{"id":6386,"date":"2019-03-22T10:29:36","date_gmt":"2019-03-22T15:29:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/?p=6386"},"modified":"2019-03-22T11:22:33","modified_gmt":"2019-03-22T16:22:33","slug":"how-ncaa-division-i-ii-and-iii-mens-college-basketball-coaches-perceive-themselves-as-leaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/how-ncaa-division-i-ii-and-iii-mens-college-basketball-coaches-perceive-themselves-as-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"How NCAA Division I, II, and III Men\u2019s College Basketball Coaches Perceive Themselves as Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Authors: <\/strong>Matthew Raidbard

Corresponding Author:<\/strong>
Matthew Raidbard, Ed.D.
9501 South King Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60628
mraidbard@gmail.com
847-826-2827

Matthew Raidbard has been a men\u2019s college basketball coach for the past twelve years. He has also served for the past three years as a senior level college athletics administrator. His research focus is determining the best leadership style and leadership behaviors for athletic coaches to practice in order for them to be successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

College\nBasketball Coach Leadership Perception: A Review and Recommendations<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

ABSTRACT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A quantitative\ndesign was used by this study to determine how Division I, II, and III men\u2019s\ncollege basketball head coaches perceive themselves as leaders. A leadership\nsurvey was emailed to all Division I, II, and III men\u2019s college basketball head\ncoaches, and the head coaches who chose to complete the leadership survey\ncomprised the population for this study. The head coaches who met the study\u2019s\ndefinition of a successful head coach were sorted into a separate\nsub-population. Data analysis was conducted on the data collected from the\ncompleted leadership surveys and the best leadership style and leadership\nbehaviors for athletic coaches to practice were determined based on the head\ncoaches\u2019 responses. This study determined that transformational leadership was\nthe best leadership style for athletic coaches to practice when the autocratic\nleadership behavior that athletic coaches should centralize their authority and\nbe the sole decision-makers was also practiced. Additional analysis conducted\non the data determined that there was a small degree of correlation between the\nperceived and actual leadership styles of the head coaches who completed the\nleadership survey, which indicated that athletic coaches could benefit from\nleadership training that taught them the best leadership style and leadership\nbehaviors to practice, and how to practice them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Keywords:<\/strong> college basketball coach, athletic coach leadership, ncaa, college coach leadership<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Athletics is an integral and part\nof colleges across the United States. The role athletics plays on a college\ncampus varies for each institution based on the amount of resources and\nemphasis the institution chooses to allocate for its athletic department;\nhowever, regardless of the investment made by the institution in its athletic\ndepartment, a successful athletic program (hereafter used interchangeably with\n\u201cathletic success\u201d) can have an enormous impact on the institution at large.\nDue to the amount of mainstream exposure an athletic department can generate,\nsuccessful athletic teams can greatly increase an institution\u2019s alumni and\nbooster donations, external sponsorship and branding opportunities, and\nincrease the number and quality of applicants. These benefits of \u201cathletic\nsuccess\u201d all serve to increase the profile, funding, and resources of the\ninstitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many colleges\ndevote an extensive amount of resources to athletics; however, that does not\nguarantee a successful athletics department. Furthermore, the athletic teams\nthat are judged to have the most talent do not always achieve success; and in\nboth cases, the question of why some teams achieve success, while others do\nnot, must be addressed. There has always been curiosity and speculation about\nwhy certain college athletic teams achieve success year in and year out, even\nas star athletes come and go. Resources and great athletes are often identified\nas being two of the primary reasons; however, the coach\u2019s leadership style and\nability to maximize the effort and effectiveness of his or her players is often\nde-emphasized. In order for college athletic teams to succeed, the coach must\npractice the right leadership style and best leadership behaviors in order to\ninspire and motivate his or her athletes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tutko and Richards\n(1971) suggested that the athletic coach\u2019s main job is to assist the athlete in\nachieving his or her highest physical, psychological, attitudinal, and\nmotivational development. They also found in their research that the right leadership\nstyle employed by athletic coaches resulted in greater than expected individual\nas well as team results. Leadership is an essential element in promoting a\npositive team atmosphere, and motivating individual athletes to work hard and\nsupport a team-first culture. While much has been written about the importance\nof college athletic coaches as leaders, and what leadership style is\ntheoretically best for college athletic coaches to practice, an in-depth study\nto determine the best leadership style and leadership behaviors for athletic\ncoaches to practice, based on how the coaches perceive themselves as leaders,\nhas yet to be conducted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such a study would determine the best leadership style and leadership behaviors by examining the difference between the responses of successful and unsuccessful athletic coaches. The results of such a study would also help to inform the hiring practices of administrators who are responsible for hiring athletic coaches. With the information from this study, administrators would be able to more accurately determine if prospective coaching candidates practice the best leadership styles and leadership behaviors to successfully lead their team. Once the right athletic coaches are in place, athletic teams have a better opportunity to achieve success and positively impact the institution as a result of that success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The purpose of this research is to determine how NCAA Division I, II, and III men\u2019s college basketball head coaches perceive themselves as leaders, and was designed to attempt to answer five research questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Is there a leadership style that men\u2019s college basketball head coaches practice most often?<\/li>
  2. Are there specific leadership behaviors that men\u2019s college basketball head coaches practice most often?<\/li>
  3. Is there a leadership style that successful men\u2019s college basketball head coaches practice most often?<\/li>
  4. Are there specific leadership behaviors that successful men\u2019s college basketball head coaches practice most often?<\/li>
  5. Is there a correlation between the perceived practiced leadership style and actual practiced leadership style of men\u2019s college basketball head coaches?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Definition of Terms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Autocratic\nLeadership: A leadership style where the leader is the sole decision-maker, and\nthe leader draws a clear distinction between the role of the leader and the\nrole of the followers. Within the autocratic leadership organizational\nstructure, followers understand that all decisions are made by the leader in\norder for the leadership to be effective (Lewin, Lippit & White, 1939).<\/li>
    2. Democratic\nLeadership: A leadership style where the leader actively seeks the input and\nadvice from followers in order to make organizational decision. The leader\nengages followers by listening to their ideas and opinion, and treats followers\nas equals in order to create an organizational culture where followers are\nmotivated by their equality to work harder and share in organizational success\n(Lewin, Lippit & White, 1939).<\/li>
    3. Laissez-Faire Leadership: A leadership style where\nthe leader consciously decides to take a hands-off approach to leadership, with\nthe belief that followers understand their particular role within the\norganization, and, therefore, active leadership and oversight is unnecessary\n(Lewin, Lippit & White, 1939).<\/li>
    4. Leadership:\nThe ability of an individual to positively influence and transform his or her\nfollowers\u2019 desire to maximize their effectiveness and ability to achieve their\npotential (Burns, 1978; Bass, 1985).<\/li>
    5. Success:\nWinning an average of one conference regular season or conference tournament\nchampionship every four seasons, or appearing in the NCAA Tournament an average\nof once every six seasons, or appearing in the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen,\nElite Eight, or Final Four an average of once every eight seasons, or winning\nat least one NCAA Tournament Championship in a career (Cote & Gilbert,\n2009; Horn, 2008).<\/li>
    6. Transactional\nLeadership: A leadership style where the leader focuses on the supervision and\norganization of his or her followers. The leader also promotes a contingent rewards\nand punishments system to influence and motivate followers\u2019 performance (Burns,\n1978; Bass, 1985).<\/li>
    7. Transformational\nLeadership: A leadership style that is defined by the leader\u2019s approach to\ninspiring and motivating his or her followers to achieve more than the\nfollowers believe they can achieve. This style of leadership is centered on the\nleader establishing value in his or her individual followers, and establishing\na clear vision and goals for followers to work toward achieving (Burns, 1978;\nBass, 1985).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Review of the Literature<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Introduction<\/em>     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Athletic team coaching is an act of leadership; athletic coaches exhibit various leadership styles and engage in specific leadership behaviors, to lead their teams to overcome adversity, foster team effectiveness, and pursue collective team goals (Hackman & Wageman, 2005). Athletic coaches are often given a majority of the credit for cultivating team success and individual team victories; however, athletic coaches are also the ones who are usually singled out for blame when a team loses or fails to meet assigned expectations (Stornes & Bru, 2002). The choice of leadership style by an athletic coach can have a significant impact on the coach\u2019s team\u2019s level of performance, as well as the team\u2019s ability to relate to the coach and form a cohesive team identity (Wells & Aicher, 2013). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/em>Athletic coaches play a crucial role in the development of athletes who participate in both individual and team sports. Coaches are responsible for helping to improve athlete\u2019s physical abilities as well as psychosocial well-being. In order for athletic coaches to be successful in this task they must possess the suitable leadership style and practice the best leadership behaviors that are most conducive to the needs of their athletes (Kim & Cruz, 2016). The most successful coaches are committed to leadership styles and behaviors that work toward developing an effective player-coach relationship, and are able to inspire their athletes to work toward accomplishing team goals and achieving collective success (Vella, Oades & Crowe, 2012). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Building a strong coach-player relationship has been determined to be a central component of player development, and positive player development has also been found to be a key factor in athletic team success (Vella, Oades & Crowe, 2012). A critical aspect of the coach-player relationship is dependent upon the coach giving the players positive feedback and providing them with social support (Chelladurai & Saleh, 1980). By providing positive feedback and social support, athletic coaches are leading players; however, the leadership style used by coaches is not static.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Relationship\nBetween Athletic Coach Leadership Style and Athletic Success<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Coaching an athletic team is a uniquely challenging occupation. The relationship between an athletic coach and his or her athletes has always been, and remains to this day, an integral aspect of the development of both the athletes and the coach (Rocha & Chelladurai, 2011). Athletic coaches seek to enhance their athletes\u2019 athletic abilities and the overall performance of the team, and through this process, athletic coaches who are concerned with practicing the best leadership behaviors should seek to learn from their athletes\u2019 responses to those behaviors.  By a coach evaluating how his or her athletes respond to certain leadership behaviors, and then using that information to adapt or adjust his or her behaviors accordingly, a coach can increase the chance of achieving team goals (Phillips & Jubenville, 2009).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In the world of\ncollege athletics, the relationship between the leadership style and behaviors\npracticed by athletic coaches and team success has been debated for decades\n(Kao, Chen, Watson & Halbrook, 2015). Leadership by an athletic coach is\nnecessary at both the individual and team level (Hoigaard, Jones & Peters,\n2008). An athletic coach\u2019s leadership characteristics and behaviors play a\nsignificant role in the coach\u2019s ability to build relationships with his or her\nathletes, as well as maximize each athlete\u2019s sports performance ability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Athletic coaches hold a great deal of influence over their athletes. The leadership characteristics they possess and behaviors they exhibit are key elements in determining whether the nature of the coach-player relationship is positive and able to achieve team goals (Surujlal & Dhurup, 2012). In order to achieve this goal and level of individual commitment to team success, the athletic coach must use the right leadership behaviors in order to positively influence his or her team (Acet, Gumusgul & Isik, 2017). One of the main ways that athletic coaches are able to bring individual athletes together in the pursuit of team success is through strong training and instruction, and by exhibiting the positive leadership behaviors of teaching and organization in order to efficiently direct athletes and build team cohesion (Sullivan & Kent, 2003). Athletes have been found to be most responsive to leadership behaviors that are positive, and which include positive feedback from athletic coaches. Recent research supported past studies that demonstrated that coaches who possess the best leadership characteristics and practice positive leadership behaviors are able to develop a healthy coach-athlete relationship (Surujlal & Dhurup, 2012; Chelladurai & Saleh, 1980).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Athletic\nCoaches as Leaders<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Athletics is viewed around the world as being a vehicle for youth to learn important life skills and behaviors. Through the leadership practiced by athletic coaches, athletes are able to not only learn important skills relating to their athletic pursuits, but also to transfer what they have learned from their coaches to face life\u2019s challenges and roadblocks (Holt, Tink, Mandigo & Fox, 2008). When athletic coaches are hired, a key component of the hiring process is determining that they possess the required sport-specific knowledge. Without possessing sport-specific knowledge, an athletic coach would not be able to organize instructional activities and implement the strategies that are necessary to help players develop and the team to succeed. However, in order for athletic coaches to impart knowledge effectively to their players, they must possess not only sport specific knowledge, but also the necessary leadership skills (Hackman & Wageman, 2005).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The best leadership style for athletic coaches to practice is a subject that has been extensively studied. Over the past six decades, as the times have changed, and players and coaches have evolved, research on what leadership style is best for athletic coaches has shifted from supporting certain styles in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, to determining that others are more suited for today\u2019s coaches to practice. In its simplest form, the effectiveness of an athletic coach is largely based on the quality of the leadership decisions that the head coach makes, as well as the leadership behaviors that the head coach exhibits and whether those decisions and behaviors are accepted by the athletes (Chelladurai & Haggerty, 1989). If the athletic coach\u2019s leadership style and behaviors are not accepted by the athletes, a dysfunctional culture may be cultivated and exposed, which could lead to a poisoning of the coach-player relationship, as well as the coach\u2019s relationship with the entire team. When this occurs, a team\u2019s chances of success and achieving its goals are usually sabotaged (Schroeder, 2010).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Methodology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      To identify how men\u2019s college basketball head coaches perceive themselves as leaders, a quantitative study was designed, and descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data set. This study was a cross-sectional study. In this study, men\u2019s college basketball head coaches were the population, and the head coaches who responded to the survey were the subset of the specific population analyzed. The subjects for this study were National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, Division II, and Division III men\u2019s college basketball head coaches. The unit of analysis was each individual head men\u2019s basketball coach in this research study, and the total number of head coaches who respond to the survey constituted the study\u2019s population. Since this is an introductory study, assistant coaches can be included in future studies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      A link to complete\nthe leadership survey via the Survey Monkey website was emailed to head coaches.\nAll men\u2019s college basketball head coaches have a school email address that is\npublicly available through the school\u2019s athletic department directory, located\non the athletic department\u2019s webpage. An introductory message explaining the\nstudy and why the head coaches\u2019 participation were needed, was emailed to each\nof the 351 Division I, 317 Division II, and 451 Division III men\u2019s college\nbasketball head coaches. At the end of this introductory message, there was a\nlink to participate in the study. The head coaches who clicked on the link were\ndirected to a Survey Monkey webpage where they could complete the leadership\nsurvey. After head coaches completed the leadership survey, it was\nautomatically returned to the researcher via Survey Monkey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      All coaches were sent an adapted version of the Vannsimpco Leadership Survey (VLS), which consisted of thirty-three questions relating to behaviors practiced in transactional, transformational, laissez-faire, democratic, and autocratic leadership (Vann, Coleman & Simpson, 2014). Questions on the original survey that related to a workplace setting were adapted to the college athletics setting. Adapting the survey from the workplace setting to the college athletics setting primarily consisted of adjusting the workplace specific terms \u201csupervisor\u201d and \u201cemployees\u201d to refer to \u201cmen\u2019s basketball head coaches\u201d and \u201cathletes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Once the completed leadership surveys were returned, the answers given to the statements on each leadership survey were analyzed. Statements 1-6 on the survey are background questions. The remaining statements each represent key leadership behaviors that correspond to one of nine leadership styles. Statements 10-12 represent transactional leadership, statements 13-15 represent democratic leadership, statements 16-18 represent autocratic leadership, statements 19-21 represent autocratic-transformational leadership, statements 22-24 represent autocratic-transactional leadership, statements 25-27 represent democratic-transformational leadership, statements 28-30 represent democratic-transactional leadership, statements 31-33 represent transformational leadership, and statements 34-36 represent laissez-faire leadership. For each statement, a Likert Scale was used, and coaches were asked to indicate whether they strongly agree, somewhat agree, neither agree nor disagree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree. Each response on the Likert Scale was matched with a number for data collection; strongly agree (5), somewhat agree (4), neither agree nor disagree (3), somewhat disagree (2), or strongly disagree (1). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Results<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The population for this study contained 1,093 NCAA men\u2019s college basketball head coaches. Currently, all men\u2019s college basketball head coaches are male so he or his will be used hereafter instead of his\/her or she\/he. The population consisted of 351 Division I men\u2019s college basketball head coaches, 315 Division II men\u2019s college basketball head coaches, and 427 Division III men\u2019s college basketball head coaches (NCAA, 2017). Of the 1,093 men\u2019s college basketball head coaches who were emailed the leadership survey, 211 completed the survey, with 208 respondents answering all of the survey questions. Table 1 shows the number of respondents who completed the survey and percentage by NCAA Division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Table 1 :<\/strong>Number and Percentage of Respondents by NCAA\nDivision<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
      NCAA Division <\/strong><\/td> Number of Respondents <\/td> Percentage <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Division I\n <\/td>\n 35\n <\/td>\n 16.83%\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Division II\n <\/td>\n 50\n <\/td>\n 24.04%\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Division III\n <\/td>\n 123\n <\/td>\n 59.13%\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Total\n <\/td>\n 208\n <\/td>\n  \n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

      This study had 211 respondents, 3 of whom were discarded using Listwise deletion because of missing data. Of the 208 respondents analyzed in this study, 94 of them met this study\u2019s definition of success. For this study, success was defined as a men\u2019s college basketball head coach winning an average of one conference regular season or conference tournament championship every four seasons; or appearing in the NCAA Tournament an average of once every six seasons; or appearing in the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, or Final Four an average of once every eight seasons; or winning at least one NCAA Tournament Championship in a career. Based on this study\u2019s definition of success, 94 of the respondents were found to be successful men\u2019s college basketball head coaches. Table 2 shows the number of respondents by NCAA division who met this study\u2019s definition of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Table 2 : <\/strong>Number and Percentage of Successful Respondents by NCAA Division<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
      NCAA Division <\/td> Number of Respondents <\/td> Percentage <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Division I\n <\/td>\n 16\n <\/td>\n 17.02%\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Division II\n <\/td>\n 22\n <\/td>\n 23.40%\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Division III\n <\/td>\n 56\n <\/td>\n 59.58%\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Total\n <\/td>\n 94\n <\/td>\n  \n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

      Analysis of the Research Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      To answer research\nquestion number one: is there a leadership style that men\u2019s college basketball\nhead coaches practice most often, the head coaches\u2019 responses to each survey\nstatement were used to calculate the mean for each leadership style. The\nleadership style with the greatest mean was determined to be the leadership\nstyle the head coaches practiced most often. Table 3 shows the calculated mean\nfor each leadership style, based on the sample (n=208), for the respondents\u2019\nresponses to the survey statements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Table 3 : <\/strong>Respondents\u2019 Leadership Style Response Means<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Leadership Style <\/td> Mean <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Transformational\n <\/td>\n 4.441\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Autocratic-Transformational\n <\/td>\n 4.221\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Democratic-Transformational\n <\/td>\n 4.184\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Transactional\n <\/td>\n 4.075\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Autocratic\n <\/td>\n 3.865\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Democratic\n <\/td>\n 3.787\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Autocratic-Transactional\n <\/td>\n 3.709\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Democratic-Transactional\n <\/td>\n 3.520\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Laissez-faire\n <\/td>\n 2.709\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

      The survey data\nshowed that there was a difference in the calculated means between the reported\nleadership styles practiced by the head coaches. The results determined that\ntransformational leadership (M=4.441) was the leadership style the head coaches\nperceived themselves to practice most often. Autocratic-transformational\nleadership (M=4.221), followed by democratic-transformational leadership\n(M=4.184) were the second and third most commonly practiced leadership styles\nby the head coaches. This data indicates that, based on the mean responses to\nthe survey questions, transformational leadership is the style that the head\ncoaches perceived themselves to practice most often. The data also indicates\nthat head coaches who do not perceive themselves to be practicing solely\ntransformational leadership, do perceive themselves to be practicing leadership\nstyles that strongly incorporate transformational leadership behaviors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The only other\nleadership style that was not a combination of two leadership styles (such as\nautocratic-transformational) that had a respondent mean above 4.0 was\ntransactional leadership. Transactional leadership had a response mean of\n4.075, which indicates that the coaches did perceive themselves to be\npracticing transactional leadership, although not as strongly as\ntransformational leadership, or both autocratic and democratic leadership when\nboth were combined with transformational leadership behaviors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      To determine if\nthere is a statistical difference between the leadership styles that the\nrespondents perceived themselves to practice, a Kruskal-Wallis H test was\nperformed. The null hypothesis for this test was that there is no significant\ndifference between the leadership styles that the respondents reported to\npractice. The dependent variables were the head coaches, which were all men\u2019s\ncollege basketball head coaches, and the independent variables were the nine\nleadership styles tested for on the survey. Figure 1 shows the results of the\nKruskal-Wallis H test, which was run in order to determine if there was a\nstatistically significant difference between the respondents\u2019 responses to the\nnine leadership styles on the leadership survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Leadership Style<\/td>Significance<\/td>Decision<\/td><\/tr>
      Transactional<\/td>.190<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Democratic<\/td>.013<\/td>Reject Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Autocratic<\/td>.407<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Autocratic-Transformational<\/td>.473<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Autocratic-Transactional<\/td>.189<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Democratic-Transformational<\/td>.018<\/td>Reject Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Democratic-Transactional<\/td>.528<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Transformational<\/td>.238<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Laissez-faire<\/td>.047<\/td>Reject Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

      Figure\n1.<\/em> Kruskal-Wallis H Test Results for Head Coaches\u2019 Leadership Styles<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The medians and\nmode were the central tendencies, and the significance level for the test was\nset at .05. Based on the results of the test, it was determined that the\ndistribution of respondents\u2019 responses for democratic leadership (significance\n= 0.013), democratic-transformational leadership (significance = 0.018), and\nLaissez-faire leadership (significance = 0.047) rejected the null hypothesis.\nTherefore, this test indicated that there was a statistically significant\ndifference between the respondents\u2019 responses for the three leadership styles\nthat were determined to reject the null hypothesis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      To answer research\nquestion number two: are there specific leadership behaviors that men\u2019s college\nbasketball head coaches perceive themselves to practice most often, the head\ncoaches\u2019 responses to each survey statement were used to calculate the mean for\neach individual statement. The leadership behaviors with the greatest means were\ndetermined to be the leadership behaviors the head coaches practiced most\noften. Table 4 shows the perceived leadership behaviors practiced by the\nrespondents, corresponding leadership style, and mean based on the respondents\u2019\nresponses to the individual survey statements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Table 4 : <\/strong>Respondents\u2019 Leadership Behavior Response, Corresponding Leadership Style, and Mean<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Leadership Behavior<\/td>Leadership Style<\/td>Mean<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should look for ways to develop the strengths of their athletes.<\/td>Transformational<\/td>4.571<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches are responsible for the operation of the Men\u2019s Basketball program and team, which includes the development of team standards, and establishing a level of commitment for the athletes.<\/td>Autocratic-Transformational<\/td>4.498<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should develop strategies to develop the athletes\u2019 performance and commitment to team improvement.<\/td>Transformational<\/td>4.488<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should make it a point to reward their athletes for contributing to the achievement of team goals.<\/td>Transactional<\/td>4.322<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should be open to others\u2019 ideas, yet they should guide athletes to become stronger and more focused basketball players.<\/td>Democratic-Transformational<\/td>4.307<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should rely on personal influence and relationship building rather than on position or title to get athletes to complete basketball related tasks.<\/td>Transformational<\/td>4.263<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should provide opportunities for their athletes to be involved in decision making, while also serving as mentors during times of initiation and change.<\/td>Democratic-Transformational<\/td>4.171<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should provide goals for the team, and allow their athletes to work towards achieving the goals, making sure to offer the athletes feedback concerning their efforts.<\/td>Autocratic-Transformational<\/td>4.161<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches\u2019 are ultimately responsible for whether their team achieves its defined goals.<\/td>Autocratic<\/td>4.093<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should be highly concerned about developing their athletes\u2019 ability to contribute to making important team decisions.<\/td>Democratic-Transformational<\/td>4.073<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should set deadlines and clearly state the positive or negative consequences for their athletes\u2019 not meeting defined goals.<\/td>Transactional<\/td>4.015<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should retain control of decision making, but they should encourage high morale so their athletes do not feel negatively affected during times of change.<\/td>Autocratic-Transformational<\/td>4.005<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches make the key decisions for the team and get most of the credit or blame, but they should make sure that their promises for rewards and disincentives made to their athletes are kept.<\/td>Autocratic-Transactional<\/td>4.005<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should assign specific tasks to key their athletes in order to achieve specific goals.<\/td>Autocratic<\/td>3.898<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should be comfortable working with athletes, and be able to seek their input in making decisions while providing incentives and disincentives for the quality of their performance in basketball related activities.<\/td>Democratic-Transactional<\/td>3.898<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should let their athletes know what to expect as rewards for achieving defined goals.<\/td>Transactional<\/td>3.888<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should give their athletes authority to make, or have significant input into, important team decisions.<\/td>Democratic<\/td>3.873<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should seek input from their athletes when formulating policies and team rules, and procedures for implementing them.<\/td>Democratic<\/td>3.756<\/td><\/tr>
      To solve problems, Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should have meetings with their athletes to obtain their input before taking corrective action.<\/td>Democratic<\/td>3.732<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should make quick decisions in times of urgency, and be more deliberate in making decisions during times of less urgency.<\/td>Autocratic<\/td>3.605<\/td><\/tr>
      In addition to having responsibility for decision-making, it is essential for a Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coach to provide incentives and disincentives for their athletes with respect to their performance during basketball related activities.<\/td>Autocratic-Transactional<\/td>3.571<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should state clearly the incentives and disincentives to their athletes, while maximizing oversight on the most critical team decisions and issues.<\/td>Autocratic-Transactional<\/td>3.551<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should be concerned about building consensus among all athletes on the team, while making sure their athletes understand the timelines, benefits, and penalties associated with team goals.<\/td>Democratic-Transactional<\/td>3.434<\/td><\/tr>
      In order to make decisions, Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should discuss issues with all of their athletes, while considering which incentives and disincentives should be used in response to the quality of their athletes\u2019 performance during basketball related activities.<\/td>Democratic-Transactional<\/td>3.229<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should recruit high performing and committed athletes, which relieves the \u201ccoach\u201d from making all of the day-to-day team-related decisions.<\/td>Laissez-faire<\/td>3.073<\/td><\/tr>
      Athletes should be recruited who possess the skills necessary to help make team decisions. If athletes need direct and constant supervision, they should not be part of the team.<\/td>Laissez-faire<\/td>2.776<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches\u2019 job is to make big picture decisions on behalf of the Men\u2019s Basketball program and team, and nearly all of their work should involve little or no direction from the athletes.<\/td>Laissez-faire<\/td>2.278<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

      Based on the\nsurvey responses, the data showed that there was a difference between the\nleadership behaviors head coaches perceived themselves to practice. The results\nindicated that the transformational leadership behavior that head coaches should look for ways to develop\nthe strengths of their athletes<\/em> (M=4.571), was the leadership behavior the\nrespondents reported to practice most often. The autocratic-transformational\nleadership behavior that head coaches are\nresponsible for the operation of the Men\u2019s Basketball program and team<\/em>\n(M=4.498), and the transformational leadership behavior, that head coaches should develop strategies to\ndevelop the athletes\u2019 performance and commitment to team improvement<\/em>\n(M=4.488), were the second and third most often practiced leadership behaviors\nby the head coaches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Transformational\nleadership behaviors were the first and third more often practiced behaviors by\nthe respondents. This is consistent with the findings from the first research\nquestion that determined that transformational leadership was the leadership\nstyle that the respondents perceived themselves to practice most often. The\nword \u201cdevelop\u201d was a common thread found in the three leadership behaviors that\nthe respondents reported to practice most often. Development of skills,\nstrengths, character, performance, commitment, and other qualities are key\naspects of transformational leadership, and, based on the results, the\nrespondents identified that it was the head coach\u2019s job to develop these and other\nimportant qualities in their players and teams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The concept of\ndevelopment aligns with this study\u2019s definition of transformational leadership,\nwhich focuses on the leader\u2019s approach to inspiring and motivating his or her\nfollowers to achieve more than the followers believe they are capable of\nachieving. In order for a leader to accomplish this task he or she must be\ncommitted to developing his or her followers\u2019 strengths, skills, commitment,\nperformance, and character. The development of these key characteristics will\nhelp the followers achieve more than they thought they were capable of\nachieving, and therefore, collectively, help the team achieve more than it\nappeared to be capable of achieving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      To determine if\nthere is a statistical difference between the leadership behaviors that the\nrespondents reported to practice, a Kruskal-Wallis H test was performed. The\nnull hypothesis for this test was that there is no significant difference\nbetween the leadership behaviors that the respondents reported to practice. The\ndependent variables were the respondents, which were all men\u2019s college\nbasketball head coaches, and the independent variables were the twenty-seven\nleadership behaviors represented by the statements on the survey. Figure 2\nshows the results of the Kruskal-Wallis H test, which was run to determine if\nthere was a statistically significant difference between the respondents\u2019\nresponses to the twenty-seven leadership behaviors on the leadership survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Leadership Behavior<\/td>Significance<\/td>Decision<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should make it a point to reward their athletes for contributing to the achievement of team goals.<\/td>.735<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should let their athletes know what to expect as rewards for achieving defined goals.<\/td>.160<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should set deadlines and clearly state the positive or negative consequences for their athletes\u2019 not meeting defined goals.<\/td>.949<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should give their athletes authority to make, or have significant input into, important team decisions.<\/td>.522<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should seek input from their athletes when formulating policies and team rules, and procedures for implementing them.<\/td>.079<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      To solve problems, Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should have meetings with their athletes to obtain their input before taking corrective action.<\/td>.244<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches\u2019 are ultimately responsible for whether their team achieves its defined goals.<\/td>.995<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should make quick decisions in times of urgency, and be more deliberate in making decisions during times of less urgency.<\/td>.940<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should assign specific tasks to key their athletes in order to achieve specific goals.<\/td>.550<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should provide goals for the team, and allow their athletes to work towards achieving the goals, making sure to offer the athletes feedback concerning their efforts.<\/td>.842<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should retain control of decision making, but they should encourage high morale so their athletes do not feel negatively affected during times of change.<\/td>.893<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches are responsible for the operation of the Men\u2019s Basketball program and team, which includes the development of team standards, and establishing a level of commitment for the athletes.<\/td>.836<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      In addition to having responsibility for decision-making, it is essential for a Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coach to provide incentives and disincentives for their athletes with respect to their performance during basketball related activities.<\/td>.533<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should state clearly the incentives and disincentives to their athletes, while maximizing oversight on the most critical team decisions and issues.<\/td>.568<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches make the key decisions for the team and get most of the credit or blame, but they should make sure that their promises for rewards and disincentives made to their athletes are kept.<\/td>.729<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should provide opportunities for their athletes to be involved in decision making, while also serving as mentors during times of initiation and change.<\/td>.280<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should be open to others\u2019 ideas, yet they should guide athletes to become stronger and more focused basketball players.<\/td>.417<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should be highly concerned about developing their athletes\u2019 ability to contribute to making important team decisions.<\/td>.189<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should be comfortable working with athletes, and be able to seek their input in making decisions while providing incentives and disincentives for the quality of their performance in basketball related activities.<\/td>.183<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      In order to make decisions, Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should discuss issues with all of their athletes, while considering which incentives and disincentives should be used in response to the quality of their athletes\u2019 performance during basketball related activities.<\/td>.934<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should be concerned about building consensus among all athletes on the team, while making sure their athletes understand the timelines, benefits, and penalties associated with team goals.<\/td>.796<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should rely on personal influence and relationship building rather than on position or title to get athletes to complete basketball related tasks.<\/td>.692<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should develop strategies to develop the athletes\u2019 performance and commitment to team improvement.<\/td>.576<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should look for ways to develop the strengths of their athletes.<\/td>.260<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches\u2019 job is to make big picture decisions on behalf of the Men\u2019s Basketball program and team, and nearly all of their work should involve little or no direction from the athletes.<\/td>.239<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Athletes should be recruited who possess the skills necessary to help make team decisions. If athletes need direct and constant supervision, they should not be part of the team.<\/td>.183<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should recruit high performing and committed athletes, which relieves the \u201ccoach\u201d from making all of the day-to-day team-related decisions.<\/td>.638<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

      Figure\n2.<\/em> Kruskal-Wallis H Test Results for Head Coaches\u2019 Leadership Behaviors<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The medians and\nmode were the central tendencies, and the significance level for the test was\nset at .05. Based on the results of the test it was determined that all of the\nleadership behaviors retained the null hypothesis; therefore, this test\nindicates that there was no statistically significant difference between the\nrespondents\u2019 most often reported leadership behaviors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      To answer research\nquestion number three: is there a relationship between successful men\u2019s college\nbasketball head coaches and a specific leadership style, the same procedure was\nfollowed as was used to answer research question number one. However, instead\nof all of the survey respondents\u2019 responses being used in the calculations,\nonly \u201csuccessful\u201d head coaches\u2019 responses were included. With this information,\nwhether or not a head coach qualifies as being \u201csuccessful\u201d was determined.\nUsing this study\u2019s definition of success as guide, the respondent\u2019s years of\nexperience were divided by his answers to statements five, six, seven, and\neight. Therefore, if a respondent was a head coach for 3 years and made 1 NCAA\nTournament appearance, that respondent would be deemed successful. This\nrespondent would be labeled successful because he met the condition that he\nmake 1 NCAA Tournament appearance on average at least every 4 years. Of the 208\nhead coaches who completed the survey, 94 of them met the study\u2019s definition of\nsuccess. Based on the survey responses of those 94 respondents, the means were\ncalculated for each leadership style. Table 5 shows the sample (n=94) and mean\nbased on the successful respondents\u2019 responses to the survey statements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Table 5 : <\/strong>Successful Respondents\u2019 Leadership Style Response Means<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Leadership Style <\/td> Mean <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Transformational\n <\/td>\n 4.405\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Autocratic-Transformational\n <\/td>\n 4.201\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Democratic-Transformational\n <\/td>\n 4.165\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Transactional\n <\/td>\n 4.025\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Autocratic\n <\/td>\n 3.875\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Democratic\n <\/td>\n 3.738\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Autocratic-Transactional\n <\/td>\n 3.681\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Democratic-Transactional\n <\/td>\n 3.505\n <\/td><\/tr>
      \n Laissez-faire\n <\/td>\n 2.613\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

      Based on the survey\nresponses, the data showed that there was a difference in the calculated means\nfor each leadership style the successful head coaches perceived themselves to\npractice. The results indicated that transformational leadership (M=4.405) was\nthe leadership style practiced most often by successful head coaches.\nAutocratic-transformational leadership (M=4.201), followed by\ndemocratic-transformational leadership (M=4.165) were the leadership styles\npracticed second and third most often by successful head coaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Of the nine\nleadership styles represented in the leadership survey data was collected on in\nthe leadership survey, only autocratic leadership had a higher mean for the\npopulation of only successful respondents (3.875) when compared to the mean for\nthe entire population (3.865). Based on this data, it was concluded that\nsuccessful respondents did not feel as strongly to either agree or disagree\nwith the statements on the survey as the entire sample of respondents did,\nexcept for autocratic leadership. From this evidence it was concluded that\nautocratic leadership was the only leadership style that successful head\ncoaches perceived themselves to practice more often than unsuccessful head\ncoaches. The phrase \u201cunsuccessful head coaches\u201d will hereafter refer to the\npopulation of head coaches who completed the leadership survey but were not\nlabeled as successful. Additionally, when considering this study\u2019s established\ndefinition of autocratic leadership, it can be concluded that successful head\ncoaches consider themselves to be the sole decision-makers in their basketball\nprograms, and to draw a clear distinction between the role of the leader and\nthe role of the followers, while unsuccessful head coaches do not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Additionally,\ndemocratic leadership and laissez-faire leadership were the two leadership\nstyles with the greatest differences between the mean calculated for the sample\nthat included all head coaches and the mean that was calculated for the sample\nthat included only successful head coaches. The difference in the two sample\u2019s\nmean averages for democratic leadership was (0.49), and for laissez-faire\nleadership it was (0.96). What these differences indicate is that unsuccessful\nhead coaches perceived themselves to practice transactional, democratic, and laissez-faire\nleadership more often than successful head coaches. It was established by the\ndata that successful head coaches perceive themselves to practice autocratic\nleadership more often than unsuccessful head coaches; furthermore, this data\nindicates that while successful head coaches are more likely to consider\nthemselves the sole decision-makers in their programs, unsuccessful head\ncoaches are more likely to practice democratic leadership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This study\u2019s\nestablished definition of democratic leadership is that of a leader who\nactively seeks input and advice from his or her followers in order to make\norganizational decisions. This definition indicates the clear distinction\nbetween autocratic leaders centralizing their authority and decision-making,\nand democratic leaders who are more willing to decentralize their authority and\ndecision-making to their followers. Unsuccessful head coaches also reported\nthat they practiced laissez-faire leadership more often than successful head\ncoaches. This finding further solidifies the argument that unsuccessful head\ncoaches are more willing to decentralize their authority, or more specifically\nin the case of laissez-faire leadership, to take a hands-off approach to\nleadership, as compared to successful head coaches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      To determine if\nthere is a statistical difference between the leadership styles that the\nrespondents perceived themselves to practice, a Kruskal-Wallis H test was\nperformed. The null hypothesis for this test was that there is no significant\ndifference between the leadership styles that the respondents reported to\npractice. The dependent variables were the respondents, which were all\nsuccessful men\u2019s college basketball head coaches, and the independent variables\nwere the nine leadership styles tested on the leadership survey. Figure 3 shows\nthe results of the Kruskal-Wallis H test, which was run to determine if there\nwas a statistically significant difference between the respondents\u2019 responses\nto the nine leadership styles on the leadership survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Leadership Style<\/td>Significance<\/td>Decision<\/td><\/tr>
      Transactional<\/td>.158<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Democratic<\/td>.082<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Autocratic<\/td>.530<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Autocratic-Transformational<\/td>.342<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Autocratic-Transactional<\/td>.432<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Democratic-Transformational<\/td>.022<\/td>Reject Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Democratic-Transactional<\/td>.287<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Transformational<\/td>.274<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Laissez-faire<\/td>.123<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

      Figure\n3.<\/em> Kruskal-Wallis H Test Results for Successful Head Coaches\u2019 Leadership\nStyles<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The medians and\nmode were the central tendencies, and the significance level for the test was\nset at .05. Based on the results of the test, it was determined that the\ndistribution of respondents\u2019 responses for democratic-transformational\nleadership (significance = 0.022) rejected the null hypothesis. Therefore, this\ntest indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between\nthe respondents\u2019 responses for the one leadership style that was determined to\nreject the null hypothesis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      To answer research\nquestion number four: is there a relationship between successful men\u2019s college\nbasketball head coaches and a specific set of leadership behaviors, the same\nprocedure was followed that was used to answer research question number two.\nHowever, instead of the entire sample of head coaches\u2019 responses being used in\nthe calculations, only successful head coaches\u2019 responses were included. The\nsame coaches, based on the study\u2019s criteria, who were determined to be successful\nfor research question two, were used to calculate the mean for each of the\ntwenty-seven leadership behaviors. The leadership behaviors with the greatest\nmean were determined to be the leadership behaviors most often practiced by\nsuccessful head coaches. Table 6 shows the leadership behaviors that successful\nmen\u2019s college basketball head coaches perceived themselves to practice most\noften, corresponding leadership style, and mean based on the successful\nrespondents\u2019 responses to the individual statements on the leadership survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Table 6 : <\/strong>Successful Respondents\u2019 Leadership Behavior Response, Corresponding Leadership Style, and Mean<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Leadership Behavior<\/td>Leadership Style<\/td>Mean<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should look for ways to develop the strengths of their athletes.<\/td>Transformational<\/td>4.559<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should provide opportunities for their athletes to be involved in decision making, while also serving as mentors during times of initiation and change.<\/td>Democratic-Transformational<\/td>4.426<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches are responsible for the operation of the Men\u2019s Basketball program and team, which includes the development of team standards, and establishing a level of commitment for the athletes.<\/td>Autocratic-Transformational<\/td>4.419<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should develop strategies to develop the athletes\u2019 performance and commitment to team improvement.<\/td>Transformational<\/td>4.409<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should make it a point to reward their athletes for contributing to the achievement of team goals.<\/td>Transactional<\/td>4.280<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should be open to others\u2019 ideas, yet they should guide athletes to become stronger and more focused basketball players.<\/td>Democratic-Transformational<\/td>4.258<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should rely on personal influence and relationship building rather than on position or title to get athletes to complete basketball related tasks.<\/td>Transformational<\/td>4.247<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should provide goals for the team, and allow their athletes to work towards achieving the goals, making sure to offer the athletes feedback concerning their efforts.<\/td>Autocratic-Transformational<\/td>4.172<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches\u2019 are ultimately responsible for whether their team achieves its defined goals.<\/td>Autocratic<\/td>4.043<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should retain control of decision making, but they should encourage high morale so their athletes do not feel negatively affected during times of change.<\/td>Autocratic-Transformational<\/td>4.011<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should be highly concerned about developing their athletes\u2019 ability to contribute to making important team decisions.<\/td>Democratic-Transformational<\/td>4.011<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should set deadlines and clearly state the positive or negative consequences for their athletes\u2019 not meeting defined goals.<\/td>Transactional<\/td>3.968<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should assign specific tasks to key their athletes in order to achieve specific goals.<\/td>Autocratic<\/td>3.903<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches make the key decisions for the team and get most of the credit or blame, but they should make sure that their promises for rewards and disincentives made to their athletes are kept.<\/td>Autocratic-Transactional<\/td>3.892<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should be comfortable working with athletes, and be able to seek their input in making decisions while providing incentives and disincentives for the quality of their performance in basketball related activities.<\/td>Democratic-Transactional<\/td>3.871<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should give their athletes authority to make, or have significant input into, important team decisions.<\/td>Democratic<\/td>3.849<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should let their athletes know what to expect as rewards for achieving defined goals.<\/td>Transactional<\/td>3.828<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should seek input from their athletes when formulating policies and team rules, and procedures for implementing them.<\/td>Democratic<\/td>3.731<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should make quick decisions in times of urgency, and be more deliberate in making decisions during times of less urgency.<\/td>Autocratic<\/td>3.677<\/td><\/tr>
      To solve problems, Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should have meetings with their athletes to obtain their input before taking corrective action.<\/td>Democratic<\/td>3.634<\/td><\/tr>
      In addition to having responsibility for decision-making, it is essential for a Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coach to provide incentives and disincentives for their athletes with respect to their performance during basketball related activities.<\/td>Autocratic-Transactional<\/td>3.591<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should state clearly the incentives and disincentives to their athletes, while maximizing oversight on the most critical team decisions and issues.<\/td>Autocratic-Transactional<\/td>3.559<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should be concerned about building consensus among all athletes on the team, while making sure their athletes understand the timelines, benefits, and penalties associated with team goals.<\/td>Democratic-Transactional<\/td>3.452<\/td><\/tr>
      In order to make decisions, Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should discuss issues with all of their athletes, while considering which incentives and disincentives should be used in response to the quality of their athletes\u2019 performance during basketball related activities.<\/td>Democratic-Transactional<\/td>3.194<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should recruit high performing and committed athletes, which relieves the \u201ccoach\u201d from making all of the day-to-day team-related decisions.<\/td>Laissez-faire<\/td>2.957<\/td><\/tr>
      Athletes should be recruited who possess the skills necessary to help make team decisions. If athletes need direct and constant supervision, they should not be part of the team.<\/td>Laissez-faire<\/td>2.699<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches\u2019 job is to make big picture decisions on behalf of the Men\u2019s Basketball program and team, and nearly all of their work should involve little or no direction from the athletes.<\/td>Laissez-faire<\/td>2.183<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

      Based on the\nsurvey responses, the data showed that there was a difference between the\nreported leadership behaviors the successful head coaches perceived themselves\nto practice. The results determined that the transformational leadership\nbehavior that head coaches should look\nfor ways to develop the strengths of their athletes<\/em> (M=4.559), was the\nleadership behavior the successful respondents reported to practice most often.\nThe democratic-transformational leadership behavior that head coaches should provide opportunities for their athletes to be\ninvolved in decision making, while also serving as mentors during times of\ninitiation and change<\/em> (M=4.426) was the second most often practiced\nleadership behavior. The third most often practiced leadership behavior was the\nautocratic-transformational leadership behavior that head coaches are responsible for the operation of the Men\u2019s Basketball\nprogram and team<\/em> (M=4.419). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      While both the\nsample that included all head coaches and the sample that included only the\nsuccessful head coaches reported to practice the transformational leadership\nbehavior that head coaches should look\nfor ways to develop the strengths of their athletes<\/em>, there was not\nagreement as to the second and third most often practiced leadership behaviors.\nSuccessful head coaches reported to practice the democratic-transformational\nleadership behavior that included that head\ncoaches should provide opportunities for their athletes to be involved in\ndecision-making<\/em>. This was the second most frequently reported leadership\nbehavior by successful head coaches and is contradictory to the idea discussed\nin the answer to research question number three that successful head coaches were more likely to centralize their authority\nand decision-making<\/em>. However, the second part of the\ndemocratic-transformational leadership behavior included the concept that head coaches should serve as mentors to\ntheir athletes during times of initiation and change<\/em>. This transformational\nleadership concept could have been the driving force behind why the successful\nhead coaches reported to practice this leadership behavior more frequently,\neven though the first part of the behavior contradicted the head coaches\u2019\nautocratic leadership tendency to centralize authority and decision-making.\nHead coaches serving as mentors for their athletes does align with the concept\nthat head coaches are teachers or educators who are responsible for fostering the\ndevelopment of their athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      To determine if\nthere was a statistical difference between the leadership behaviors that the\nrespondents perceived to practice a Kruskal-Wallis H test was performed. The\nnull hypothesis for this test was that there is no significant difference\nbetween the leadership behaviors that the respondents reported to practice. The\ndependent variables were the respondents, which were all successful men\u2019s\ncollege basketball head coaches, and the independent variables were the\ntwenty-seven leadership behaviors on the survey. Figure 4 shows the results of\nthe Kruskal-Wallis H test, which was run to determine if there was a\nstatistically significant difference between the respondents\u2019 responses to the\ntwenty-seven leadership behaviors on the leadership survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
      Leadership Behavior<\/td>Significance<\/td>Decision<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should make it a point to reward their athletes for contributing to the achievement of team goals.<\/td>.246<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should let their athletes know what to expect as rewards for achieving defined goals.<\/td>.093<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should set deadlines and clearly state the positive or negative consequences for their athletes\u2019 not meeting defined goals.<\/td>.371<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should give their athletes authority to make, or have significant input into, important team decisions.<\/td>.195<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should seek input from their athletes when formulating policies and team rules, and procedures for implementing them.<\/td>.058<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      To solve problems, Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should have meetings with their athletes to obtain their input before taking corrective action.<\/td>.093<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches\u2019 are ultimately responsible for whether their team achieves its defined goals.<\/td>.257<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should make quick decisions in times of urgency, and be more deliberate in making decisions during times of less urgency.<\/td>.585<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should assign specific tasks to key their athletes in order to achieve specific goals.<\/td>.356<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should provide goals for the team, and allow their athletes to work towards achieving the goals, making sure to offer the athletes feedback concerning their efforts.<\/td>.353<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should retain control of decision making, but they should encourage high morale so their athletes do not feel negatively affected during times of change.<\/td>.089<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches are responsible for the operation of the Men\u2019s Basketball program and team, which includes the development of team standards, and establishing a level of commitment for the athletes.<\/td>.382<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      In addition to having responsibility for decision-making, it is essential for a Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coach to provide incentives and disincentives for their athletes with respect to their performance during basketball related activities.<\/td>.374<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should state clearly the incentives and disincentives to their athletes, while maximizing oversight on the most critical team decisions and issues.<\/td>.275<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches make the key decisions for the team and get most of the credit or blame, but they should make sure that their promises for rewards and disincentives made to their athletes are kept.<\/td>.376<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should provide opportunities for their athletes to be involved in decision making, while also serving as mentors during times of initiation and change.<\/td>.054<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should be open to others\u2019 ideas, yet they should guide athletes to become stronger and more focused basketball players.<\/td>.177<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should be highly concerned about developing their athletes\u2019 ability to contribute to making important team decisions.<\/td>.033<\/td>Reject Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should be comfortable working with athletes, and be able to seek their input in making decisions while providing incentives and disincentives for the quality of their performance in basketball related activities.<\/td>.199<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      In order to make decisions, Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should discuss issues with all of their athletes, while considering which incentives and disincentives should be used in response to the quality of their athletes\u2019 performance during basketball related activities.<\/td>.307<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should be concerned about building consensus among all athletes on the team, while making sure their athletes understand the timelines, benefits, and penalties associated with team goals.<\/td>.261<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should rely on personal influence and relationship building rather than on position or title to get athletes to complete basketball related tasks.<\/td>.193<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should develop strategies to develop the athletes\u2019 performance and commitment to team improvement.<\/td>.434<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should look for ways to develop the strengths of their athletes.<\/td>.140<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches\u2019 job is to make big picture decisions on behalf of the Men\u2019s Basketball program and team, and nearly all of their work should involve little or no direction from the athletes.<\/td>.243<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Athletes should be recruited who possess the skills necessary to help make team decisions. If athletes need direct and constant supervision, they should not be part of the team.<\/td>.107<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr>
      Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coaches should recruit high performing and committed athletes, which relieves the \u201ccoach\u201d from making all of the day-to-day team-related decisions.<\/td>.380<\/td>Retain Null Hypothesis<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

      Figure\n4.<\/em> Kruskal-Wallis H Test Results for Head Coaches\u2019 Leadership Behaviors<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The medians and\nmode were the central tendencies, and the significance level for the test was\nset at .05. Based on the results of the test, it was determined that the\ndistribution of respondents\u2019 responses for statement number twenty-seven on the\nleadership survey, which was the democratic-transformational leadership\nbehavior (significance = 0.033) that head coaches should be highly concerned\nabout developing their athletes\u2019 ability to contribute to making important team\ndecisions, rejected the null hypothesis. Therefore, this test indicated that\nthere was a statistically significant difference between the respondents\u2019\nresponses for the one leadership behavior that was determined to reject the\nnull hypothesis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      To answer research\nquestion number five: is there a correlation between the perceived and actual\nleadership styles of men\u2019s college basketball head coaches, the actual\nleadership style the head coaches practiced, based on their responses to the\nsurvey statements, was compared to the leadership style the head coaches\nself-reported in statement number six on the leadership survey. Statement\nnumber six on the leadership survey asked the head coaches to indicate which of\nthe leadership styles (definitions were provided for each leadership style on\nthe survey below statement six) they perceive themselves to practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Figure 5 shows the\nresults of the Spearman\u2019s rho test, which was run in order to determine if\nthere was a statistical dependence between the leadership style the head\ncoaches perceived themselves to be practicing, and the actual leadership style\nthey were determined to be practicing based on their responses to the survey\nstatements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
       <\/td> <\/td> <\/td>Perceived Leadership Style(s)<\/td>Actual Leadership Style(s)<\/td><\/tr>
      Spearman’s rho<\/td>Perceived Leadership Style(s)<\/td>Correlation Coefficient<\/td>1.000<\/td>.017<\/td><\/tr>
       <\/td> <\/td>Sig. (2-tailed)<\/td>.<\/td>.813<\/td><\/tr>
       <\/td> <\/td>N<\/td>208<\/td>208<\/td><\/tr>
       <\/td>Actual Leadership Style(s)<\/td>Correlation Coefficient<\/td>.017<\/td>1.000<\/td><\/tr>
       <\/td> <\/td>Sig. (2-tailed)<\/td>.813<\/td>.<\/td><\/tr>
       <\/td> <\/td>N<\/td>208<\/td>208<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

      Figure\n5. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Spearman\u2019s rho Test\nResults that Determined Degree of Dependence Between the Respondents\u2019 Perceived\nand Actual Leadership Styles<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Based on the\nresults of the Spearman\u2019s rho test, which determined the correlation\ncoefficient to be 0.017, there was a very small degree of correlation between\nthe perceived and actual leadership styles of the head coaches. A correlation\ncoefficient that is 1.0 is perfectly positively correlated, while a correlation\ncoefficient of 0.0 would indicate no positive correlation. Therefore, a\ncorrelation coefficient for this study of 0.017 indicates that there is a very\nsmall degree of dependence between the perceived and the actual leadership\nstyle of the respondents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This finding of\nthe Spearman\u2019s rho test indicates that the leadership style the head coaches in\nthis study perceived themselves to be practicing had a very small degree of\ncorrelation to the actual leadership they were determined to be practicing\nbased on their answers to the statements on the leadership survey. This finding\ncould mean that head coaches do not understand the specific leadership\nbehaviors that correspond to the particular leadership style they wish to\npractice, which could lead to the coaches not practicing their intended\nleadership style. This finding could also mean that the head coaches perceived\nthemselves to be practicing one leadership style, but their perceived actions\nor behaviors, either intentionally or unintentionally, ended up corresponding\nto a completely different leadership style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Discussion and Conclusions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Implications\nfor Athletic Coach Leadership<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The mean for the\nsample that included all head coaches was calculated for each leadership style\nbased on the responses of the head coaches who completed the survey. The mean\nfor the sample that included only successful head coaches was calculated for\neach leadership style based on the response for only the head coaches who met\nthe study\u2019s definition of success. For comparison purposes, and to draw a\ndistinction between the two samples of data analyzed in this study, the head\ncoaches who completed the survey but did not meet this study\u2019s definition of\nsuccess are referred to as unsuccessful head coaches in this section. This\ndistinction is being drawn because the sample that included all head coaches\nwho completed the survey includes the head coaches who both met and did not\nmeet the study\u2019s definition of success. When the successful head coaches are\nextracted from this sample only the head coaches who did not meet this study\u2019s\ndefinition of success are left, and if a head coach is not successful then they\nare considered unsuccessful in this study. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      A comparison of\nthe calculated means for the practiced leadership styles of both samples of\nhead coaches indicated several interesting implications for athletic coach\nleadership. First, the means for the practiced leadership styles for the sample\nthat included only the successful head coaches were all lower than the means\nthe sample that included all head coaches\u2019, except for autocratic leadership.\nThe implication of this finding is that successful head coaches perceive\nthemselves to practice autocratic leadership more often than unsuccessful head\ncoaches. Additionally, this finding indicates that unsuccessful head coaches\nmore strongly perceived themselves to practice eight of the nine leadership\nstyles on the leadership survey. The data implies that unsuccessful head\ncoaches perceive themselves to more strongly practice all of the leadership styles\non the leadership survey except for autocratic leadership. This finding not\nonly indicates that successful head coaches perceive themselves to more often\npractice autocratic leadership, but also that unsuccessful head coaches\nperceive themselves to more often practice various leadership styles. It also\nindicates that unsuccessful head coaches might not be certain which specific\nleadership style they wish to practice and instead practice certain aspects of\ndifferent leadership styles. This implies that a key component that helps head\ncoaches achieve success is that they are more intentional about their\nleadership choices compared to unsuccessful head coaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Two of the largest\ndisparities in the calculated means for the two samples were for democratic\nleadership and laissez-faire leadership. The mean for democratic leadership was\n0.049 greater, and for laissez-faire leadership 0.096 greater, for the sample\nthat included all head coaches versus the sample that included only successful\nhead coaches. This finding implies that unsuccessful head coaches are more\nlikely to seek input from their athletes in order to make organizational\ndecisions, treat their athletes as equals in the decision-making process, and\nlisten to their athletes\u2019 ideas and opinions. Additionally, unsuccessful head\ncoaches were found to more often take a hands-off approach to leadership with\nthe belief that their athletes do not need active leadership and constant\noversight. This is in stark contrast to successful head coaches whose responses\nindicated that they take a more autocratic approach to leadership where they\nare the sole decision-maker, and draw a clear distinction between their role as\na leader and the role of their athletes as followers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Transformational\nleadership was found to have the highest calculated mean of the nine leadership\nstyles on the leadership survey for both samples. Interestingly, the sample\nthat included all head coaches had a higher mean for transformational\nleadership (M=4.441) than the sample that included only successful head coaches\n(M=4.405). This indicates that unsuccessful head coaches perceive themselves to\npractice transformational leadership more often than successful head coaches.\nWhen this finding is viewed with the previous finding, that successful head\ncoaches perceived themselves to practice autocratic leadership more often, the\nconclusion can be drawn that practicing autocratic leadership along with\ntransformation leadership is a key factor in head coaches achieving success.\nTransformational leadership being the most often practiced leadership style by\nboth samples indicates that the major differentiating factor between\nunsuccessful head coaches and successful head coaches is that unsuccessful head\ncoaches practice transformational leadership combined with a democratic\nleadership behavior, while successful head coaches practice transformational\nleadership combined with an autocratic leadership behavior. The practiced\ndemocratic leadership behavior was that head coaches should seek input and the opinions\nof their athletes when making decisions, while the autocratic leadership\nbehavior was that head coach should be the sole decision-maker for their team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      There are several\nkey implications from this interpretation of the data that must be pointed out for\nathletic coaches. The first implication is that athletic coaches should\ncentralize their decision-making and strive to make a majority, if not all, of\nthe decisions for their team and athletes. Additionally, athletic coaches\nshould draw a clear distinction between their role as the leader of the team\nand their athletes\u2019 role as the followers. Decentralizing athletic coaches\u2019\nauthority by seeking input from their athletes in order to make team decisions,\nand treating their athletes as equals, has not been shown to lead athletic\ncoaches to be successful. A possible explanation for successful head coaches\npracticing autocratic leadership more often, while unsuccessful head coaches\npractice democratic leadership more often, could be the result of successful head\ncoaches having a better understanding of what decisions and actions they need\nto make in order to help their team achieve success. As a result of having this\nknowledge, successful head coaches do not seek any additional input from their\nathletes that could influence their decision-making. Additionally, unsuccessful\nhead coaches might not be as confident that their decisions are correct, and as\na result they seek input from their athletes. However, a possible issue with\nthis democratic leadership approach is that the athletes may not have a good\ngrasp of what the right or best decisions should be in order to achieve\nsuccess. As a result, if head coaches make decisions based on the athletes\u2019\ninput, this could lead to the team, and as a result the head coach, being\nunsuccessful.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      A Kruskal-Wallis H\ntest was performed on the medians and modes for the leadership style data\ncollected from both samples of head coaches. The Kruskal-Wallis H test\ndetermined that there was not a statistical difference between the leadership\nstyles the head coaches perceived themselves to practice most often. While\nthere are implications for athletic coach leadership that were drawn from the\ncalculated means of the leadership styles; in order to gain a clearer\nunderstanding of why specific leadership styles were practiced most often by\nthe head coaches, additional analysis was conducted on each individual\nleadership behavior that corresponded to the nine leadership styles on the\nsurvey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      When the\ncalculated means for the twenty-seven leadership behaviors on the leadership\nsurvey for the two samples were compared, several implications were made based\non the data. For both samples of head coaches, the transformational leadership\nbehavior that stated that head coaches should look for ways to develop the\nstrengths of their athletes, was practiced most often. This behavior is the\ncentral component of transformational leadership, and its practice by athletic\ncoaches reinforces transformational leadership as the prevailing leadership\nstyle for athletic coaches to practice. However, based on the fact that the\ndifference between the calculated means for the two samples was very small\n(.012), practicing this leadership behavior does not appear to be the\ndifferentiating factor between a successful and an unsuccessful head coach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Interestingly, an\nautocratic-transformational leadership behavior was the second most often\npracticed leadership behavior by the sample that included all head coaches,\nwhile a democratic-transformation leadership behavior was the second most often\npracticed leadership behavior by the sample that included only successful head\ncoaches. This finding appears to contradict the earlier finding from this study\nthat unsuccessful head coaches practice transformational leadership combined\nwith democratic leadership more often, while successful head coaches practice\ntransformational leadership combined with autocratic leadership more often;\nhowever, when the specific behaviors in question were analyzed this apparent\ncontradiction was not supported. The autocratic-transformational leadership\nbehavior was not related to the autocratic behavior that head coaches should be\nthe sole decision-makers, which is a driving autocratic characteristic. The\ndemocratic-transformational leadership behavior stated that head coaches should\nbe responsible for the development of team standards and establishing a level\nof commitment for their athletes. This behavior does not relate to the\ndemocratic leadership behavior that head coaches should give their athletes\ninput into team decisions. However, the caveat to this was that head coaches\nshould also serve as mentors to their athletes during times of initiation and\nchange, which is related more to transformational leadership then democratic\nleadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Transactional\nleadership was the only leadership style that was practiced often by head\ncoaches, besides transformational leadership, that was not a combination of two\nleadership styles. Additionally, the transactional leadership behavior that\nstated head coaches should make it a point to reward their athletes for\ncontributing to the achievement of team goals, was the most often practiced\nleadership behavior, after transformational leadership, that was not the\ncombination of two leadership styles. Additionally, this transactional\nleadership behavior, like the transactional leadership style, was practiced\nmore often by the sample that included all head coaches then the sample that\nincluded only successful head coaches. While this is a decidedly transactional\nleadership behavior, it reinforces the importance of transformational\nleadership in athletic coach leadership. This specific transactional leadership\nbehavior includes the key concept of athletic coaches working to develop their\nathletes and increase their commitment to the team, which is a key component of\ntransformational leadership. The main difference that makes this behavior\ntransactional is the idea of a reward being introduced as a mechanism for\nmotivating athletes to work toward contributing to the achievement of team\ngoals. Practicing this transactional leadership behavior could help athletic\ncoaches who are transformational leaders by giving them a method for developing\ntheir athletes\u2019 strengths, performance, and team commitment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Another\ninteresting implication for athletic coaches from the data was that the three\nleadership behaviors that corresponded to democratic leadership all had a mean\nbelow 3.99 and were amongst the least often practiced leadership behaviors by\nthe sample that included all head coaches. This finding contradicts the earlier\nfinding that this sample of head coaches practiced democratic leadership more\noften than the sample that included only successful head coaches. This\ncontradiction could indicate several implications for athletic coaches. First,\nit could indicate that the unsuccessful head coaches perceived themselves to be\npracticing democratic leadership, but when they were asked about whether they\npracticed certain democratic leadership behaviors they either did not know they\nwere democratic leadership behaviors or were unable to draw the connection\ndemocratic leadership and those specific behaviors. This could also indicate\nthat a reason why head coaches are not successful is that they either do not\npractice the leadership behaviors that correspond to the specific leadership\nstyle they wish to practice, or that they do not know what leadership style\nthey wish to practice and either guessed or randomly choose a style for the\npurposes of answering the statement on the survey. This is important to note\nfor athletic coaches because it indicates the importance that, first and\nforemost, athletic coaches must know and understand how to execute the\nleadership behaviors that are key to the leadership style they wish to practice\nin order to have the opportunity to achieve success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      By contrast, the\nmean for one of the three autocratic leadership behaviors based on the data\nthat included only successful head coaches had a calculated mean above 4.0, and\nwas reported to be amongst the most often practiced by this sample.\nAdditionally, only one autocratic leadership behavior was amongst the least\noften practiced leadership behaviors by successful head coaches. Furthermore,\nthat behavior regarded the amount of time that head coaches should take to make\ndecisions, and not who should be making the decisions or whether athletes\nshould have input into the decisions or the decision-making process. This\nfinding indicates that the successful head coaches were more likely to be aware\nof the fact that they were practicing autocratic leadership behaviors that were\nrelated to head coach authority, control, and responsibility. This is in\ncontrast to unsuccessful coaches who were more likely to be unaware that they\nwere practicing democratic leadership behaviors related to giving their\nathletes input, and listening to their athletes\u2019 opinions regarding team\ndecisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      These findings on\nathletic coach leadership style and leadership behaviors have several\nimplications for the leadership style and leadership behaviors that athletic\ncoaches should practice in order to achieve success. Based on the data, both\nsamples of head coaches practiced transformational leadership most often;\nhowever, analysis of the data also indicated that unsuccessful head coaches\nwere less apt to practice one specific leadership style. This implies that an\nathletic coach should focus on practicing transformational leadership, and the\ntransformational leadership behaviors related to developing the strengths of\ntheir athletes and working to increase their athletes\u2019 performance and team\ncommitment. Additionally, the data indicates that head coaches should practice\nautocratic leadership behaviors where head coaches exercise more control and\nauthority over team decisions by not seeking their athletes\u2019 input, and they\nshould draw a clear distinction between their role as a leader and their\nathletes\u2019 role as followers. Lastly, the data indicated that the reward-focused\ntransactional leadership behavior should be included with the performance, commitment,\nand development-focused transformational leadership behaviors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The head coaches\nalso reported that they did perceive themselves to practice this transactional\nleadership behavior; however, it is unclear whether this was in combination\nwith transformational leadership behaviors. The data also implied that head\ncoaches should practice a predominantly transformational leadership style with\nthe opportunity to incorporate the transactional leadership behavior that\nfocuses on rewarding athletes to increase development. Finally, the data\nindicated that autocratic leadership was the best leadership for head coaches\nto practice when it came to determining how decisions are made for their\nathletes and the team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      These findings\nimply that transformational leadership is the best leadership style for\nathletic coaches to practice in order to achieve team success when combined\nwith the decision-making authority of autocratic leadership that draws a clear\ndistinction between their role as leaders and their athletes\u2019 role as\nfollowers. Transactional leadership can be used in order to support the\ntransformational leadership behavior that athletic coaches should develop their\nathletes\u2019 strength, but the data did not indicate that athletic coaches\npractice this behavior often enough for it to be included as a behavior that\nathletic coaches must practice in order to achieve success. Additionally, these\nfindings add to this study\u2019s definition of success because it was determined\nthat successful head coaches perceived themselves to practice autocratic\nleadership behaviors more often, which indicated that successful head coaches\nunderstood themselves to be the unquestioned leader and took responsibility for\nall decisions that effected the team. Since this study defined success based on\nthe idea that successful head coaches won at a more frequent rate than\nunsuccessful head coaches, the concept of head coaches being the unquestioned\nleader and making all team related decisions without athlete input can be added\nin future studies to support the original definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The implications\nof the data analysis for research question number five were very interesting\nbecause they gave insight into whether there was a correlation between the\nleadership style that the head coaches perceived themselves to be practicing\nand the leadership style they were actually practicing based on their answers\nto the statements on the leadership survey. The fact that the Spearman\u2019s rho\ntest found there to be a very small correlation between the perceived and actual\nleadership style of the head coaches has several important implications for\nathletic coach leadership. First, it could imply that athletic coaches either\ndo not know the specific leadership behaviors that correspond to the particular\nleadership style they wish to practice, and therefore, are unable to practice\nthat leadership style. Secondly, it could also imply that athletic coaches know\nwhat leadership style they wish to practice and what the corresponding\nleadership behaviors for that leadership style are, but they either\nintentionally or unintentionally do not follow through on practicing those\nleadership behaviors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Additional\nimplications from this finding are that head coaches have not received any, or\nhave received very little, specific leadership training, and therefore, they\nhave obtained only basic classroom or experiential knowledge from which they\ncan draw from when deciding which leadership style they wish to practice.\nFurthermore, this finding implies that athletic coaches could benefit from\nleadership training designed to help them understand the differences between\nthe various leadership styles and which leadership style and leadership\nbehaviors were the best for them to practice in order to be successful. Lastly,\nthe findings of this research question imply that athletic coaches may lack an\nunderstanding of why leadership knowledge is important to their success as\nathletic coaches, and why the follow through of specific leadership behaviors\nis crucial to their role as leaders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Significance of the Research for Athletic Coach Leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Leadership is a central aspect of the athletic coaches\u2019 job. It is essential that athletic coaches practice the most effective leadership style in order to help their team maximize performance and achieve success (Pratt & Eitzen, 1989). In order for head coaches to have the opportunity to help their teams achieve success, the most effective leadership style and leadership behaviors must be determined. Nine leadership styles and twenty-seven leadership behaviors were tested in this study in order to determine the best leadership style and leadership behaviors for athletic coaches to practice. This study determined that transformational leadership was the best leadership style for athletic coaches to practice when it was combined with the autocratic leadership behavior that states that athletic coaches should be the sole decision-makers and draw a clear distinction between their role as leaders and their athletes\u2019 role as followers. The key transformational leadership aspect that athletic coaches should focus on is the development of their athletes\u2019 strengths, performance, and team commitment. Practicing this fundamental component of transformational leadership in combination with the autocratic leadership behavior that centralizes an athletic coaches\u2019 authority and decision-making was determined by this study to be the leadership style and leadership behavior that athletic coaches should practice in order to give themselves the best opportunity to achieve success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The importance of athletic coach leadership, and athletic coaches practicing the most effective leadership style and leadership behaviors, has been extensively researched and reinforced through studies over the past several decades. However, this study\u2019s finding is significant for athletic coaches because it establishes the best leadership style and leadership behaviors for athletic coaches to practice in order to achieve success. Additionally, the finding of this study is significant for athletic coaches because the finding was based on data obtained from a leadership survey that current athletic coaches completed. The athletic coaches\u2019 responses on the survey were based on their perception of themselves as leaders, and the analysis of this data determined the best leadership style and leadership behaviors for athletic coaches to practice based on their perceptions of their leadership practice, and not an athlete\u2019s or a researchers\u2019 perception. This is significant because only athletic coaches who are actually in a position to practice a leadership style and leadership behaviors can respond to statements regarding what leadership style and leadership behaviors they perceive themselves to be practicing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The purpose of this study was to determine how men\u2019s college basketball head coaches perceive themselves as leaders, and to use the data based on those perceptions to determine the best leadership style and leadership behaviors for head coaches to practice in order to achieve success. The data analysis determined that transformational leadership was the best leadership style for head coaches to practice because it focuses on head coaches developing the strengths of their athletes. This study also determined that the transformational leadership style is most effective for head coaches to practice when it is combined with the autocratic leadership behavior that head coaches should be the sole decision-makers and draw a clear distinction between their role as leaders and their athletes\u2019 role as followers. This study determined that head coaches practicing the transformational leadership style in combination with this specific autocratic leadership behavior, forms the best leadership style for head coaches to practice in order to achieve success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Thank you to the men\u2019s college basketball head coaches who participated in this research project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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        Authors: Matthew Raidbard Corresponding Author:Matthew Raidbard, Ed.D.9501 South King DriveChicago, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[1009],"tags":[1471,1470,1473,249],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4btio-1F0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":241,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/preferred-player-characteristics-and-skills-of-division-i-mens-basketball-coaches\/","url_meta":{"origin":6386,"position":0},"title":"Preferred Player Characteristics and Skills of Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches","date":"June 1, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by: William F. Stier Jr. & Robert C. Schneider Abstract A national survey of selected men\u2019s basketball coaches, at the NCAA Division I level, revealed how essential the respondents felt certain work ethic characteristics were for successful basketball players on their team. The respondents also revealed how important specific\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Contemporary Sports Issues"","img":{"alt_text":"Table One","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/Table11.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":298,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/perceived-leadership-behavior-and-subordinates-job-satisfaction-in-midwestern-ncaa-division-iii-athletic-departments\/","url_meta":{"origin":6386,"position":1},"title":"Perceived Leadership Behavior and Subordinates\u2019 Job Satisfaction in Midwestern NCAA Division III Athletic Departments","date":"April 2, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by: William J. Kuchler, Lynchburg College Abstract This study of selected Division III athletic programs at private colleges in the Midwest addressed the association between head coaches\u2019 job satisfaction, assessed using the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, and perceptions of athletic directors\u2019 leadership behavior, measured with the Leadership Practices Inventory. A\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports Coaching"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1948,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/perceived-qualifications-necessary-for-black-females-seeking-head-collegiate-basketball-coaching-positions\/","url_meta":{"origin":6386,"position":2},"title":"Perceived Qualifications Necessary for Black Females Seeking Head Collegiate Basketball Coaching Positions","date":"July 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by Joan Sloan, Ph.D. Dr. Jo Sloan is an Assistant Professor at Lane College teaching in the areas of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and is also a certified Personal Trainer through the American Council on Exercise. ABSTRACT Surveys were sent to 231 randomly selected athletic administrators from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Contemporary Sports Issues"","img":{"alt_text":"Capture1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Capture11.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4751,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/so-whos-our-new-coach-ncaa-student-athletes-perceptions-after-a-head-coaching-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":6386,"position":3},"title":"“So, Who\u2019s Our New Coach?”: NCAA Student Athletes’ Perceptions After a Head Coaching Change","date":"November 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Authors: Emily A. Heller, Todd A. Gilson, Amanda Paule-Koba Corresponding Author: Emily A. Heller Aurora University 347 S. Gladstone Aurora, IL 60506 eheller@aurora.edu C: 630-217-2358 \u201cSo, Who\u2019s Our New Coach?\u201d: NCAA Student Athletes\u2019 Perceptions After a Head Coaching Change \u2003 ABSTRACT Coaches play an important role in athlete\u2019s collegiate experience,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports Management"","img":{"alt_text":"Table 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Table1-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8476,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/title-ix-and-its-impact-on-opportunities-for-women-in-ncaa-coaching-and-administrative-leadership\/","url_meta":{"origin":6386,"position":4},"title":"Title IX and Its Impact on Opportunities for Women in NCAA Coaching and Administrative Leadership","date":"March 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Authors: Elisa Van Kirk Department of Education, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY, US Corresponding Author: Elisa Van KirklSLU- 23 Romoda Dr.Atwood Hall 21Canton, NY, 13617evankirk@stlawu.edu860-919-3274 Dr. Elisa Van Kirk is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY. Van Kirk played Division\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":120,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/analysis-of-perceived-leadership-styles\/","url_meta":{"origin":6386,"position":5},"title":"Analysis of Perceived Leadership Styles & Levels of Satisfaction of Selected Junior College Athletic Directors and Head Coaches","date":"February 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by: Dr. Dexter J. Davis, Alfred State College Introduction Athletics and the administration of athletics at the collegiate level are undergoing a continual metamorphosis. No longer is athletics seen as just \"fun and games\" for the entertainment of fans. Nor can it be considered only big business, making large\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Contemporary Sports Issues"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6386"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6386"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6397,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6386\/revisions\/6397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}