What Are the Leadership Behaviors of Winning Basketball Coaches?

Author

Joshua JonesFollow

Campus Location

Dallas Campus (Online)

Date of Award

Spring 5-2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Department

Organizational Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Dr. Irma Harper

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Dr. Karen Maxwell

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Dr. Kristin O'Byrne

Abstract

The problem this study addressed was the lack of designation of a leadership style to help coaches perform at their highest level in order to be a positive factor in the lives of their athletes and. The purpose of this study was to identify leadership styles and behaviors of the Texas high school varsity boys’ basketball coaches whose teams reached regional tournament play. This mixed method research study was conducted through quantitative closed response surveys utilizing the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and through qualitative interviews to address the leadership styles and behaviors of high school basketball coaches. The sample population was varsity boys’ basketball coaches in Texas who competed in the 2016-17 regional basketball tournament. The quantitative findings indicated that the successful coaches participating were more likely to utilize transformational and transactional leadership. Findings for the qualitative research indicated a preference for transformational leadership, as well as a powerful desire to instill positive leadership behaviors within the players under the coaches’ influence. The quantitative and qualitative findings indicate that both transformational and transactional leadership styles are valuable in the development of coaching leadership styles and behaviors The findings suggest coaches should consider implementing transformational and transactional leadership styles into their coaching, in addition to placing an emphasis on positive leadership behaviors focused on communication and intention lessons on leadership in order to help their players achieve more effective outcomes.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Jones, Joshua, "What Are the Leadership Behaviors of Winning Basketball Coaches?" (2018). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 76.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/76