The competition is fierce.
Olympic gymnast Simone Biles is pushing herself to perform stronger and more consistently. Then, her coach calls her “fat.” It’s meant as a motivation, but this time, it has the opposite effect.
While some coaches might believe such comments could spur an athlete to train harder, new research involving the Binghamton University School of Management found a better way to boost an athlete’s mental toughness: transformational leadership techniques focusing on self-determination. These techniques have already proven effective in the workplace and, applied on the athletic front, could strengthen player-coach relationships.
In the study, researchers used Biles’ example to highlight the pivotal role coaches play in fostering an athlete’s mindset, for better or worse.
“The most important psychological characteristics can be cultivated through coaching. This study tells you how important coaching is in generating resources that enhance athletes’ resilience and mental toughness, to help them overcome all difficulties,” said Osterhout Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship Chou-Yu (Joey) Tsai, who co-authored the study.
“We found two ways a coach can enhance mental toughness: by focusing on how they can accomplish their goal by working as a group and by recognizing that each athlete has his or her own personal issues that need to be addressed in a customized way.”
Researchers tested their theory by surveying 301 players (169 male and 132 female) from Taiwan’s University Volleyball League.
At the beginning of the season, the athletes completed a questionnaire about transformational leadership — a leadership style that aims to empower individuals through a shared vision and fostering personal growth.
After the season, researchers gathered survey data in three categories:
The findings showed that coaches practicing transformational leadership create an inspirational vision and motivate players to achieve excellence. This meant players aligned more closely with the coach’s values and interests, promoting mental toughness.
How can this be put into practice? The study recommended that coaches prioritize individualized feedback, personalized goals and recognizing growth based on an athlete’s personal benchmarks rather than player comparisons.
Tsai said transformational leadership approaches like these are usually associated with the business world, but they’re easily adaptable in sports. Since the measure of success for athletes is even more performance-driven, Tsai said, coaches are vital in deploying the right player into the right positions to generate value for the team.
“Every sport or business setting has leaders, and nowadays, you have many disruptions to achieving your goal, whether scoring points or making a profit. Businesses have to adapt to the market, and sports teams have to adjust their strategies each season,” Tsai said.
“Sometimes you need that kind of mental toughness to deal with those challenges,” he added. “That’s why good leadership is so important, but creating a relationship dynamic rooted in mutual respect is probably the most significant takeaway from this research.”
The study, “Effects of transformational coaches on athlete mental toughness: Dual mediating roles of task-involving climate perception and coach-athlete relationship,” was published in the International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching.
It was co-authored by the following researchers based in Taiwan: San-Fu Kao from National Tsing Hua University, Sheng-Bin Wang from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Ming-Hui Hsieh from National Chengchi University and Chien-Ming Hsu from National Tsing Hua University.
