Abstract
AbstractTransformational and authentic leadership are two models of leadership, which have some similarities and are relevant to sport. However, these leadership models are also distinct and consequently may predict athlete outcomes differently. Authentic leadership has received little attention in sport and so research is needed to examine how it is unique in terms of what it adds to dominant sport leadership models. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether authentic leadership (a) is empirically distinct from transformational leadership and (b) adds to transformational leadership by explaining unique variance in commitment and enjoyment. A total of 421 (227 female, Mage = 20.32) team sport athletes took part in the study by completing a questionnaire. Authentic leadership was correlated to transformational leadership, suggesting transformational and authentic leadership show some convergent validity. However, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) revealed that authentic leadership also shows discriminant validity to transformational leadership and has incremental predictive power above that of transformational leadership, in terms of predicting athletes’ enjoyment and commitment. Our findings enhance our understanding of authentic leadership in sport and clearly show that it is distinct from transformational leadership. They also highlight the importance of authentic leadership and how it adds to transformational leadership in terms of predicting athletes’ commitment and enjoyment.
Highlights
Leadership is believed to be an important contextual factor in determining athletes’ psychological development, well-being, and commitment (Vella et al, 2013)
We propose the following hypotheses: (a) authentic leadership is empirically distinct from transformational leadership (Avolio & Gardner, 2005; Houchin, 2011; Walumbwa et al, 2008); and (b) authentic leadership predicts commitment and enjoyment when controlling for transformational leadership
Our study extends the current literature by highlighting the importance of authentic leadership through demonstrating how authentic leadership is different from transformational leadership and what it adds to transformational leadership in terms of predicting athlete outcomes, to enhance our understanding of leadership in sport
Summary
Leadership is believed to be an important contextual factor in determining athletes’ psychological development, well-being, and commitment (Vella et al, 2013). Research into leadership and its impact on athletes has become a key area of sport psychology literature (O’Boyle et al, 2015). This is because whether an athlete’s sport experience is positive or negative is largely determined by situational factors such as the characteristics of the coach and the type of leadership they show (Turnnidge & Côté, 2019; Vella et al, 2013). Coaches are highly influential to athletes and are able to promote lifelong participation in sport (Turnnidge & Côté, 2019).
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