The personality of athletes and coaches in athletics can superficially be seen as aggressive, domineering, and forceful, but there are many traits that individuals in athletics display that will allow them to not only be leaders on the field but in all aspects of life as well. Ogilvie and Tutko considered traits such as authoritarianism, tough-mindedness, independent thinking, emotional maturity and realism as important characteristics (Ogilvie & Tutko 1966). I have always seen the mental and emotional stress that is incurred during an athletic competition to be one of the most telling climates for leadership traits to be exhibited. President Dwight D. Eisenhower stated that leaders are waiting in the wings, waiting to be called and used when the situation needing leadership presents itself. He believes that any man who does his work well, who is justifiably self- confident, and not unduly disturbed by jeers of the cynics and the shirkers, any man who stays true to decent motives and is considerate of others is, in essence, a leader (Bliss 1965). As trait leadership suggests, leaders are born rather than made can explain why certain people do indeed take to athletics more than others. It does take an amount of self confidence to put yourself in such a competitive task knowing that there is a high probability that you may not have the desired outcome that you wish. Having the trait of self confidence allows an individual to partake in such a volatile situation. Stress tolerance is also an important trait in leadership and will be tested tremendously in any sporting event. Tolerating the amounts of stress that you see from the opponent, the fans, the referees I believe will correlate directly into how an individual will react in leadership situations in other aspects of life. Adaptability is also something that athletes must have as a trait. There are so many ups and downs, twists and turns in a sporting event that it is a necessity to be able to adapt and continue to perform at a high level. Ambition is also a trait that as an athlete and a leader must be apparent. To strive for the win and performing at your best for not only internal satisfaction, but for the benefit of your teammates proves to be a leadership trait that all great leaders must have. A trait that all individuals want in their leaders is dependability. Athletes, especially in team sports must be dependable as it is their continued ability to meet expectations in their core roles that get them their position on the team. Followers need to feel that they can look to their leader at all times. Athletics are are a continued venue to display many of the traits of a leader and to me are the blueprint of the trait approach to leadership. (Clough et al., 2002; Crust & Clough, 2005) state that, mentally tough individuals tend to be sociable and outgoing; as they are able to remain calm and relaxed, they are competitive in many situations and have lower anxiety levels than others. With a high sense of self-belief and an unshakable faith that they control their own destiny, these individuals can remain relatively unaffected by competition or adversity. This is the type of leader I believe everyone would want at the helm.
Bliss, Gary H., “Leadership in Sports” (1965). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2983.
Clough, P. J., Earle, K., & Sewell, D. (2002) Mental toughness: the concept and its measurement. In I. Cockerill (Ed.), Solutions in sport psychology (pp. 32-43). London: Thomson Publishing.
Crust, L., & Clough, P. J. (2005). Relationship between mental toughness and physical endurance. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 100, 192-194.
Ogilvie, B. C., & Tutko, T. A. (1966). Problem athletes and how to handle them. London: Palham Books.