Effective Leadership Skills for Sports Performance (QQI Level 6)

Course details

Module & Programme Structures:

Over the duration of this QQI Level 6 Effective Leadership Skills for Sports Performance module you will cover the following topics:

Unit 1: Understanding Leadership Theories and Styles and implementing them into your own practice:

• Define Leadership.
• Key styles of leadership theory: Autocratic, Democratic, Laissez Faire.
• Transformation v Transactional.
• The Psychology of Leadership (Personality, Behavior, Contingency, Power & Influence).
• Developing your own definition of leadership based on common leadership theories.
• Leadership themes in the context of sport.
• Tools you can use to become (more) effective leaders.
• Developing your own leadership styles and values based on the leadership theories.
• How leadership theories look in practice in the sporting environment both within individual and team sports. 

Unit 2: The Skills, Qualities and Traits for successful leadership:

• Key traits and characteristics and how to apply these to your sporting environments (Including communication. Empathy, Humility, Self-awareness, Trust etc).
• Profile yourself against these characteristics and traits.
• How these traits can enhance an athlete’s experience.
• Gender Stereotypes and leadership styles. The differences between the male and female leader in sport.
• How to develop the key traits and apply where necessary. 

Unit 3: Key communication principles for maximizing the athlete’s performance:

• Verbal / Non-verbal communication.
• The key principles of Listening. 
• Communicating with male and female athletes.
• Problem solving skills (Analyse, Plan, Implement, Evaluate).
• How effective leaders utilise communication.

Unit 4: Professional practice that consider key stakeholders, sporting contexts and codes:

• Organisational Structures & Hierarchies.
• Knowing and actioning appropriate memberships for your associated codes.
• Adherence to ethical guidelines for specific codes and general practice. 
• Understanding your own style while still employing professional practice.

Unit 5: Development of a positive learning environment and understanding behaviour management strategies relevant to the development needs and demands of the sport:

• Assessing the safety of environment and needs of athletes.
• Understanding the difference between Group dynamics v individual sports and identifying whether anything needs to change or adapt.
• Are their Gender differences in how you set the environment, communicate and coach / lead.

Unit 6: Planning, Implementing, and reviewing sessions to encourage and measure development and performance gains:

• The key principles to planning a session for the athletes (considering the goals of the session, number of participants, gender and age).
• Implementing effective sessions.
• Reviewing the sessions to ensure goals are achieved and applying learning to new plans. 
• How to measure effectiveness of sessions and athletic development.

Unit 7: Stakeholder involvement and promoting a positive relationship with the athlete/team:

• Understanding the relationships and the different role of stakeholders.
• Multidisciplinary Approach with the wider support team
• C-A-P Triangle (Coach-athlete-parent)
• Managing relationships and conflict.

Unit 8: The relationship between psychology and leadership:

• How personality and motivation and can impact the leader/coach and athlete relationships.
• Understanding how psychology and positive leadership impacts performance.
• Identifying and utilising psychological tools to enhance the athletes performance.  (I.e., goal setting, Emotional control and purposeful practice).

Assessment Strategies:

The overall summative assessment strategy centres around a continuous assessment approach which emphasises the link between theory and practice.  Learners will undertake three assessments across the programme.

Over the duration of the programme, learners will have the opportunity to interact with online technologies and to reflect on the application of theoretical knowledge and how this relates to practice. Learners will undertake each of the following assessments across the programme;

• Online Discussion Forum
• PowerPoint Presentation
• Case Study.

Additionally, learners will also engage with a range on online activities which contributes to the formative assessment approach across the programme. Lecturers will provide timely feedback through live online lectures and tutorials as well as through ongoing communications.

Learners may also avail of the opportunity of submitting a draft assessment that is also intended as another outlet for formative assessment and feedback.