Effective leadership is invaluable for all aspects of complicated human activity. Management comprises an area that places leadership among its priorities; as such, the sport industry is administered through supervision and control ensuing from the application of direction and governance. Sport industry includes all commodities, technology, and clothing marketed for use in sporting events, relaxation, and fitness programs. Leadership’s effectiveness in sport, as well as in any other business-related incentives, depends on internal and external factors. These influences could be discussed in the context of specific approaches, namely, leadership styles. There are varieties of practices and systems that could be employed to govern the sports industry, each of which has particular characteristics that determine its value and harm. One such style that could be used to provide better leadership in the sport industry is transformational. This approach guarantees several significant advances in the area of management, although it has some drawbacks as well.
Transformational leadership’s importance in the sport industry could not be discussed without a background on the general theory of the style. Transformational leadership is a type of management in which executives inspire, stimulate, and engage developers to create and drive the growth of the organization and influence its continued prospects. This is achieved by executives leading by example via fostering a deep sense of company culture, employee participation, and autonomy in the workspace (White, 2018). Thus, by cultivating a sense of shared responsibility, ownership, and workplace freedom in employees, transformational leadership may motivate workforces to embrace their activities.
There are several characteristics of a transformational leader that distinguishes them from other types of frontrunners. First, in this model, a leader inspires followers’ commitment and good growth. Secondly, this person should exhibit moral values inside the organization and motivates others to do the same. Thirdly, the individual promotes an ethical workplace with defined principles, goals, and standards. Next, the leader must build organizational culture by encouraging workers to shift from a self-interested perspective to one of working for the greater good. Furthermore, it is necessary to place exceptional attention on sincerity, collaboration, and open communication. Finally, the leader coaches and serves as a mentor to employees while enabling them to make choices and take charge of responsibilities (White, 2018). Hence, leadership is defined by the communication abilities of the administrating person in a company.
The leader’s capabilities in the transformational model determine the effectiveness of the leadership as well. The properties of a person guiding others could be assessed to provide a picture of the usefulness of the style. As such, the benefits of the approach could be based on a relationship between leaders and followers. In transformational leadership, one of the main principles is a relationship-based management style with the primary objective of developing followers into leaders who surpass their goals (Martin, 2018). In order to make a genuine impact in an organization, leaders form personal ties with the individuals they lead. Transactional leaders relate to their subordinates’ self-interest and are respected as long as a result of recognizing favorable performance. Moreover, the governing person distinguishes the individual goals and demands of their followers and assists them in achieving their professional aims. The built relationships lead to stronger trust, which results in an increase in emotional commitment among organization members (Martin, 2018). Thus, the discussed style of leadership’s effectiveness lies in well-organized relationships between the leader and the followers that cause emotional aspiration and confidence in the workers.
Transformational leaders may express a cohesive vision that inspires team members to go above and beyond, establishing success through communication. This approach emphasizes the difficulty for great leaders to demonstrate particular concern to each member while still managing the group as a whole. Furthermore, leaders convert followers’ particular beliefs and aim into higher-order organizational and team objectives (Cohrs et al., 2019). During group-focused activities, such as communicating a vision to the entire team and requiring the participation of all employees, the leader’s communicator style should be persuasive and motivating to generate attention and good emotions. The impression-leaving style is an ideal communication style since it draws attention and is typically seen as charismatic. As a result, leaders should endeavor to be charming in order to establish good views among their followers (Cohrs et al., 2019). Caring for someone else entails developing a close connection with them based on inter-personal interaction. It is vital to express feelings ranging from boredom to thankfulness in order to create and sustain such relationships (Martin, 2018). A leader’s concern and care strengthen organizational group identification, causing followers to become more invested in the organization.
Transformational leaders value personal development and are aware of their strengths and flaws. They frequently ponder and make weekly or monthly goals. These leaders think that everybody, especially themselves, should learn and grow all the time. However, a crisis is an unforeseen, intense, and extraordinary incident that throws an organization into disarray; hence, the leader’s effectiveness should also be applicable in this case. Transformative leadership has a substantial beneficial impact on crisis management. During a crisis, every member turns to look to the leaders and wants them to act. In a crisis scenario, transformational leadership may lead the organization to a brighter future by encouraging individuals to share their thoughts on dealing with the problem and collaborate to either handle or avoid crisis situations (Alkhawlani et al., 2019). Hence, the association between transformational leadership and disaster response is moderated by the manager’s crisis managerial experience.
It is also possible to discuss the model’s proposed source of effectiveness in the context of the performance of organization, team, and individual. Transformational leaders boost the organization’s “qualitative performance.” Change agents are moral and trustworthy, and their activities are always driven by their ideals. They serve as role models for corporate conduct, promote an innovative approach to business, and nurture leaders at all levels of the organization. Transformational leaders address the needs of others inside the organization, mentor and establish connections with them, and boost organizational commitment. Transformational leaders increase an image of an organization, retention rates of talent, and organizational learning and growth (Martin, 2018). Employee happiness and performance improve as a result of mentoring. This is related, in part, to the mentee’s conviction in organizational support for their achievement. Thus, the model confers significant authority on the executive leader, who must limit its usage in order to foster independence and long-term performance gains in followers and the company.
The other important aspect of transformational leadership is its usefulness for promoting and helping reach the diverse goals of the members that result in advantages for the organization. Transactional leaders are concerned with achieving organizational goals and objectives by establishing standards and results for individuals in the organization and monitoring their development and performance (Martin, 2018). Leaders are required to concentrate on their subordinates as a full team, assuring their enthusiasm and mutual support in order to achieve larger goals (Cohrs et al., 2019). Transactional leaders employ management-by-exception to encourage positive conduct while discouraging undesirable behavior, and they employ contingent incentives to acknowledge and praise the achievement of set goals. As a result, transformational leaders’ followers experience less stress, especially during times of transition, and accomplish more ambitious targets than they previously imagined feasible (Martin, 2018). Transformational leaders assist their followers in comprehending the importance of the organization’s aims and instill hope for a brighter future. Inspirational motivation results in an organization full of individuals who are ready to take chances, are thrilled about the company’s future and are empowered to take steps to improve the organization.
The approach to dealing with others also has distinctive characteristics in the mentioned approach of leadership. As such, transformational leaders regard people as individuals, not as clichĂ©s or interchangeable pieces. Leader behavior – emotional care and support – and constructive leadership – career and professional help – both have a favorable impact on a follower’s work happiness, job stability, and self-efficacy. Leadership is an emotional experience, and effective leaders communicate with those in their organizations in profound and meaningful ways (Martin, 2018). Respect towards each other and recognition that every person has skills and abilities that benefit both the leader and the mentee are primary components of the model as well. Leaders inspire people to be inventive and creative by challenging assumptions, reframing challenges, and tackling old circumstances in novel ways. Managers act in ways that excite and inspire people around them by adding significance and purpose to the work of their followers (Alkhawlani et al., 2019). Thus, the respectful and inclusive treatment of the individuals guarantees healthy relationships and motivating performance.
Literature about sport management could be reviewed to provide information about the applicability of transformational leadership. In research from Malloy and Kavussanu (2021), transformational leadership is viewed as the central style of leadership in sports. According to a study on transformational leadership, exhibiting customized care and inspiring motivation is likely to significantly affect athletes’ enjoyment and dedication (Malloy & Kavussanu, 2021). These components demonstrate to followers that their leaders care about them and motivate them to exert greater effort in difficult conditions. Furthermore, followers are more inclined to emotionally and socially identify with their leaders when they have charisma, which fosters more substantial commitment and satisfaction. This was corroborated by a study of female players, which showed that success is directly associated with athletes’ love of soccer (Malloy & Kavussanu, 2021). Moreover, a transformational leader in sports can foster an acceptable atmosphere for change by building depth throughout the organization (Johnson, 2018). The mentioned type of leadership results in increased identification, participation, and connection to the company (Johnson, 2018). Thus, developing more transformational leaders in the sports business will boost organizational performance while decreasing turnover.
Next, it is critical to examine several factors that influence the effectiveness of all leadership styles. As such, all parts of the personality are internal characteristics that impact management methods. A competitive individual is prone to becoming a pacesetter, attempting to demonstrate to the group that high levels of performance are attainable. A leader who believes they are doing their part by providing salary and expecting staff to produce or go out tends to favor forceful leadership. The manner in which the leader was educated may have an impact on their leadership style. A manager who rose through the company’s ranks in a mentoring environment with a mentor who brought him to meetings or evaluated conversations and meetings for ways of improving may treat their team in the same way. Not everyone reacts the same way to different leadership styles. A forceful or even a transformation leadership supervisor may overwhelm a shy person. This individual may continuously question whether their career is at risk or believe they will never be able to match the magnificence demonstrated by the pacesetter.
It could be suggested that the leadership style might be recommended under certain circumstances. First, in sport companies, transformational leadership leads to more favorable organizational outcomes such as quality of work-life, engagement, and recognized leader effectiveness, especially when change is present. The leaders employing this model can manage their followers better in times of crisis, rebranding, and other fluctuations in the industry or a particular organization. Moreover, this style of leadership could be recommended to the sports facilities that are involved in creative work, such as the design of apparel, marketing, and training programs. Transformational leadership promotes achieving personal goals within the frames of an organization, which could be effective for developing new solutions in the sport business. Furthermore, the approach is useful for working with teams that involve competitive members, such as athletes, since it supports achievements and motivates individuals to overcome their goals. Transformational leaders in the sports sector are concerned with the needs, motivations, and ideals of their followers and want to grow them into tomorrow’s leaders. This is essential, notably in an environment where change is inescapable and uncontrollable.
Yet, some circumstances might make the transformational approach to leadership damaging. As such, a leader’s personality can affect the effectiveness of the method. For example, a guiding person might not have characteristics that are vital to demonstrating an example to the followers. In this case, the employees would not perceive the leader as an authority and might lose respect for them, which is a key condition of the leadership style. Next, the leader’s communication skills are among the most important for the style; however, in the sport industry, athletes might consider that actions are more essential than the words of their executive. Moreover, the personality of the employees could play a role in the effectiveness of the leadership. The encouraging leader could seem too intense for creative people, for example, if they are too shy to share their work and be motivated by their achievements. Thus, transformational leadership might prove less efficacy in a non-competitive setting, as well as in facilities that demand a particular example of a successful sportsman.
To conclude, the transformational leadership style is an effective model that places much attention on personal relationships, respect, supporting communication, and motivation for achieving one’s goals. This approach fits well into the sport industry which tends to change often since it provides inspiration to move forward for a brighter future. However, it might be damaging if used improperly in non-competitive sport facilities or demanding specific achievements departments.
References
Alkhawlani, M. A. S., Bohari, A. M. B., & Shamsuddin, J. B. (2019). The impact of transformational leadership style on crisis management in Yemen organizations. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(9). Web.
Cohrs, C., Bormann, K. C., Diebig, M., Millhoff, C., Pachocki, K., & Rowold, J. (2019). Transformational leadership and communication. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 41(1), 101–117. Web.
Johnson, D. (2018). Transformational leadership in the sport industry. Pressbooks. Web.
Malloy, E., & Kavussanu, M. (2021). A comparison of authentic and transformational leadership in sport. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 51(7), 636–646.
Martin, J. (2018). Personal relationships and professional results: The positive impact of transformational leaders on academic librarians. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 43(2), 108–115.
White, S. K. (2018). What is transformational leadership? A model for motivating innovation. CIO. Web.