Preferred Leadership Styles in Former Male and Female Athletes

Abstract

This study explored the leadership style preferences of former male and female athletes among a select few sports (gymnastics, tennis, soccer, basketball, and football). In doing so, the researcher was able to better understand what leadership styles male and female athletes lean more towards when being coached. The PI conducted a demographic questionnaire for former athletes to better understand their age, sport played, preferred leadership style, and more. However, the Leadership Scale for Sports was used to measure athletes' preferences for the five leadership styles. Previous studies involving the LSS have determined a statistically significant difference among leadership style preferences between male and female athletes. The current study indicated that, mainly due to the small sample size, there was no statistically significant difference among former male and female leadership style preferences.