The socially effective leader: Exploring the relationship between athletic director political skill and coach commitment and job satisfaction

Abstract

Previous sport management research has demonstrated the positive relationship between political skill and personal career outcomes, but research addressing the question of how leader social effectiveness (i.e. political skill) influences the commitment and satisfaction of subordinates is lacking. This study sought to determine if leader (athletic director) political skill influences subordinate (head coach) evaluations of leader effectiveness, in turn influencing subordinate job satisfaction and commitment. Surveys were completed by interscholastic athletic directors ( n = 250) and representative subsets of head coaches ( n = 806) in the United States. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Political skill was shown to have a positive impact on evaluations of leader effectiveness. Leader effectiveness also acts as a mediator between political skill and employee job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment. Thus, political skill appears to be an important contributor to subordinate perceptions of leadership effectiveness, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment.

Political Skills for Sport Professionals: Theory, Research, and Career Success Implications

“…Head coach political skill has also been shown to increase subordinates' perceptions of their reputation and leadership effectiveness (Kim et al, 2016). Further, in a study of interscholastic athletic administrators, leader (AD) political skill enhanced subordinates' levels of commitment and job satisfaction (Robinson et al, 2018). Overall, the prevailing data on political skill in sports points to a positive relationship between political skill and career success for coaches.…”

Servant leadership, leader effectiveness, and the role of political skill: A study of interscholastic sport administrators and coaches

“…13 As well, leader self-rated political skill has been shown to positively influence follower attitudes, job satisfaction, and commitment when mediated by leader effectiveness. 19…”

“…Thus, to improve how servant leadership functions in the context of sport, examining the role of political skill as a potential moderator of the relationship between servant leadership and key organizational outcomes (e.g., leadership effectiveness, commitment and satisfaction) represents a worthwhile contribution to the study and practice of leadership in sport. 19…”

“…Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to improve understanding of servant leadership in the context of sport. This purpose is accomplished by building on and addressing research recommendations found in the extant sport management and servant leadership literature 1,7,19 in two specific ways. First, athletic director-head coach relationships are explored in the context of interscholastic sport administration to extend the external validity and contextual boundary conditions of servant leadership research.…”

Organizational Politics and Job Satisfaction: Mediation and Moderation of Political Skills

“…Job satisfaction is defined as a happy emotional state or positive emotions that come from assessing one's work or work experience (Brayfield & Rothe, 1951). Furthermore, it is also suggested that job satisfaction is a person's reaction to work or organization (Robinson, Magnusen, & Kim, 2019;Saleem, 2015;Arilaha, Fahri, Nurlela, Jabid, & Buamonabot, 2020). A satisfied employee can encourage a positive attitude by prioritizing organizational interests rather than personal ones (Heriyadi, Tjahjono, & Rahayu, 2020).…”