Servant Leadership, Leader Effectiveness, and the Role of Political Skill: A Study of Interscholastic Sport Administrators and Coaches

- Review by Rodney Bussey, Ph.D.

The article titled "Servant Leadership, Leader Effectiveness, and the Role of Political Skill: A Study of Interscholastic Sport Administrators and Coaches," published in the Sports Science & Coaching Journal by Robinson et al. in 2021, suggests that a servant leadership style significantly impacts the effectiveness of sports leaders and is crucial for ethical improvement in sports programs. The article also emphasizes the importance of a political skill set and how it complements the elements of servant leadership. The study utilized a multilevel model to explore the influence of political skill on servant leadership effectiveness in interscholastic sports coaches and directors. The researchers discovered that the servant leadership style of athletic directors and head coaches significantly influenced the development of goal orientation in student-athletes. Adopting a servant leadership approach and developing a political skill set can effectively address the ethical challenges in sports, making it imperative for leaders in sports administration to embrace these concepts.

Athletic Directors' Influence on Coaches

Athletic directors can positively influence their coaches by implementing a servant leadership style. This approach is productive as athletics at the interscholastic and collegiate levels revolve around people. The authors highlighted how servant leadership emphasizes ethics, virtues, and a commitment to others, aligning seamlessly with sportsmanship and the values of team dynamics. The idea is quite simple to concur with, as it is both practical and logical. An athletic director's behavior can significantly impact those who look up to them as a role model. According to the authors, coaches perceive servant-leader athletic directors as ethically sound and follow their lead. Behaviors such as empathy, honesty, and fairness are positively reinforced among coaches. The role modeling continues down to the most critical group in any athletic program: the student-athletes.

Impact on Student-Athletes

Student-athletes benefit the most in an athletic program guided by the principles of servant leadership. At times, the underlying character of an athletic program is best revealed through its student-athletes. What student-athletes learn from their athletic administration and coaches is often exposed in competition. Student-athletes in servant leadership programs witness the leadership’s interest in their personal growth/development, academic goals, and social wellness. The role modeling exhibited by their coaches and athletic administrators sets a positive tone and safe environment where they’re valued for more than their athletic prowess. In this setting, student-athletes become goal-oriented, directing their energies toward positive behaviors. Though it is not stated, as the authors did not cover this topic as thoroughly as expected, it can be surmised that it is unlikely that bullying and hazing are common problems for student-athletes to worry about in this environment. Servant leadership provides many benefits to student-athletes, but servant leadership alone is not as impactful without the combination of political skills.

Political Skills

Having proficiency in political skills can improve the effectiveness of a servant leader. This idea is valuable because political skills and servant leadership complement each other well, though different. An Athletic director must be able to navigate the various constituencies they serve with social astuteness and awareness to lobby their causes successfully. The authors' literature review and discussion of political skills and servant leadership are commendable and well-grounded. Political skills, such as charisma, are only sometimes perceived positively, as they may seem contradictory to servant leadership. However, according to the social exchange theory described by the authors, a servant leader with political skills, especially charisma, can be more effective. Robinson et al. (2021) stated the value of a political skill set, “This behavior is adapted to situations in a way that appears to be sincere, inspires trust, and results in effective influence over others, allowing objectives to be accomplished without leaders appearing overtly manipulative or controlling” (p. 293). While the effectiveness of an athletic director’s leadership is paramount, how the leader is perceived by their subordinates is fundamental to their overall leadership ability.

Importance of Perception

Coaches' and student-athletes perceptions of their athletic administrators are vital to servant leadership. Servant leadership is structured on the precept that administrators are there to serve, not to pad their egos. The paper’s results support this idea; athletic leaders who scored high for effectiveness by their coaches had rated themselves poorly in political skills. Yet those athletic directors who had placed themselves strong in political skills were scored lower by their coaches for leadership effectiveness. This makes so much sense, as humility is essential to servant leadership. An administrator scoring themselves high in an area that is considered outside servant leadership is lacking in humility. Learning of statistical results supporting one’s existing understanding of the topic is welcoming and satisfying.

Conclusion

            This paper emphasizes the importance of an ethically run athletic administration and how it can be accomplished. An athletic administration concerned with the well-being and success of its coaches first will be perceived as highly effective. The trickle-down effect of influence from the coaches on the student-athletes will catalyze the development of positive behaviors. Servant leadership combined with a political skill set presents a formidable strategy for addressing the myriad of ethical issues present in today’s sports programs.

Reference:

Robinson, J. P., Magnusen, M. J., Neubert, M., & Miller, G. (2021). Servant Leadership, Leader Effectiveness, and the Role of Political Skill: A Study of Interscholastic Sport Administrators and Coaches. Sports Science & Coaching Journal. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41038-021-00203-2