The 5th Congress of Exercise and Sport Sciences - The Academic College at Wingate

Emotional Intelligence in Coaches` Leadership

Lael Gershgoren Omri Shwartz
Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel

Background: Emotional Intelligence (EI) among coaches refers, among others, to a) the coach`s awareness of his/her own emotions and their regulation for the benefit of the athletes, and b) the coach`s ability to identify the emotional state of the athletes and intervene in its regulation (Thelwell, Lane, Weston, & Greenlees, 2008). As such, EI has become an important skill in contemporary leadership where self-actualization and peak performance are pursued (Miller, 2003).

Aims: The purpose of this study is to further understand the importance of EI in sport leadership. Moreover, this study aims at exploring the core themes and categories of EI involved in an effective coach-athlete relationship.

Method: a qualitative inquiry was deemed appropriate for data collection as in-depth information was prioritized. To meet this end, elite coaches were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Then, the data was inductively analyzed, using meaningful units, into an hierarchical configuration.

Results: Several themes, categories, and subcategories, regarding the EI concept have emerged with regard to the coaches` interaction with elite level athletes. Some of these categories are more inward-oriented while others are more external-directed. The themes and their underlying categories are presented alongside with representative examples.

Discussion and Conclusions: The implications of these findings are further discussed in the contexts of leadership and performance enhancement. Thus, EI is presented in both coaches` self-management lenses as well as coaching behavior towards athletes.

Lael Gershgoren
Lael Gershgoren
המרכז הבינתחומי הרצליה








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