A coach’s leadership style has an influence on the development and growth of players through mentorship, guidance, and support. Understanding the type of leadership you tend to gravitate natural and during stressful situation is important. Understanding what your strengthens and weaknesses are, along with the goals for your team, is important to any changes to your style of coaching is key for the long-term health of your team. There are three main types of coaching leadership: authoritative, participative, and delegative.
Authoritative leadership is a style of coaching where the coach takes a direct and decisive role in making decisions and giving instructions. Often, the coach will have a very detailed plan and expected outcome that she or he wants the team to achieve. This style is useful in situations where clear direction is needed for the team. This style of coaching is needed in some capacity for the youngest and least experienced teams. The pros of this coaching style include efficient decision-making for the team from the coach, a clear chain of command, and a sense of security for players from the lack of responsibility. However, the cons include a lack of autonomy for players and a potential for micromanagement from the coach. If this leadership is the only leadership the player experiences from a coach, she or he can lack self-confidence to make quick decision or any decisions without looking for guidance. This leads to the inability to overcome obstacles in real-time or at all. Players that do not experience other coaching style beyond authoritative leadership often will quit or move on from teams searching for teams with coaches that tell them what to do and when to do it.
Participative coaching leadership involves a more collaborative approach where the coach encourages input and feedback from players. This style is useful when team members have valuable insights and when the coach wants to promote a sense of ownership and responsibility among team. The pros of this style include a higher level of engagement and creativity from team members, increased job satisfaction, and a sense of shared responsibility. However, the cons of this leadership style stem when there is an uncertainty of direction and when the decision-making process of either the players or coach are too slow. This type of coaching style takes a while for players to understand how to adapt to and often can lead to a lack of confidence on the players side with or without open communication. This style of coaching is good to introduce to players that are developing at high rate or need more challenges to grow their in-game and decision-making skills. There is still a sense of authoritarian leadership in this style of coaching that will need to be outgrown the older and more experienced the players become.
Delegative coaching leadership involves giving players the autonomy to make decisions and complete tasks within their areas of responsibility. This style is useful when players are competent and experienced enough to handle their responsibilities without constant supervision. The pros of this style include increased a sense of ownership and self-confidence among players, as well as the ability to work more efficiently. However, the cons stem from a lack of direction or goals from the goal that steam beyond results-based. Players that buy into this style of coaching are looking for how playing and achieve the goals set out for them will prepare them for the future. When the coach’s goals do not match the social or emotional development of the players, this type of leadership can lead to a sense of meaningless of playing with the team. This style of leadership may not be effective for certain players, especially those whose motivation for playing is solely to achieve external results, since these players are not motivated to grow socially or emotionally from getting better.
Is there one good style of leadership when it comes to coaching? No, there is no one good way to provide guidance, support, and mentorship for players or a team. Understanding the different styles of leadership that is most effective for individual players is important for the grow of the entire team. Think of coaching styles like cooking a steak. Different cuts of meat require different preparation and cooking methods to yield the best result. Knowing the cognitive level, experience, and motivation of your players is key in understanding how to coach up your team.
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