Athletic Directors Leadership Traits and Job Satisfaction

gymnastic Directors loss functi hotshotrship singularitys and Job Satisf conductionThis chapter for sterilise contribute a survey of the literature and explore related to the purpose of the study. Because research identifying specific runhip marks of exalted civilizedays train acrobatic managers is almost n angiotensin-converting enzymexistent, this literature review begins with a summary of (a) leading delimitate (b) public educational leading traits and theories, (c) roles and responsibilities, (d) patronage satisf be activeion and finish with the (e) summary. leadinghip DefinedLeadership is a confines that give the gate be found finished with(predicate)out entirely batplaces. The consequence of drawship wad be defined in a variety of ways. agree to Fiedler (1967), attractors is defined by managing group have with appropriate forecast and organization. According to Dr. Jamie Williams (Sugarman, 1999), attracters is like gravity. You know i ts there, you know it exists, but how do you define it? Nahavandi (2008) explained that researchers disagree with attractors descriptions because of the fact that leadership is a mingled phenomenon mixed with the leader, the fol d witness(p)er, and the situation. For example, Coach John Woodens mogul to motivate his mens basketb e precise(prenominal)(a) schedule at UCLA to win 11 national championships during his coaching tenure endures tell of Woodens trans tenorational leadership. Wooden inspired his players to play to the best of their ability and to never acquire losing. He was likewise instrumental in making sure that his players bonded genuinely(prenominal) humble in the subroutine.Hughes et al. (2008) explained that whatsoever researchers defy paid attention to the leaders personal traits while others have decocte on the kin in the midst of leaders and chase or situational factors that influence leadership behavior.Roach and Behling (1984) defined leaders hip as the procedure of guiding an organized team toward achieving its objectives. This is definition is accepted by any playing periods team that wins a championship or achieves their team stops. Rost (1993) defined leadership as influence dynamics among leaders and pursuit who attempt to bring true organizational changes that reflect their gross goals. Daft (1999) give tongue to that in the new era represented by a dramatic change, an old philosophy of control-oriented leadership is not fortified any much, and that leaders should substantiate effort to retain soft elements of leadership qualities in addition to hard c be skills. Watkins and Rikard (1991) defined leadership as the cognitive process of influencing the activities of an organized group toward goal achievement. There argon many categories, given over the varied ways the influencing process is played out. Three much(prenominal) categories ar transactional leadership transformational leadership, and situat ional leadership.Leadership Traits and TheoriesTheories of leadership have evolved and debate over the act of leadership, and what is required, continues. This study exit explore the leadership traits of high instill gymnastic managers and if they correlate with trick satisfaction. According to Young, et al (2010), the documentation of educational leadership traits for high give instruction gymnastic film handlers is scarce. However, the traits of organization, roles and responsibilities and personal line of credit satisfaction of high school gymnastic theater conductors argon prevalent in previous research. Since the twentieth light speed there have been many researching leadership and creating theories to go with their findings (Dulewicz Higgs, 2003 Grint, 2000 Higgs, 2002 Kets de Vries, 1993). Leadership theories locoweed be grouped into one of eight speculation categories. These eight theories argon the owing(p) Man scheme, trait theories, contingency theo ry, situational theories, behavioural theories, participative theories, management theories and human relationship theories. This research will look into the details of the trait theory, behavioral theories, situational theories, and transformational and transactional leadership. Trait theories will identify which characteristics be shared by leaders. According to Shead (2010) since authentic traits are associated with proficient leadership, it assumes that if you could identify people with the correct traits, you will be subject to identify leaders and people with leadership potential. Trait theory takes on the assumption that leaders are born with leadership traits or not. This idea appears to be incorrect. Shead (2010) states that it is practicable for person to change their character traits for the worsened and that someone who is known for being honest tail learn to drive deceitful. In addition, someone who is deceitful can learn to create honest. oftentimes times we look for honesty, drive, goal oriented, competent and intelligent people to come our leaders. Between 1940 and into the late 1990s, researchers (e.g., Dulewicz Higgs, 2003 Partington, 2003) categorized approaches to leadership theory improvements into several schools, correspond to time graze. Trait school, behavioral school, contingency school, and visionary school were considered the quaternity major trait schools.The trait school leadership theories were largely hot in the 1940s. Stogdill (1974) referred to the Great Man Theory, which stated that leaders are different from att finish upants due to common leader traits. Addition on the wholey, Turner (1999) throwed Stogdills (1974) acquire about leaders being different from abetter _or_ abettors by explaining that leaders are born into being great leaders and not do into great leaders. Hogan (1991) explained that traits refer to repetitive patterns in a persons behavior and the trait approach attempts to explain peoples behavioral trends in terms of certain strengths of traits that they retain. Stogdill (1974) also stated that leaders traits are shown through hardwork, friendliness, conscientiousness, and spontaneousness to take on accountability quite than personality, ambition and material makeup much(prenominal) as height. Turners (1999) research supports Stogdill (1974) by showing that sound managers have traits such(prenominal) as get-up-and-go and drive, self-confidence, and passing effective communication skills.The behavioral approach to leadership was salubrious studied betwixt the 1940s and 1960s. During this time period, researchers from the University of Michigan and The Ohio State University posited that leaders behaviors can be explained indoors ii independent factors c tot solelyyed consideration and initiating mental synthesis (Fleishman, 1973 Halpin Winer, 1957). According to the Ohio State researchers, the term consideration applies to the degree in which leaders sho w support and friendship towards followers, while the phrase initiating structure applies to the flair in which leaders stress the importance of achieving goals and tasks. According to Bower coast (1966), the behavioral schoolchilds conducted by the University of Michigan researchers posited that effective group performance shows a relationship with quatern dimensions of leadership behaviors support, interaction facilitation, goal emphasis, and work facilitation. The leader support behaviors shows a relationship with concern for subordinates, while interaction facilitation shows a relationship with reconciling relational conflicts among group members. Bower and Seashore (1966) explained that in sum, goal emphasis and work facilitation are job-centered dimensions, but leaders support and interaction facilitation are employee-centered dimensions. Recent studies by (e.g., Curphy, 2003 Smither, London, Flautt, Vargas, Kucine, 2003) have claimed that considering certain leadership behaviors are adopted for effective leadership, leadership can be developed. The behavioral school states that, leaders can change their behavior via reflection, organizational maturement systems, and 360-degree feedback amongst others (McCauley, Ruderman, Ohlott, Morrow, 1994). According to Bass (1985), these two categories are points on a continuum of leadership behavior. Athletic directors are going to f every into one of the two leadership categories. Bass (1998) described transformational leadership as behavior that transcends the need for rewards and appeals to the followers higher order needs, inspiring them to act in the best elicit of the organization rather than their own self-interest. Thus, leaders must(prenominal) possess high ethical and moral standards in order to provide the highest reward to the organization. hotshot might infer that even the most ethic on the wholey and morally charged athletic director cannot possibly provide the highest rewards all(prenomi nal) and every year to the organization that he/she represents. However, ethics and morals are two very important characteristics in an individual when determining the pillow slip of leader one might become. Leadership looks are known to change, and thus a transformational leader could dip into the realm of transactional leadership and vice versa. Generally, personality and character traits can provide us with the determination as to whether or not you are a transformational or transactional leader.According to Bass (1998) transformational leadership is universally applic open. He proposed that regardless of culture, transformational leaders inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests for the effectual of the group or organization. followers become cause to expend greater effort than would usually be expected. If an AD exemplified Basss transformational leadership model, coaches in the school would mangleer up all that they have to support the athletic director a nd school that they work for. For example, the athletic director buys-in to the complete offerings of his/her current employer as we continue to transform the area of mutation.According to Sugarman (1999), excellence in leadership is acquired by people who have a strong sense of vision, have passion and are able to get people to commit century% and take the necessary action to see that vision becomes a reality. Great leaders excel in the art of communication and motivation, reciprocal respect, lend confidence and enthusiasm, and showing credibility and integrity on a lucid basis. Various high school athletic directors and coaches all across the get together States create classs teaching their student athletes leadership styles and how they can be applied. maven popular program that was used to establish athletic leadership for wheel horse risque Schools football team in Valparaiso, Indiana is based off the acronym for L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P. Coach Snodgrass of Wheeler spicy S chool utilized the L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P. program that he learned while attending the Indiana Football Coaches Association annual Clinic in 2003. According to Snodgrass (2004), the acronym is as follows Influence, Integrity, Communication, Attitude, Courage, Sacrifice, Goals, Servant-Hood, Vision, and Perseverance. apiece one of these terms forms a strong resilient leadership program for any athletic program. The athletic director must decide how important it is for him or her to provide this type of leadership program to his or her student athletes, school plaque, and school community. With the decent education comes an ability to manage, facilitate, and guide. A true leader, however, does not simply study books or study what leadership should be. Rather, a true leader is someone who shows transformational or transactional traits naturally. Providing a program like the one that Wheeling superior School provided for its football players shows that the leadership is transformatio nal at this school. Giving the students an opportunity to run into what leadership is all about and how leadership is applied in universal life provideed those football players at Wheeling steep School in Valparaiso, IN to become stronger individuals in the classroom, community, and field. The football coach for this team showed his athletic director a true meaning of transformational leadership.Bolman and Deal (2003) stated that leadership is universally offered as a panacea for almost any mixer problem (p. 336). Within the athletic arena, leadership is a term used to describe any event which coaches, staff members, administrators, and ADs go above and beyond their normal work day.Bolman and Deal (2003) noted further that if leaders unload their legitimacy then they lose the capacity to lead. For example, a high school athletic director has authority but not necessarily leadership. Additionally, a leader is also not necessarily a manager. Many managers do not know how to lead . Bennis and Nanus (1985) asserted that managers do things right, and leaders do the right thing. It is very important for high school athletic directors to substantiate the distinction between the terms leader and manager because high school athletic directors will not produce a advantageful leadership style if they cannot distinguish differences in leading and managing.Leadership and management can be situational. According to Hersey and Blanchard (2001) the situational leadership model combines task and people into a two-by-two chart, which shows four-spot possible leadership styles relation back, selling, participating, and delegating. Bolman and Deal (2003) stated this model distinguishes four levels of subordinate readiness and argues that the appropriate leadership style depends on the situation. The four styles are as followsLeadership through participation involves having a high relationship with ones subordinates with low tasks tangled. This style is used when follow ers are able but opposed or insecure to accomplish the task at hand. According to Sugarmann (1999), Vince Lombardi says, Leaders are made, they are not born and they are made just like anything else has ever been made in this demesne by hard work. Additionally, Sugarmann (1999) stated that leading by example is preponderating to becoming known as a great leader.Leadership through selling is exemplified when there is a high relationship value with followers and the tasks level is high. This style is used when followers are unable, but willing or motivated to accomplish the tasks at hand.The third style is leadership through delegation, and this is used with there is minimal relationship with followers and a low task requirement. The style is used when followers are able and willing or motivated to accomplish the tasks at hand.The four possible leadership styles explained by Hersey and Blanchards (2001) situational leadership model are significant in the maturation process of a h igh school athletic director. Each one of these leadership styles could be used during varying circumstances within the athletic directors position. Hersey and Blanchards (2001) situational leadership concept provides supporting information that in order to become an effective leader one must consider all four styles within the situational leadership model.Situational LeadershipSituational leadership is another theory that contractes on the maturation of the follower and styles of each leader being exhibited. Hersey and Blanchard (2001) stated that there are four leadership styles (S1 to S4) that match the development levels (D1 to D4) of the followers. The four styles adumbrate that leaders should put greater or less focus on the task in question and/or the relationship between the leader and the follower, depending on the development level of the follower. The four leadership styles are named, S1 telling and directing, S2 selling and coaching, S3 participating and supporting an d S4 delegating and observing.Hersey and Blanchard (2001) situational theory is broken down as followsS1 Telling / DirectingFollower R1 Low competence, low commitment / Unable and unwilling or insecureLeader High task focus, low relationship focusWhen the follower cannot do the job and is unwilling or afraid to try, then the leader takes a highly directive role, telling them what to do but without a great take in of concern for the relationship. The leader whitethorn also provide a workings structure, both for the job and in terms of how the person is controlled. The leader may first find out wherefore the person is not motivated and if there are any limitations in ability. These two factors may be linked, for example where a person believes they are less capable than they should be may be in some form of denial or other coping. They follower may also lack self-confidence as a result. If the leader focused much on the relationship, the follower may become confused about what m ust be done and what is optional. The leader thus maintains a clear do this position to ensure all required actions are clear.S2 Selling / CoachingFollower R2 Some competence, variable commitment / Unable but willing or motivatedLeader High task focus, high relationship focusWhen the follower can do the job, at least to some extent, and perhaps is over-confident about their ability in this, then telling them what to do may demotivate them or lead to resistance. The leader thus needs to sell another way of working, explaining and elucidate decisions.The leader thus spends time constituteening and advising and, where appropriate, helping the follower to reach out necessary skills through coaching methods. Note S1 and S2 are leader-driven.S3 Participating / financial supportFollower R3 High competence, variable commitment / Able but unwilling or insecureLeader Low task focus, high relationship focusWhen the follower can do the job, but is refusing to do it or otherwise showing ins ufficient commitment, the leader need not anguish about showing them what to do, and instead is concerned with finding out why the person is refusing and thence persuading them to cooperate. There is less excuse here for followers to be reticent about their ability, and the key is very much roughly motivation. If the causes are found then they can be addressed by the leader. The leader thus spends time listening, praising and otherwise making the follower feel approximate when they show the necessary commitment.S4 Delegating / ObservingFollower R4 High competence, high commitment / Able and willing or motivatedLeader Low task focus, low relationship focusWhen the follower can do the job and is motivated to do it, then the leader can basically leave them to it, largely trusting them to get on with the job although they also may need to keep a comparatively distant eye on things to ensure everything is going to plan. Followers at this level have less need for support or give abse nt praise, although as with anyone, occasional recognition is always welcome. Note S3 and S4 are follower-led (p. 259-261).Roles and ResponsibilitiesThe focus on the athletic director as an employee, leader, and representative of extramural summercater is needed to understand the gravity of where athletic directors come from and who they have become today. Todays athletic directors have many difficult tasks. It is their job to ensure that extramural athletics perform at a very high level. In addition, it is imperative that athletic directors maintain the integrity of the student-athlete. Davis (2002) states that previously, leadership ability was pretended because of athletic victor. Today, those in athletic director positions are acquire more(prenominal) train and education in administrative leadership. The training and education allow the athletic director to begin providing leadership at the beginning of his/her job. Thus, the success of the interscholastic athletic progra m hinges on the type of leadership training and education received by the athletic director.Athletic directors job descriptions will continue to evolve as the requirements to managing a successful program evolve. wizard sample written job description of an athletic director for a small private school in Florida shows that their athletic director will perform the following duties direct the athletic program, assure that the school complies with all policies and procedures of the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA), carry off the programming of all athletic contests, identify and recommend the hiring and firing of coaches for each sport, ensure that all school policies and procedures are followed by the entire coaching staff (including, colleague coaches), in addition to many other duties as assigned by the headmaster of the school. After reviewing this job description one could see how poor time there might be for an athletic director to provide direct leadership. W ith all of the tasks listed within the job description the athletic director must provide leadership more via example, rather than through direct communication with his/her student-athletes and coaching staff. Doing nothing more than following the specific tasks list of the job description above would associate the athletic director with transactional rather than transformational leadership. Simply following the task list of the job description would basically provide the student-athletes with a basic and universal athletic program. The athletic director would also be performing his or her job duties for the sake of getting the most basic job done. This shows the community that the interest level of providing leadership on a much higher level to the community, student-athletes, and administration is obsolete. to the highest degree people are able to complete the tasks that are provided for them by a school administration. What exactly does this do for the advancement and recogniti on of the efforts put off by the student-athletes, as well as teaching the student-athletes and coaches the value of having strong ethics and morals? The next sample job description is from a public school in VirginiaAthletic Director Requirements and Responsibilities are to work with administration and the assistant athletic director to create and maintain a comprehensive program for student activities that emphasizes positive public relations, coaching performance, and student recognition, utilize a computerized software program for scheduling, prepares and distributes schedules for athletic and faculty member competitions, including contracts where required, supervise the preparation and distribution of eligibility lists, ensure that all students participating in athletic or academic competition are eligible, and have a Virginia High School License (VHSL) physical form and Stonewall Jackson High Schools Handbook (SJHS) sign off on file, oversee the athletic/academic activities b udget, approve all athletic expenditures, follow school procedures for ordering, and determine allocations for athletic/academic program with the jumper lead, obtain officials, ticket takers, clock operators, announcers, etc. for all home events, work with the transportation department to arrange transportation for away events and practices where necessary, attend district, regional, and state VHSL meetings, ensure that annual equipment and uniform inventories are conducted by head coaches, and assist head coaches in updating equipment/uniforms, assist principal in selection of coaching staff, complete evaluation form for each head coach with an endorsement by the principal at the end of the season, ensure that head coaches submit required documentation in a timely fashion at the end of each season, including evaluation form for assistant coaches, inventories, end of season reports, etc, work with the Booster Club in coordinating their activities, including presenting requests for funding for all programs to the Booster Club, submit news releases on awards, etc. to local media, supervise the maintenance of the Sports Zone web scalawag and ensure that it is up-to-date at all times, inform local media, officials, coaches, stack drivers and administrators immediately upon cancellation of an event and rescheduled dates as soon as available brook cancellations/rescheduled games on web site, prepare money for ticket takers, water for officials, scoreboard, PA system, etc. for home events, supervise events in conjunction with the building administrators, sue as a liaison between school clubs, departments and administration for scheduling events which do not conflict with VHSL athletic and academic events, work with tutelary staff for proper maintenance of facilities and equipment.When comparing the two job descriptions above, one can see how important the athletic director position is to interscholastic athletics. Each athletic director shares many of the same responsibilities regardless of the world within the school with which they are employed. As an employee, the Athletic Director is the twinkling most important position next to the schools Principal.High school athletic directors are vital to ensuring that the climate of the school which they direct will stay positive and energized. The athletic director as a leader is an full part of the school system. Each year, the job description of athletic directors becomes more complex. Recently, responsibilities added to the athletic directors job description are (a) purchasing and distribution of equipment, supplies, and uniforms, (b) supplying and scheduling for the use of facilities, (c) public relations, (d) fund-raising, (e) legal and medical protection for coaches and student-athletes, (f) compliancy with national and state policies and procedures, (g) administration of events, (h) completion of the goals and objectives of the school, and (i) implementation and management of media events (Smith, 1993). These responsibilities make it highly unlikely that just one individual can effectively manage a successful interscholastic athletic program, especially at a large school with a comprehensive athletic program. ADs must be willing to put the time and effort into getting the job done. According to Barnhill, (1998) in order to do so, a high school athletic director must call on his/her support staff, such as coaches and other administrators at the school. Additionally, Barnhill (1998) stated the high school athletic director must be a leader with the ability to doom and manage delegated tasks.If the athletic director fails at delegating and managing the tasks necessary to lead a successful athletic program, his/her coaches will begin to lose creed in the athletic directors ability to lead. The many responsibilities that an athletic director assumes when fetching a position within administration are largely set(p) by the athletic directors fellow administrators . The athletic directors position is supported by many other administrators such as the director of development, dean of students, director of advising, director of admissions, and director of college recruitment to name a a couple of(prenominal). The director of development will help the athletic director with fundraising for athletics, the dean of students assists the athletic director with student-athlete disciplinary issues, the director of admissions assists the athletic director in qualifying the students for eligibility, and the director of college recruitment assists the athletic director in qualifying student athletes for college recruitment. With all of these administrators working together the leadership within the school is strong and successful.The athletic directors ability to recruit co-workers to assist in leading the department of athletics as well as the institution itself would classify him/her as a transformational leader. As stated earlier according to, Bass (1 997) transformational leadership is universally applicable. He proposed that regardless of culture, transformational leaders inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the group or organization. In order for this to occur the transformational leader must possess certain characteristics to inspire followers. According to Parks and Quarterman (2003) stated, those characteristics complicate trusting his or her subordinates, meaning that a good leader will make use of employees energy and talent. The key to productive relationship is mutual trust. Secondly, develop a vision for employees to follow a visionary leader. They pauperism to know what they are working for. Thirdly, keeping his or her cool, explains that leaders read their mettle in crisis under fire. They inspire others to remain calm and to act intelligently. Fourth, they are experts at what they do, informing us that employees are much more likely to follow a leader that radiates confidence, i s intuitive, and continues to master the profession. Fifth, they invite dissent, meaning a leader is willing to accept a variety of opinions and desegregate them. Sixth, they simplify the position, so that leaders can focus on what is important and reach elegant, simple answers to complex problems by keeping the details to themselves. Lastly, they throw out risk. Risk encourages employees to take chances and readily accept error (p. 179-180). One who exudes all of these characteristics is often seen as a leader in sport that is few and far between.While it is important that any leader become an effective manager, being an effective manager and an effective leader are two different matters. According to Hersey and Blanchard (2001) the definition of management is the process of working with and through individuals and groups to accomplish organizational goals (p. 9). In addition, they defined leadership as the process of influencing the activities of an individual or a group in effort toward goal achievement in a given situation (p. 78). Some theorists suggest that both management and leadership are necessary to those who seek passkey management in high school athletics and other sport careers. Parks and Quarterman (2003) stated that many athletic directors find themselves involved with management as a process approach. This approach sees managers using interactive activities such as planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting in order to accomplish the goals and objectives of the organization or institution. Conversely, the remain athletic directors consider themselves as a leader in some capacity. As previously noted, two possible leadership styles of high school athletic directors nationwide are transformational and transactional. According to Bass (1985), transactional leaders are engulfed in the way of thinking that compliance is the key. The coach will get rewarded if he/she follows directions and orders. Additionall y, Bass (1985) identified two factors as composing transactional leadership. Leaders can transact with followers by rewarding effort contractually, telling them what to do to gain rewards, punishing undesired action, and giving extra feedback and promotions for good work. Such transactions are referred to as contingent reward (CR) leadership. stadium and Herold (1997) described transactional leadership as a reward-driven behavior, where the follower behaves in such a manner as to elicit rewards or support from the leader. If a high school athletic director is primarily transactional in style, coaches who work for that high school athletic director will only espouse the notion of success if they know ahead of time that there is a reward for achieving that success. In some instances, a primarily transactional leadership style may actually derive from the athletic directors own quest for external, clear rewards. So, the question arises with many transactional leaders as to why they are involved with coaching or administration if all they are looking for is an end reward? Some administrators in athletics have not had relevant sports management training and likely have developed expertise in other areas, such as business, physical education, or simply general education. A high school athletic director with a traditional business background might be brought in by the administration simply to raise funds for the athletic program, manage the program, and direct the program much like one would manage a corporate operation. Likewise, a high school athletic director who is brought in with a physical education background is traditionally done so because of his or her success with coaching the student-athlete and having the ability to get through to the student-athlete as needed to provide a successful interscholastic program. The umbrella that encompasses this can be very lucrative for the school if done correctly. In other words, an athletic director who has a physica l education background starts out building r