Emotional Intelligence and Preferred Coaching Leadership Styles among Young Athletes

Abstract

Background: It is beneficial to have a comfortable coach-athlete connection if the coach is able to embrace the leadership style that is preferred by athletes. Aims: Developing the ideal coach-athlete relationship requires incorporating emotional intelligence (EQ), individual focus, and coach dedication in order to improve interpersonal connections, the functioning of the team, and performance outcomes. Methods: The study soughed 144 young student-athletes' preferred leadership style by multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Form 6s (MLQ-F6) and used a 41-item of modified Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence test (SSEIT) to examine the individual Emotional Intelligence. Results: A result showed the overall mean for the level of EQ among young student-athletes is only 3.27, which can be interpreted as an average state. The findings also indicated a positive association was found that the participants with moderate EI tended to prefer transformational leadership styles. Conclusion: This research has influenced the direction of leadership in sports and revealed a realistic recommendation for the ideal transformational leadership style for coaching behavior and suggestions of optimal coaching behaviors for sports leadership, especially for young athletes.