Managing conflict in coach—athlete relationships.

Abstract

This study investigated coach-athlete conflict and focused on conflict management approaches employed to minimize dysfunctional and maximize functional outcomes of interpersonal conflict. A qualitative approach to data collection enabled the researchers to explore various conflict management strategies utilized by the participants. Within the scope of the current study, a total of 22 high performance coaches and athletes took part in semi-structured interviews. A thorough review of the recent literature (Wachsmuth et al., 2017) informed the interview guide which consisted of 26 questions. A cross-case content analysis revealed that coaches and athletes prevent the onset of conflict by (a) facilitating good quality relationships and optimal working environments (implicit conflict prevention) and (b) by engaging in active conflict prevention strategies (explicit conflict prevention). Further, athletes and coaches appeared to manage conflict by employing intra-and interpersonal strategies, as well as by seeking out external help. These strategies were found to be challenged by a range of conflict management barriers, and associated with functional or dysfunctional performance, intra-and interpersonal outcomes. Overall, the role of the coach was central to managing conflict effectively.

Examining how Canadian Hockey League general managers build and sustain cultures of excellence.

“…Coinciding with this finding, Elberse and Dye (2012) studied the remarkable leadership of the legendary soccer coach Sir Alex Ferguson and uncovered that he also transferred and moved out star players that did not adhere to his team-focused expectation as a way of transforming the organizational culture of his team. This finding aligns with other empirical research on athlete deselection in sport psychology (e.g., Heelis et al, 2020; Wachsmuth et al, 2018). The present study extends results from Heelis et al (2020) who studied the experiences of high-performance CHL hockey coaches in the management of difficult athletes and concluded that difficult athletes can have a harmful effect on team culture, which can necessitate removal from the team (e.g., deselection, trades) if the necessary adjustments to match team culture were not possible.…”

When leadership, relationships and psychological safety promote flourishing in sport and life

“…The coach-athlete relationship and psychological safety can be viewed as positive social environments that may have the capacity to promote healthy functioning and importantly prevent unhealthy engagement where athletes feel unfulfilled, alone, scared and traumatised (see, e.g. Stirling, Tam, Milne, & Kerr, 2020;Wachsmuth & Jowett, 2020).…”

“…Edmondson, 1999). In contrast, lack of quality relationships is likely to weaken interpersonal psychological safety and augment exploitation, intimidation and humiliation in the coach-athlete interactions affecting athletes' wellbeing (see Wachsmuth & Jowett, 2020).…”

Organizational stress and well-being in competitive sport: a systematic review

“…Despite these advances, competitive sport is still inundated with organizational issues (e.g. destructive cultures, dysfunctional relationships; Feddersen et al, 2020;Wachsmuth et al, 2018) that threaten the well-being of individuals and groups. Previous research has often sought to explore organizational stress from a performance-driven perspective with less attention paid to the implications of organizational stress for well-being and or other stress outcomes (e.g.…”