Servant Leadership in Sport: Theory and Practice

295 Pages·2019·3.181 MB·English

by  Gregory S. Sullivan

PALGRAVE STUDIES IN
WORKPLACE SPIRITUALITY AND FULFILLMENT
Servant
Leadership
in Sport
Theory and Practice
Gregory S. Sullivan
Palgrave Studies in Workplace Spirituality
and Fulfillment
Series Editors
Satinder Dhiman
School of Business
Woodbury University
Burbank, CA, USA
Gary E. Roberts
Robertson School of Government
Regent University
Virginia Beach, VA, USA
Joanna Crossman
University of South Australia
Adelaide, SA, Australia
Satinder Dhiman
Editor-in-Chief
Gary E. Roberts and Joanna Crossman
Associate Editors
By way of primary go-to-platform, this Series precisely maps the terrain
of the twin fields of Workplace Spirituality and Fulfillment in the disci-
plines of business, psychology, health care, education, and various other
allied fields. It reclaims the sacredness of work—work that is mind-
enriching, heart-fulfilling, soul-satisfying and financially-rewarding. It fills
the gap in scholarship in the allied disciplines of Workplace Spirituality
and Flourishing. Using a comprehensive schema, it invites contributions
from foremost scholars and practitioners that reflect insightful research,
practices, and latest trends on the theme of workplace spirituality and ful-
fillment. The uniqueness of this Series lies in its anchorage in the moral
and spiritual dimension of various positive forms of leadership—such as
Authentic Leadership, Servant Leadership, Transformational Leadership,
and Values-Based Leadership. We welcome research monographs and
multi-authored edited volumes representing myriad thought-positions
on topics such as: Past, Present and Future Directions in Workplace
Spirituality; Workplace Spirituality and World Wisdom/Spiritual
Traditions; Culture Studies and Workplace Spirituality; Spiritual, Social
and Emotional intelligence; Nature of Work; Mindfulness at Work;
Personal Fulfillment and Workplace Flourishing; Workplace Spirituality
and Organizational Performance; Inner Identity, Interconnectedness,
Community and Transcendence; Managing Spiritual and Religious
Diversity at Work; Spirituality and World Peace Imperative; Sustainability
and Spirituality; Spirituality and Creativity; and Applied Workplace
Spirituality in Health Care, Education, Faith-based Organizations, et al.
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/15746
Gregory S. Sullivan
Servant Leadership
in Sport
Theory and Practice
Gregory S. Sullivan
Ohio University
Athens, OH, USA
Palgrave Studies in Workplace Spirituality and Fulfillment
ISBN 978-3-030-11247-9 ISBN 978-3-030-11248-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11248-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019932927
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019
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A
cknowledgements
I am grateful to Team Sullivan (Chris and Kellen, Kevin, Brian and
Emily) for their love, support, and advice. I am grateful for my office
mate, Keagan, who reminded me of the importance of a good nap.
I am grateful for the MAPP program at Penn and for the introduction to
life-changing ideas. I am grateful for the work of Deci and Ryan and all
of the other SDT’ers who provide the theoretical lens. Most of all, I am
grateful to my wife, Sharon. I am grateful for her love, patience, constant
encouragement, for pushing me to be my best, and for putting her pant
leg in the bicycle chain. I am grateful I get to spend my life with her.
Gregory S. Sullivan
v
c
ontents
1 Servant Leadership in Sport: Theory and Practice 1
Part I Servant Leadership
2 Servant Leadership: An Introduction 31
3 Servant Leadership: Philosopher’s Perspective 41
4 Servant Leadership: Research 67
5 Servant Leadership in Sports and Athletics 81
Part II Positive Psychology: Well-Being as a Servant
Leadership Antecedent
6 Positive Psychology: An Introduction 117
7 Character Strengths: The Pathway to Well-Being 123
8 Positive Emotions 145
vii
viii CONTENTS
9 Engagement 159
10 Positive Relationships 173
11 Meaning 189
12 Accomplishment 203
Part III Need Satisfaction: A Self-Determined Perspective
13 Servant Leadership and Need Satisfaction 213
14 SDT Mini-Theories: Basic Psychological Need
Satisfaction, Intrinsic Motivation, and Cognitive
Evaluation 219
15 SDT Mini-Theories Continued: Continuum
of Motivation, Personality Aspects, Goal
Orientations, and Relationships 229
16 SDT in Athletics 241
17 SDT, PERMA and Autonomy Supportive Behaviors 247
18 Conclusion 261
References 269
Index 291
l f
ist of igures
Fig. 1.1 A model of servant leadership 5
Fig. 1.2 T he Blake and Mouton (1964) Managerial grid
(www.worldoil.com) 8
Fig. 1.3 Servant leadership 15
Fig. 1.4 Antecedents to servant leadership 16
Fig. 1.5 Psychology has focused on the curative aspects of therapy 17
Fig. 1.6 P ositive psychology is focused on human strengths,
potential, and fulfillment 17
Fig. 1.7 N eed satisfaction for both leaders and followers
is integral to the model 22
Fig. 1.8 T here are myriad positive outcomes from need
satisfaction. Servant leaders experience enhanced
well-being when they see their followers achieving 24
Fig. 3.1 The differences between Machiavellian and Servant leaders 48
Fig. 15.1 A continuum of motivation (from the Center for
Self-Determination Theory © 2017. Reprinted
with permission) 230
Fig. 17.1 A proposed feedback loop from follower outcomes
to leader well-being 257
ix
CHAPTER 1
Servant Leadership in Sport: Theory
and Practice
introduction
“Oh, that sounds great” was the typical reaction I received from
colleagues, friends, and family when I told them I was writing a book
about leadership. It wasn’t the “oh, that sounds great” reaction you
would get about an upcoming trip or a new job, but more like the polite
reaction you would get from telling someone you bought them a fruit-
cake for their birthday. That reaction wasn’t unexpected considering
the number of books, journal articles, blogs, videos, and podcasts there
are about leadership. There is no shortage of information on the topic
of leadership; a quick Google search of the word leadership returned
“about 3,560,000,000 results (0.66 seconds).” I would then explain
the book was about servant leadership and it received a little more inter-
est (and fewer Google returns) and even more interest when I shared it
was about servant leadership in athletics; everyone loves sports. Finally,
I offered that I would be viewing servant leadership in athletics through
the lens of positive psychology and the conversations really started to
get interesting and thought-provoking. I have discovered in the past few
years that as much as everyone loves sports, people are almost equally
interested in positive psychology and their own potential well-being. By
the end of the conversation, the feedback was “oh, that sounds really
interesting” and from the questions and comments (and suggestions!),
I could tell it was sincere. So allow me to briefly introduce each of these
© The Author(s) 2019 1
G. S. Sullivan, Servant Leadership in Sport,
Palgrave Studies in Workplace Spirituality and Fulfillment,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11248-6_1