertsons’s coach who saw their individual talent yet wanted to push their achievements in putting them together as a doubles pair.
There are many more factors that contribute towards the effectiveness of a chosen leader yet one of the main ideas is that they all must be adapted and used according to the situation and circumstances.
There are three main style of leadership, autocratic, democratic and
Laissez-faire. A good leader will naturally incorporate a mixture of these,
whereas those with poor leadership skills will often stick to one style
regardless of the situation or type of learner. There is no wrong or right
way to teach, yet different styles suit different situations and provide better
results.
Autocratic:
With this style of leadership the leader tends to organise, control and
exert a high influence on the task involved. The style is often thought of as
‘bossy’ and the leader is very authoritarian and strict. This style is rarely
used and needs to be used with caution, yet is a very successful style of
influencing the sporting performer in a way which you want when you want
it. A sporting example of the effectiveness of this style can be seen in a
timeout situation in a basketball match. The coach needs to get across
what he wants the team to do in a very short time. He needs the team’s
attention straight away and a dictative fashion of communication is
effective in this case as the players all listen to him and are fully alert and
responsive to his instructions.
Advantages:
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Quick – This is essential in half time/timeout situations in team/individual sports. Eg the half time period in a football match.
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Little confusion, one person is in charge – In a U17 rugby team, all the players think they have the most knowledge and try to put forward this knowledge to everyone else. This could get confusing, but with the presence of an autocratic leader this confusion is eliminated.
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Players will follow and be led by the leader – Alex Ferguson is a sporting example of this in that he has gained the respect of his players and they follow and look up to him for guidance.
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Good in group situations – a rowdy U17 football team will benefit from an autocratic leader who exerts his power over them and organises them in order for the team to reach their maximum potential.
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Safety – to teach youngsters to throw the javelin or perform a rugby tackle the leader needs to be autocratic in order to ensure safety.
Disadvantages:
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Ineffective in learning a new skill – a young girl learning to play tennis would be highly put off if approached by an autocratic leader and would be likely to give up and quit.
- Low morale/lack of empowerment – the team may get put out and feel as if their view doesn’t count if they are not consulted in any decision making.
- Restricts creativity – one person’s view does not provide diversity of thoughts or ideas and as a result the team may suffer.
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Could cause rifts/divides – for example if a college netball team is captained by an autocratic individual, many may not agree with her thoughts yet are not able to express these thoughts, this would lead to a lack of team spirit and rifts would form.
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Lack of learning – eg. A PE teacher is simply dictating what to do when performing the serve in badminton, yet not explaining why or how, hence the students do not learn.
Democratic
The leader discusses and consults with his group giving them the opportunity to input into the way the sporting activity takes place. He will explain why he is criticising or praising and gives the athletes a sense of empowerment. This style generally works in most situations and with most types of learner, yet is most effective with experienced individuals or teams with the knowledge to input useful ideas and thoughts.
Advantages
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Empowerment, the individual feels involved in the decision making process and is therefore more likely to participate to their maximum potential – a tennis coach asks their pupil if they think their training programme is appropriate according to how they are presently feeling. This gives them the chance to express their opinion and makes them feel involved in important decisions.
- No rifts – Everyone in the team has an equal say and everyone is given equal opportunity, therefore there is no favouritism or dominant figures.
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Enthusiasm – eg a hockey team is much more enthusiastic to train if they have been consulted on which days suit them the most, rather than being dictated to and told which days the have to train.