The use of the word "leadership" is necessarily overused in the sports world. We only need to turn on the television and watch football or hockey games to hear the term "leadership" to many times. Sometimes, the context is appropriate, and the conversation genuinely pertains to leadership. Other times, the word "leadership" is confused with "management." Finally, the term "leadership" is often used to describe a leader. (We’ll discuss this in another article, but leaders don’t always have leadership skills.)

But what about leadership itself? Here’s a simple question for you: Can you describe what leadership is in one sentence?

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You’ve had time to think about it. So, what is leadership in one sentence? Difficult, isn’t it?

You can try this exercise with your athletes or anyone working within your sports organization. Ask them to complete the task, either orally or on a piece of paper. Two things are likely to happen:

1. The person will identify key points (which will likely be accurate) but may not be able to precisely articulate what leadership is in a single sentence.
2. The person will search for the right words and attempt, in various ways, to describe behaviors or attitudes related to leadership.

It’s important to understand that describing leadership is a bit like describing the taste of water. Most people recognize what it feels like to be in the presence of someone with leadership qualities, but it’s difficult to express it in precise terms.

Now that you’ve tried this exercise with others and may have formed your own idea of what leadership really is, let me share a definition. Before I present the sentence, I believe best defines leadership, it’s essential to recognize that leadership is one of the most studied fields in management science. There is no single scientific consensus on a universal definition of leadership.

However, the definition I will present seems to me the best among those I’ve explored because it is simple, concise, and contains the essentials for understanding the dynamics of leadership:

Northouse (2010, p. 3) defines leadership as "a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal."

It may seem like a very simple sentence. And I agree—it is simple, but it is also rich in meaning. Indeed, this straightforward definition contains four key elements:

1. Process: Leadership is a process that evolves over time between the leader and the followers. In this sense, you may have leadership today but lose it tomorrow due to your actions.
2. Influence: The core of leadership is the ability to influence others.
3. Groups: Leadership requires at least some level of interaction with a group.
4. Common Goals: Leadership involves guiding individuals toward shared objectives.

Now, you have a clear and simple definition of leadership—a definition that will help you better shape your thoughts about leadership. You might also be better equipped to critically assess leadership in practice.

Where Does Leadership Come From?

Transactional leadership, transformational leadership, servant leadership, and more—there are countless theories related to leadership. In fact, according to some experts, there may be as many types of leadership as there are individuals. Why such a claim?

If you browse Google Scholar and examine some conceptual models of leadership, you’ll often find that the central point of leadership originates from the individual leading (e.g., Peachey, 2015).

We’ll explore this further in a future article. However, it’s important to know yourself as an individual and as a coach to identify your strengths and limitations, enabling you to grow and define your role within the ecosystem of your teams.

Here are 5 questions you can ask yourself to begin this reflection:

1. How do my values influence my decisions and behavior as a leader?
2. Do I actively listen to the needs and concerns of my team members?
3. How do I adapt my leadership style to the needs of my team and different situations?
4. What regular feedback do I provide to my team to encourage their development and autonomy?
5. How do I communicate a clear and inspiring vision to mobilize my team?

Take some time to think about all this. We will come back with other tips in another article.

Sources :

Bass, B. M., & Steidlmeier, P. (1999). Ethics, character, and authentic transformational leadership behavior. The Leadership Quarterly, 10(2), 181–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(99)00016-8

Greenleaf, R. K. (1977). Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness. New York: Paulist Press.

Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. H. (1969). Life cycle theory of leadership. Training and Development Journal, 23(5), 26–34.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2271-7

Bass, B. M. (1990). From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, 18(3), 19–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(90)90061-S

Northouse, P. G. (2010). Leadership: Theory and Practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Peachey, J. W., Burton, L. J., & Wells, J. E. (2015). Forty years of leadership research in sport management: A review, synthesis, and conceptual framework. Journal of Sport Management, 29(5), 570–587. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2014-0126