Leadership efficacy, perceived sport performance, and satisfaction with leadership of competitive athletes
Download this article Jacinta Sousa *, Catarina Morai **, A. Rui Gomes ***, Clara Simães ****, Andrés Abreu * and Rui Resende *****
(*) School of Psychology. University of Minho. Portugal
(**) Research Centre for Human Development, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Universidade Católica Portuguesa. Portugal
(***) Psychology Research Centre. School of Psychology. University of Minho. Portugal
(****) Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing (UICISA: E). School of Nursing, University of Minho. Portugal
(*****) Sports and Leisure School, Polytechnic of Viana do Castelo; Sport Physical Activity and Health Research & Innovation Center (SPRINT)
Citation
Sousa, J., Morai, C., Rui Gomes, A., Simães, C., Abreu, A., Resende, R. (2025). Leadership efficacy, perceived sport performance, and satisfaction with leadership of competitive athletes. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 56(5), 447-471. doi:10.7352/IJSP.2025.56.447
Abstract
The Leadership Efficacy Model is an integrative approach that considers three distinct factors involved in leadership efficacy that simultaneously contribute to ex- plaining leadership efficacy (i.e., Optimized Congruence Hypothesis; OCH): leader- ship cycles, leadership styles, and antecedent factors of leadership. This study tested the OCH by evaluating the relationship between leadership cycles and the perception of sport performance (individual and team) and satisfaction with leadership, considering also the influence of leadership styles and antecedent factors of leadership. It also test- ed the invariance of the OCH according to athletes’ gender and type of sport. The study included 255 athletes (146 women) playing basketball or volleyball competitively. Results indicated the need for coaches to explain leadership cycles further to their athletes and confirmed the OCH for perception of individual sport performance and satisfaction with leadership. This relationship was mediated by leadership styles and antecedent fac- tors, regardless of athletes’ gender and type of sport. In summary, coaches should consider the leadership cycles, styles, and antecedent factors of leadership to increase their efficacy.
Keywords: Leadership cycles, Leadership styles, Antecedent factors; S perfor- mance; satisfaction