Principles and Philosophies in Sporting Organisations

Introduction

Aims of the Paper

This essay determines and critically evaluates the principles and philosophies that would inform my personal approach in a sporting organisation. In the past, I have coached our local team and helped it soar to great heights. Therefore, this essay provides insights on the philosophies and principles that would inform the approach I take in the future in coaching a football team.

Outline of the Structure

The essay begins with a brief description of the reasons why the paper is written. A sound definition of leadership is then provided followed by a description of philosophy. A connection between leadership and philosophy is then deduced from these definitions. Here, different leadership philosophies are outlined and I also go forward to provide my most suitable philosophy for leadership. From that a brief outline of my personal experiences in the past is offered. Here I provide a sneak peek into situations I found myself in, in the past and how I handled those situations. From that details are provided of my day to day activities s football coach in the past.

Leadership Definition

Northouse (2018), hold the view that the essence of leadership is the “action of leading a group of people or an organisation, or the ability to accomplish that”. At its core, leadership is normally defined as the ability to influence other people and further create a movement towards specifically set objectives. For each and every team having a vision which they always move towards is always important. Additionally, the emphasis is normally on inspiration and this is because there is a huge distinction between leadership and bossing others around to do what you want. ; Leaders inspire others through their visions and further motivate by leading through examples instead of telling and intimidating desired actions (Antonakis and Day, 2017). The field of sports has a global appeal and is capable of pervading all complex elements of life. Sport has the capabilities of transcending all cultural and social categories. It is only by having a good understanding and appreciation of the context in which decisions are made can administrators of sports be capable of making and implementing decisions that are meaningful.

Philosophy Definition

Whenever one thinks of philosophy, the first things that probably come to their minds are the greatest thinkers of all times; like Descartes, Plato and Voltaire. Very few people ever think of using philosophy in their day to day lives and the ideas and concepts of philosophy may to a big extent sound a bit difficult to comprehend (Noddings, 2018). Literally, the word philosophy translates to “the love of wisdom.” Philosophy is defined as an attitude or theory that acts as behaviours guiding principle (Rosenberg, 2018). My management philosophy has always been to provide environment`s that increase the productivity of the members of my team, this has been achieved through management of conflict, always keeping morale high, continuously encouraging players who perform dismally and also rewarding those who perform well. Sir Alex Fergusson and Arsene Wenger are my all-time role models in the field. Both are individuals who have largely succeeded in their endeavours as football coaches of the top football teams in England.

Leadership Philosophy

From the above definitions, one can easily deduce the existing connection between philosophy and leadership. A theory or an attitude is created through combining philosophy, the guiding principles and leadership (Bolden et al., 2011). These attitudes and theories provide the norms for action and behaviours. There are four key components of leadership philosophies which include;

A theory – The way by which leadership is defined and what it`s about.

An attitude – The mind-set adopted by an individual in regards of approaching leadership.

Guiding principles – the values and principles a person holds dear whenever they think about leading others.

Behaviour – The behaviour showcased by an individual in their journey to reach the outcomes and results they so desire.

Leadership philosophy could be viewed as a compass as it helps define an individual’s expectations, their values and also provides a roadmap for actions (Ma and Tsui, 2015). When one has a leadership philosophy that is clear, they are capable of creating a focused thought system surrounding their leadership and they also define the attitudes and behaviours they want to cultivate, not only in themselves, but also for others. Even though leadership does not provide focus for an individual, it allows the people around a leader to know what they can expect from the leader (Slack and Parent, 2006).

Leadership philosophies come in a number of different styles and flavours, the same way there is divergence in the definition of leadership and differences in what philosophers think (Cawthorn, 2017). And because, personal values form the foundation for the framework, it is possible for leaders to approach it from the angles they so wish. Even though there are quite a number of leadership philosophies, this essay expounds on three frameworks that are quite unique and that would with no doubt create an idea of the divergence.

Laissez faire leadership philosophy

This is a style of leadership whereby, leaders are normally hand-off and give members of their groups opportunities for making decisions (Wong and Giessner, 2018). This leadership style according to researchers leads to low productivity amongst the members of a group.

In this style of leadership;

The leader strongly believes that his/her followers should have the power of making decisions.

Through increased responsibilities, leader strongly believes in empowering his followers.

This framework is normally most effective whenever followers are knowledgeable.

Democratic leadership philosophy

Participative leadership is another name for democratic leadership. This is a style of leadership whereby, the members of the group take more participative roles in the making of decisions (Lasswell, 2017). This style of leadership is normally quite effective.

In this style of leadership;

The leader has strong emphasis on support and co-operation.

Consideration, consultation and participation are highly valued by a leader.

The leader believes that each and every person should have equal say within their team.

Autocratic leadership philosophy

De Hoogh, Greer and Den Hartog (2015) refer to this as a style of leadership whereby leaders tend to exercise control over all the decisions made in a team and such giving no opportunities for other group members to contribute in decision making. Typically, leaders who are autocratic normally make decisions purely based on their judgements and ideas and accepting advice from their followers is a rare spectacle.

In this style of leadership;

Leader has a vision that is quite clear including how and when things are to be done.

Leader believes that it is in only a controlled system that results can be best achieved.

Leader is accountable for making decisions.

To run the team’s day to day activities I applied a combination of the autocratic and democratic leadership approaches. There were instances I would give the rest of the members in our team an opportunity of making contributions whenever we were making decisions that especially concern their welfare and there were situations where I would make decisions that I felt would be best for the entire team without consulting widely at times just consulting with my assistant. Situations like selecting new player’s or new signings definitely never required me to consult with my entire team.

There exists a foundational element to leadership philosophy. A strong basis is built by different components which have been mentioned above on which to build and also take one`s leadership forward (Gurr, Jggers and Moore, 2017). One is better equipped to succeed as a leader with a leadership philosophy because of three core benefits; collaboration, consistency and character.

Character

In drafting a leadership philosophy, focus and clarity on one` character is normally provided. Character gets to influence a person`s daily decision making and communication with others and as such matters (Dent and Brent, 2015). If someone does not have a good understanding of their character and the traits they value, they are more likely to fall into bad habits and being controlled by emotions. With the help of a leadership philosophy, it is possible to create a conscious decision and outlining the characteristics they want to strive for and which they value in others as well. One`s control of their own behaviours becomes better and they also get to strengthen those qualities that are required of a successful leader.

Consistency

Setting out and defining personal objectives and values is the most important aspect of leadership philosophy. Whenever individuals are faced with decisions, they normally evaluate the options based entirely on how they relate to the sustainability value.

Collaboration

Some level of cooperation is always required in leadership. Because every leader requires followers to follow them voluntarily, it would not be possible to achieve much with poor understanding and focus on teamwork (Pedler, Burgoyne, and Boydell, 2010). The approach to collaboration is one of the things each and every person needs to define in their focus on teamwork. When following a clear leadership philosophy, getting along with people becomes much easier.

Personal experiences

Serving as a coach, I got to interact with different individuals on a daily basis. These interactions sometimes occurred internally as part of work meetings that were formal, informally through conversations and even in employee evaluations and individual consultations. I also got to interact with quite a number of external stakeholders both as part of larger group events and in one-to-one situations. All these instances required of me to be highly cognizant of interpersonal relational skills. Something that made things even harder is that I was often communicating in the presence of individuals from the local media stations, during situations when there was a crisis and even after glorious victories or defeats that were agonising. In all these situations I was always aware that my verbal statements as a leader had the potential to be read, viewed and even heard by large numbers of people.

Over the course of my work, I observed that even though most players always tried not to be disruptive, there exists a fair share of challenging players. One thing that helped me in situations like this is realising that all players are unique and as such my behaviour expectations were never unique. Getting to know all of a team`s players personally is always very important for any coach. People normally have different on and off field strengths, personalities and motivations. When it comes to behaviour however, a coach’s expectation should always be across the board. It is important for a coach to always be consistent in their messaging. For each manager, if that is their core principle and value, all things they engage in have to be in alignment with that.

All good players are at times tempted to feel like they can always get away with subpar behaviour and this is not a secret (Dent and Brent, 2015). On the other hand, players who are weaker, tend to take lazier approaches because they are not compelled to make contributions. It is always crucial that each and every coach is clear when they outline the expected behaviours. They have to be consistent without looking into who committed the broke a rule.

Day to day roles

As a football coach, I was tasked with assisting my players to achieve their full potential. It was my responsibility to train my players, through instructing them in relevant skills, analysing their performances and continuously encouraging them. Generally I summed up as an instructor, demonstrator, supporter, adviser, counsellor, planner, counsellor, friend and assessor for my players. The roles of a coach revolve around creating the right conditions for learning to happen and further coming up with ways through which they could motivate their players (Westre and Weiss, 1991). There exists a high level of motivation amongst most of my players and as such, my roles include ensuring that the motivation is maintained and further generating enthusiasm and excitement amongst the players.

On a daily basis, my duties included;

Training

I got to plan and further supervise training sessions so as to develop my player’s general fitness and soccer skills. During training sessions, together with my team, we got to practise tactics for specific plays for example corner kicks and free kicks. I developed different types of training sessions which were entirely dependent on the different periods. In the pre-season, most of my efforts were normally on helping my players regain their fitness and sharpness. When the league kicks off, I would shift my focus to maintaining my player’s fitness and balancing recovery sessions after games with intense training. Generally, I was responsible for my team’s general defensive and offensive strategies.

Team selection

I was also tasked with choosing the 11 players for each game together with substitutes. From time to time, I would have the final say on matters that were personal like which members of the team became starters and which ones made up a team. I adopted a squad rotation policy which enabled me to give all members of my team game time and as such kept my team fresh throughout a season.

Squad development

It is important for coaches to ensure that they have a strong squad that would be capable of competitively competing in an entire season (Santos et al., 2017). We got to monitor each and every player’s performance during a season and also take account of the player’s injuries. In the event, I observed any form of weakness in the squad, working with a team of scouts, I would embark on recruiting new players.

Games

Games are always a major test of the abilities of any coach. Before any game, I always have to motivate my team to play at its best. When the game kicks off, I always follow the game keenly to ensure that the players maintain tactics taught to them and also issue instructions. Whenever games go wrong, I get to decide on the whether to make changes to the tactics being used or make substitutions. During the half-time period, I get to lead my players in reviewing their performance and identifying any issues they need to work on.

Critical Reflection of Leadership Principles

There are quite a number of theories and definitions about effective leadership. For me, I have a unique formula of success which involves the following leadership principles;

1. Setting good examples is always the best way of creating influence

All leaders always want to get the best from their respective teams. Because there is always need for development, excellent orientation is always key. For me, instead of always telling my players to do, I show it to them by my own example. My team members are always following my steps the reason I practice what I preach. The results have always been astonishing. During hard times when there is a high probability of giving up by team members, I get to be on the frontline of dealing with those obstacles.

2. Leadership is not position but behaviour

The responsibility for bringing change and making decisions in any team is always taken by leaders (Eisenbess, van Knippenberg and Boerner, 2008). I always empower my players to discover and utilise their greatest potentials. People always judge their leaders by their attitudes, behaviours and actions, as such, if anyone wants to be a leader, they should act like leaders and shape better realities.

3. Making an impact is a requirement of leadership

Leadership should never be just about setting of goals an effectively achieving them together with my team. Leadership is also neither about brilliant issuance of instructions nor great skills of communication. Leadership requires that one makes an impact on the society’s welfare. From time to time, together with my team members, we take a break from the normal training schedule and engage in community development programs like clean-up exercises. It is important for each and every leader to make positive changes in the society.

4. Leadership is never about leading my players to games but chasing a vision

Without a clear vision, it is possible that all a team’s activities would be meaningless. People would tend to pre-occupy themselves with implementing different tasks, the key however is devoting one`s efforts and time to the realisation of the teams vision. When a leader discovers a unique vision for their team, they can then effectively coordinate all of their activities towards it (Vito, Higgins and Denney, 2014). Our vision as a team is to be the most disciplined and skilled players across the country. Inspiring all members of my team to work with this vision has always been my duty.

5. Flexibility tends to refer to behaviour and not values

Depending on the circumstances, from time to time, I have been forced to adopt different communication and leadership styles. Flexibility is with no doubt a truly effective trait, if it in no way affects one`s values (Hirschhom, 2002). All my decisions, no matter the situation we are in as a team are always based on my value system. A leader will always have the trust and respect of those individuals around them if their actions are always value-driven.

6. Actions are always effective than words

Effectiveness has little to do with much talking and less acting (Romager et al., 2017). People are affected more by what they see and not what they hear. This is the reason I always prefer actions. I avoid wasting my player’s precious time on endless conversations about my plans. Instead, I realise those plans and work hard to ensure all see them.

7. Leadership is all about people

It is with no doubt that one can never be a leader in an empty room by just having profound skills and goals. Engaging, influencing and communication are all required in leadership. Communication skills are always the foundations of effective leadership. As such, am always constantly working to improve my relations with my team members.

8. Admitting personal mistakes

It would definitely not be possible to analyse different situations and further improve ourselves if things were always done perfectly. Mistakes are always a proof that something was not done right. Nobody becomes a bad leader by admitting that they did a mistake. Admitting mistakes shows that one is wise enough to learn from each and everything they go through.

9. There always exists room for growth

It is always important to have it in mind that satisfaction is always a short-term feeling. Without continuous improvement, life would be meaningless. This does not imply that one does not have to appreciate what they have. It means that we should always be thankful for all our achievements and while at it always try to improve on our capabilities.

10. Unity is strength

Teams are with no doubt, the most important resources for different leaders. This is the reason I always embrace my team and devote most of my energies to caring about my team`s unity on a daily basis. As long as I always have a splendid team, I always know that nothing can ever stay on our way to success. Leaders should always work on ensuring that all their team members consider themselves as members of families that are strong and united.

Conclusion

Smart leaders are always those that have the capabilities of drawing from both autocratic and democratic leadership philosophies based on the situations and the people they deal with. Leadership is by itself a marathon and not a sprint and as such effective leaders are always those that have the capabilities of empowering those that surround them and applying such leadership approaches that they feel would bring out the best in those around them. With one leadership approach, the possibilities of success are minimal when compared to instances where leadership approaches are combined (Iqbal, Anwar and Haider, 2015). Most of the times democratic leadership should be adopted with autocratic leadership only being adopted in those instances where there are in disciplined followers.

Autocratic leaders normally give orders which they normally insist have to be followed. They determine policies for the group without necessarily consulting and never give out information about their future plans. On the other hand, democratic leaders only give out orders once they have consulted with all members of a group. These types of leaders will always see to it policies are worked out in group discussions with the groups acceptance. Their decisions are never unilateral because they come about from widely consulting with their followers and also their participation. As such, participative leadership increases the chances of acceptance of the ideas given out by a manager and consequently reduces resistance to change. It is general accepted that for a leader to be effective, they have to follow democratic/participative leadership.

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