Emotional intelligence and leadership style of soccer coaches Anne Milek1,2 , Babett Lobinger1, & Philipp Kaß1 1 German Sport University Cologne, Germany 2 University of Zurich, Switzerland >>>> presentation >>>> 10minutes, focusing on how leadership style represents decision-making >>>> in >>>> coaches, and how it can be influenced by EI;

Jürgen Klopp, currently coaching BVB „A certain emotional intelligence is a prerequisite, to be one of the best in sports.“ Jürgen Klopp, currently coaching BVB Give him credit for the of that as he is the coach of the team that won the German soccer league in the past saison

Emotional Intelligence (EI) Introduction Emotional Intelligence (EI) Leadership Style “the ability to perceive and express emotion, assimilate emotion in thought, understand and reason with emotion, and regulate in the self and others“ (Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2000) “the process of deliberately influencing the behavior of other people toward group goals” (Rosenstiel, 2001) Reflects a style ot tendency to make certain decisions in social situations

Theoretical Background ample empirical evidence for a link between EI and leadership in business organizations: Leaders with high emotional intelligence make better decisions in difficult social situations (Jordan & Troth, 2002) are likely to have more success (George, 2000) coach, leading a professional soccer team, faces similar challenges as a business manager desideratum of research linking EI as a trait to specific behavioral leadership aspects in sports (Meyer & Zizzi, 2007, S. 145)

Research Questions Positive relationship: EI - leadership styles of soccer coaches? Positive relationship: EI / leadership styles - other factors age? (Kafetsios, 2004) coaching experience? (Weiss & Friedrichs 1986; Riemer & Chelladurai, 1995) qualification?

Data & Methods Sample online questionnaire (Dropout: 19,4%) N = 158 male soccer coaches (lower league - premier league) N M SD Age 158 39.70 9.11 Coaching experience 157 13.16 8.37 Duration of current coaching position 143 3.17 2.73 Highest coaching qualification % C- coaching licence 19.4 B- coaching licence 40.9 A- coaching licence or above 39.6 Head coach (1= yes) 84.8

Data & Methods Instruments Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue-SF, Freudenthaler et al., 2008) Social Competence, Emotionality, Self Control, Well-Being Leadership Scale for Sports (LSS, Würth, Saborowski & Alfermann, 1999) Social Support, Positive Feedback, Democratic Style, Training and Instruction Social competence: Social awareness, emotion management, assertiveness Self control: Emotion regulation, stress management, impulsiveness Emotionality: Emotion perception, emotion expression, trait empathy, relationships Well being: Self-esteem, trait happiness, trait optimism Expresses appreciation when an athlete performs well. Ask for the opinion of the athletes on strategies for specific competitions. Looks out for the personal welfare of the athletes. Sees to it that the efforts are coordinated.

Results M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 LSS – Social Support 4.16 0.55 2 LSS - Positive Feedback 4.23 0.43 .31 3 LSS - Democratic Style 3.22 0.64 .36 .25 4 LSS - Training & Instruction 4.22 0.38 .43 .20 .21 5 TEIQue - Social Competence 5.55 0.75 .26 .13 .12 6 TEIQue - Emotionality 5.64 0.71 .15 .58 7 TEIQue - Self-Control 5.36 0.86 .35 8 TEIQue - Well-Being 6.01 0.79 .23 .34 .46 .42 .44 9 TEIQue – Global Trait EI 5.70 .16 .37 .74 .79 .62 .78 10 Age 39.70 9.11 .08 .01 .19 .03 -.01 .00 .24 .04 11 Coaching experience 13.16 8.37 .02 .14 -.10 -.06 -.16 .65 1 2 3 4 1 LSS - Social Support 2 LSS - Positive Feedback 3 LSS - Democratic Style 4 LSS - Training & Instruction .26 .13 .12 .25 .15 .20 .23 .21 .34 for bold coeffients: p < .05

Results Modell 1 Modell 2 B SE Intercept 5.74 .14 5.72 .13   Modell 1 Modell 2 B SE Intercept 5.74 .14 5.72 .13 Secondary School Education vocational school track -.18 -.26 middle school track -.11 .12 -.13 .11 lower school track -.19 .16 .15 A-coaching licence or above (else=0) .10 .09 Age .02 ** .01 Coaching experience -.02 Head coach (else=0) -.01 .04 LSS-Scales (Leadership) Explanation & Instruction .31 * Positive Feedback .17 Democratic Style .07 Social Support .21 R2 .25 Dependent Variable = TEIQue – global trait EI ** p < .01 * p < .05

Summary - Results Coaches who report higher well-being, emotionality, self control or social competence also claim to provide more social support and use training and instruction based leadership styles. a) Older coaches report a higher self control competence and claim to use a democratic leadership style more often than younger coaches. b) Professional coaching experience was not positively associated with EI. c) Neither the schooling education, the coaching qualification nor the position as head coach does predict EI. 3. Contrary – neg. relations 4. Weder die schulische Ausbildung noch die Trainerqualifikation oder die Funktion des Cheftrainers trägt signifikant zur Vorhersage der allgemeinen emotionalen Intelligenz und dem Führungsverhalten bei (Fragestellung 4) Zu Ergebnis 1: Trainer die sozial unterstützend auftreten, schaffen Vertrauen Trainer die ihre Spieler unterweisen, überzeugen mit verständlichen Argumenten Zu Ergebnis 2: Ältere Trainer, die demokratisch führen ,wissen um die Mündigkeit ihrer Spieler und beziehen diese in Entscheidungsfindungsprozesse mit ein Zu Ergebnis 3: Trainererfahrung ist kein Hinweis für hohe emotionale Intelligenz oder ein bestimmtes Führungsverhalten Zu Ergebnis 4: Auch Trainer ohne Trainerschein können emotional intelligent sein Fußballtrainer sollten vermehrt „soziale Kompetenzen“ erwerben Die Trainererfahrung und Trainerqualifikation spielen eine untergeordnete Rolle bei Umgang und Führung von Spielern und Mannschaft

Conclusion Practical Implications coaching experience/ qualification is no guarantee for high EI enhance social competencies  coach the coach Limitations homogeneity of the sample (reduced variance) self-report measures Future Research more coaching experience  less EI? include soccer team ratings to evaluate whether coaches with more EI make better leadership decisions

Thank you! A good leader must be aware of his team members‘ attitudes and feelings… …I know that many of you are upset about some of my decisions, so let me start out by saying… …too bad!

References Freudenthaler, H. H., Neubauer, A. C., Gabler, P., Scherl, W. G., & Rindermann, H.(2008). Testing and validating the trait emotional intelligence questionnaire (TEIQue) in a German-speaking sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 45, 673-678. George, J. M. (2000). Emotions and Leadership: The role of emotional Intelligence. Human Relations, 53, 1027-1055. Jordan, P.J., & Troth, A.C. (2002). Emotional intelligence and conflict resolution: Implications for human resource development. Advances in Developing Human Rescources, 4, 62-79. Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. (2000). Models of emotional intelligence. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of intelligence (pp. 396-420). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. Meyer, B. B., & Zizzi, S. (2007). Emotional intelligence in Sport: Conceptual, methodological, and applied issues. In A. M. Lane (Ed.), Mood and human performance: Conceptual, measurement, and applied issues (p. 131-154). New York: Nova Science Publishers. Rosenstiel, L. von (2001). Führung. In H. Schuler (Hrsg.), Lehrbuch der Personalpsychologie (S. 317-347). Göttingen: Hogrefe Verlag für Psychologie. Würth, S., Saborowski, C., & Alfermann, D. (1999). Trainingsklima und Führungsverhalten aus der Sicht jugendlicher Athleten und deren Trainer. Psychologie und Sport, 6, 146-157.