The purpose of this study was to examine how leader communication inspires athletes in a team sport context. Footage of elite rugby coaches and athlete leaders delivering genuine speeches were used as a stimulus. Team sport athletes (n = 20) watched this footage and identified which aspects of the communication inspired them. Follow-up interviews were conducted to explore what the participants were inspired by and why. Thematic analyses revealed six main dimensions of what was inspiring within the content of the speech, including showing how the team can be successful, embracing and reinforcing the underdog status, and creating pride and unity within the team. In addition, a number of features of effective delivery were identified, including the tone of voice, fluency of speech, and the way key ideas were emphasised.
Vargas-TonsingTMBartholomewJB. An exploratory study of the effects of pregame speeches on team efficacy beliefs. J Appl Sport Psychol2006; 36: 918–933.
3.
Vargas-TonsingTMGuanJ. Athletes’ preference for informational and emotional pre-game speech content. Int J Sports Sci Coach2007; 2: 171–180.
4.
Vargas-TonsingTM. The effects of coaches’ pre-game speeches on athletes’ perceptions of self-efficacy and emotion. J Sport Behav2009; 32: 92–111.
5.
BreakeyCJonesMCunninghamCTet al.Female athletes’ perceptions of a coach’s speeches. Int J Sports Sci Coach2009; 4: 489–504.
6.
VargasTMShortSE. Athlete’s perceptions of the psychological, emotional, and performance effects of coaches’ pre-game speeches. Int J Sports Coach Sci2011; 5: 27–43.
7.
Smith MJ, Figgins SG and Sellars CN. Antecedents and impacts of effective and inspirational coach communication. In: Thelwell RC, Harwood C and Greenlees IA (eds) The psychology of sports coaching: Research and Practice. Oxford, UK: Routledge, 2017.
8.
ThrashTMElliotAJ. Inspiration as a psychological construct. J Personal Social Psychol2003; 84: 871–889.
9.
ThrashTMElliotAJ. Inspiration: core characteristics, component processes, antecedents, and function. J Personal Social Psychol2004; 87: 957–973.
10.
ThrashTMElliotAJMaruskinLAet al.Inspiration and the promotion of well-being: tests of causality and mediation. J Personal Social Psychol2010; 98: 488–506.
11.
ThrashTMMaruskinLACassidySEet al.Mediating between the muse and the masses: inspiration and the actualization of creative ideas. J Personal Social Psychol2010; 98: 469–487.
12.
GonzalezSPMetzlerJNNewtonM. The influence of a simulated ‘pep talk’ on athlete inspiration, situational motivation, and emotion. Int J Sports Sci Coach2011; 6: 445–459.
13.
PoynorRArthurCAGibasD. Inspirational coaches: an underdeveloped phenomenon in sport psychology. J Sport Exerc Psychol2012; 34: S273–S273.
14.
FigginsSSmithMJSellarsCNet al.You really could be something quite special: a qualitative exploration of athletes' experiences of being inspired in sport. Psychol Sport Exerc2016; 24: 82–91.
15.
DavisKMGardnerWL. Charisma under crisis revisited: presidential leadership, perceived leader effectiveness, and contextual influences. Leadership Quarter2012; 23: 918–933.
16.
BaurJEEllenBPBuckleyMRet al.More than one way to articulate a vision: a configurations approach to leader charismatic rhetoric and influence. Leadership Quarter2016; 27: 156–171.
17.
StentzJEClarkVLPMatkinGS. Applying mixed methods to leadership research: a review of current practices. Leadership Quarter2012; 23: 1173–1183.
PitneyWAParkerJ. Qualitative research in physical activity and health professions, Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2009.
21.
SmithBMcGannonK. Developing rigor in qualitative research: problems and opportunities within sport and exercise psychology. Int Rev Sport Exerc Psychol2017; 11: 1–21.
22.
ThrashTMMoldovanEGOleynickVCet al.The psychology of inspiration. Social Personal Psychol Compass2014; 8: 495–510.
23.
GoldschmiedNPVandelloJA. The future is bright: the underdog label, availability, and optimism. Basic Appl Social Psychol2012; 34: 34–43.
24.
VandelloJAGoldschmiedNPRichardsDA. The appeal of the underdog. Personal Social Psychol Bull2007; 33: 1603–1616.
25.
KimJAllisonSTEylonDet al.Rooting for (and then abandoning the underdog. J Appl Social Psychol2008; 38: 2550–2573.
26.
GoldschmiedNVandelloJA. The advantage of disadvantage: underdogs in the political arena. Basic Appl Social Psychol2009; 31: 24–31.
27.
TverskyAKahnemanD. Availability: a heuristic for judging frequency and probability. Cogn Psychol1973; 5: 207–232.
28.
GibsonBSachauDDollBet al.Sandbagging in competition: responding to the pressure of being the favorite. Personal Social PsycholBull2002; 28: 1119–1130.
29.
SlaterMJEvansALBarkerJB. Using social identities to motivate athletes towards peak performance at the London 2012 Olympic Games: reflecting for Rio 2016. Reflect Pract2013; 14: 672–679.
30.
SlaterMJBarkerJBCoffeePet al.Leading for gold: social identity leadership processes at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Qual Res Sport Exerc Health2017; 7: 192–209.
31.
CameronJE. A three-factor model of social identity. Self Identity2004; 3: 239–262.
32.
HaslamSAReicherSDPlatowMJ. The new psychology of leadership: identity, influence and power, London: Psychology Press, 2010.
33.
ArthurCAWoodmanTOngCWet al.The role of athlete narcissism in moderating the relationship between coaches’ transformational leader behaviors and athlete motivation. J Sport Exerc Psychol2011; 33: 3–19.
34.
ShamirBArthurMBHouseRJ. The rhetoric of charismatic leadership: a theoretical extension, a case study, and implications for research. Leadership Quarter1994; 5: 25–42.
35.
BlighMCKohlesJCMeindlJR. Charting the language of leadership: a methodological investigation of President Bush and the crisis of 9/11. J Appl Psychol2004; 89: 562–574.
36.
ManleyAJGreenleesIASmithMJet al.The influence of coach reputation on the behavioral responses of male soccer players. Scand J Med Sci Sports2014; 24: 111–120.
37.
AreniCSSparksJR. Language power and persuasion. Psychol Market2005; 22: 507–525.
38.
McGeechanI. Lion Man, the autobiography, London: Simon & Schuster, 2009.
39.
ChelladuraiPSalehSD. Dimensions of leader behavior in sports: development of a leadership scale. J Sport Psychol1980; 2: 34–45.
40.
FransenKVanbeselaereNDe CuyperBet al.The myth of the team captain as principal leader: extending the athlete leadership classification within sport teams. J Sports Sci2014; 32: 1389–1397.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
