International Journal of Sport Management

Advanced Leadership in Sport Management: Revealing the Significance of Emotional Intelligence

Katie Dee, Gaye Bryham, Lesley Ferkins

Abstract: In this study, we investigated individual perspectives of leadership within the New Zealand sport sector. We situated our study within a constructivist-interpretive paradigm and drew on a social constructionist view of leadership. Our method involved narrative inquiry embedded within a multiple case approach. Data were gathered from three highly experienced sport sector individuals through in-depth interviews, and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Our findings highlight the social, relational nature of leadership in sport man-agement. They identify the significance of emotional intelligence in leadership, revealing the importance of relationships and knowing self. From this research, we promote a social constructionist stance and highlight significant scope for future research to focus on emotional intelligence in advancing leadership in sport management.

Keywords: Emotional intelligence, social constructionist, sport leadership

Citation: Dee, K., Bryham, G., & Ferkins, L. (2018). Advanced leadership in sport management: Revealing the significance of emotional intelligence. International Journal of Sport Management, 19(1), 82-109.

References

  • Anderson, P. (2016). Using qualitative methods to track evolving entrepreneurial identities. In Elsback, K. & Kramer, M. Handbook of Qualitative Organizational Research (pp. 112-121). New York, NY: Routledge.
  • Avolio, B.J., Walumbwa, F.O., & Weber, T.J. (2009). Leadership: Current theories, research, and future directions. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 421-449.
  • Baxter, P., & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13(4), 544-559.
  • Bresnen, M.J. (1995). All things to all people? Perceptions, attributions, and constructions of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 6(4), 495-513.
  • Byron, K. (2007). Male and female managers’ ability to read emotions: Relationships with supervisor’s performance ratings and subordinates’ satisfaction ratings. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 80, 713–733.
  • Chan, J.T., & Mallet C.J., (2011). The value of emotional intelligence for high performance coaching. International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, 6(3), 315-328.
  • Chelladurai, P. (1980). Leadership in sports organizations. Canadian Journal of Applied Sport Sciences, 5(4), 226-231.
  • Chelladurai, P., & Saleh, S.D. (1980). Dimensions of leader behavior in sports: Development of a leadership scale. Journal of Sport Psychology, 2(1), 34-45.
  • Coyne, I.T. (1997). Sampling in qualitative research. Purposeful and theoretical sampling; merging or clear boundaries? Journal of Advanced Nursing, 26(3), 623- 630.
  • Crombie, D. (2011) The value of emotional intelligence for high performance coaching. International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, 6(3), 345-348.
  • Cullen, K.L., Palus, C.J., Chrobot-Mason, D., & Appaneal, C. (2012). Getting to “we”: Collective leadership development. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 5, 428-432.
  • Cullen-Lester, K., & Yammarino, F. (2016). Collective and network approaches to leadership: Special Issue introduction. The Leadership Quarterly, 27, 173-180.
  • DeSensi, J. (2014). Sport: An Ethos Based on Values and Servant Leadership. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 7(1), 58-63.
  • Denzin, N.K., & Lincoln, Y.S. (2011). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
  • Drath, W.H. (2001). The deep blue sea: Rethinking the source of leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  • Edwards, A., & Skinner, J. (2008). Qualitative Research in Sport Management. Sydney, NSW: Elsevier.
  • Ferkins, L., & Shilbury, D. (2010). Developing board strategic capability in sport organisations: The national-regional governing relationship. Sport Management Review, 13, 235–254.
  • Ferkins, L., & Shilbury, D. (2015). The stakeholder dilemma in sport governance: Toward the notion of “stakeowner”. Journal of Sport Management, 29(1), 93-108.
  • Foldy, E.G., Goldman, L., & Ospina, S. (2008). Sensegiving and the role of cognitive shifts in the work of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 19(5), 514-529.
  • Frontiera, J. (2010). Leadership and organizational culture transformation in professional sport. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 17(1), 71-86.
  • George, J.M. (2000). Emotions and leadership: The role of emotional intelligence. Human Relations, 53, 1027–1055.
  • Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review, 78(2): 78– 90.
  • Goleman, D. (2004). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review, 82(1), 82-91.
  • Goleman, D., & Boyatzis, R. (2008). Social intelligence and the biology of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 86(9), 74-81.
  • Grant, B.M., & Giddings, L.S. (2002). Making sense of methodologies: A paradigm framework for the novice researcher. Contemporary Nurse, 13(1), 10-28.
  • Greenleaf, R.K. (1977). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. New York, NY: Paulist Press.
  • Grint, K. (2005). Problems, problems, problems: The social construction of ‘leadership’. Human Relations, 58(11), 1467-1494.
  • Groves, K.S., McEnrue, M.P., & Shen, W. (2008). Developing and measuring the emotional intelligence of leaders. Journal of Management Development, 27(2), 225-250.
  • Hodge, K., Henry, G., & Smith, W. (2014). A case study of excellence in elite sport: Motivational climate in a world champion team. The Sport Psychologist, 28(1), 60-74.
  • Humphrey, R. H. (2002). The many faces of emotional leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 13, 493–504.
  • Jackson, B., & Parry, K. (2011). A very short fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about studying leadership. London, UK: Sage Publications.
  • Johnson, T., Martin, A. J., Palmer, F.R., Watson, G., & Ramsey, P. (2012). Collective Leadership: A Case Study of the All Blacks. Asia-Pacific Management and Business Application, 1(1), 53-67.
  • Jowett, S., & Chaundy, V. (2004). An investigation into the impact of coach leadership and coach-athlete relationship on group cohesion. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 8(4), 302-311.
  • Kellett, P. (1999). Organizational leadership: Lessons from professional coaches. Sport Management Review, 2(2), 150-171.
  • Kihl, L.A., Leberman, S., & Schull, V. (2010). Stakeholder constructions of leadership in intercollegiate athletics. European Sport Management Quarterly, 10(2), 241-275.
  • Kim, M., Kim, Y., & Wells, J.W. (2017). Being a Servant-Leader in Sport: Servant Leadership as the Key to the Coach-Athlete Relationship. International Journal of Sport Management, 18(1), 19-43.
  • Leberman, S., & Shaw, S. (2012). Preparing female sport management students for leadership roles in sport. Report for Ako Aotearoa, Wellington.
  • Leopkey, B., & Parent, M.M. (2009). Risk management issues in large-scale sporting events: A stakeholder perspective. European Sport Management Quarterly, 9(2), 187-208.
  • Maitlis, S., & Lawrence, T.B. (2007). Triggers and enablers of sensegiving in organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1), 57-84.
  • Mayer, J.D., Roberts, R.D., & Barsade, S.G. (2008). Human abilities: Emotional intelligence. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 507–536.
  • Mertens, D.M. (2005). Research methods in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative and qualitative approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
  • O’Boyle, I., Murray, D., & Cummins, P. (2015). Framing leadership in sport. In I. O’Boyle, D.Murray, P., & Cummins, P. (Eds.) Leadership in Sport (pp. 1-6). Oxon, UK: Taylor & Francis.
  • Ospina, S., & Foldy, E. (2010). Building bridges from the margins: The work of leadership in social change organizations. The Leadership Quarterly, 21, 292-307.
  • Ospina, S., & Schall, E. (2001). Leadership (re) constructed: How lens matters. In Washington, DC: APPAM Research Conference.
  • Palmer, F., & Masters, T. (2010). Maori feminism and sport leadership: Exploring Maori women’s experiences. Sport Management Review 13, 331–344.
  • Parent, M.M. (2008). Evolution and issue patterns for major-sport-event organizing committees and their stakeholders. Journal of Sport Management, 22(2), 135.
  • Parent, M.M., Beaupre, R., & Séguin, B. (2009a). Key leadership qualities for major sporting events: The case of the World Aquatics Championships. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 6(4), 367-388.
  • Parent, M.M., Olver, D., & Séguin, B. (2009b). Understanding leadership in major sporting events: The case of the 2005 World Aquatics Championships. Sport Management Review, 12(3), 167-184.
  • Parker, P., & Carroll, B. (2009). Leadership development: Insights from a careers perspective.
  • Leadership, 5, 261-283.
  • Parris, D., & Welty Peachey, J. (2012). Building a legacy of volunteers through servant leadership: A cause‐related sporting event. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 23(2), 259-276.
  • Petrovici, M.A. (2014). Emotionally intelligent leader(ship): An efficient approach. Procedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences, 141, 227-231.
  • Pfeffer, J. (1977). The ambiguity of leadership. Academy of Management Review, 2(1), 104-112.
  • Pye, A. (2005). Leadership and organizing: Sensemaking in action. Leadership, 1(1), 31- 49.
  • Rajah, R., Song, Z., & Arvey, R. (2011) Emotionality and Leadership: Taking stock of the past decade of research. The Leadership Quarterly, 22, 1107-1119.
  • Salovey, P., & Mayer, J.D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 9(3), 185–211.
  • Schneider, R.C. (2013). Emotional intelligence: The overlooked component of sport leadership. International Journal of Sport & Society, 3(3).
  • Shilbury, D., & Ferkins, L. (2015). Exploring the Utility of Collaborative Governance in a National Sport Organization. Journal of Sport Management, 29(4), 380-397.
  • Shilbury, D., Ferkins, L., & Smythe, L. (2013). Sport governance encounters: Insights from lived experiences. Sport Management Review, 16, 349–363.
  • Sport New Zealand. (2012). Strategic Plan 2012-2015. Retrieved from http://www.sportnz.org.nz/assets/Uploads/attachments/About-us/Sport-New-Zealand-Strategic-Plan-20122015.pdf
  • Sport New Zealand. (2016). Leadership framework for the sport and recreation sector. Retrieved July 13, http://www.sportnz.org.nz/managing-sport/search-for-a-resource/news/leadership-framework-for-the-sport-and-recreation-sector
  • Stake, R.E. (2006). Multiple case study analysis. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  • Stake, R. (2000). Case studies. In N.K. Denzin & Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp.435–454). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Sullivan, P., Paquette, K., Holt, N., & Bloom, G. (2012). The relation of coaching context and coach education to coaching efficacy and perceived leadership behaviours in youth sport. Sport Psychologist, 26(1), 122-134.
  • Thelwell, R. C., Lane, A. M., Weston, N. J., & Greenlees, I.A. (2008). Examining relationships between emotional intelligence and coaching efficacy. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 6(2), 224-235.
  • Tolich, M., & Davidson, C. (1999). Starting fieldwork: An introduction to qualitative research in New Zealand. Auckland, NZ: Oxford University Press.
  • Welty Peachey, J., & Burton, L. (2017). Servant leadership in sport-for-development and peace: A way forward. Quest, 69(01), 125-139.
  • Welty Peachey, J., Damon, Z. J., Zhou, Y., & Burton, L. J. (2015). Forty years of leadership research in sport management: A review, synthesis, and conceptual framework. Journal of Sport Management, 29(5), 570-587.
  • Weick, K. E., Sutcliffe, K. M., & Obstfeld, D. (2005). Organizing and the process of sensemaking. Organization Science, 16(4), 409 – 421.
  • Wright, A., & Côté, J. (2003). A retrospective analysis of leadership development through sport. Sport Psychologist, 17(3), 268-291.