Exploring the perceptions of leadership in Hong Kong rugby

Abstract

The concept of leadership within sports coaching continues to fascinate and intrigue a multitude of stakeholders. There is still a need for a greater understanding of its role within a complex, dynamic field of inquiry that seemingly relies heavily on the ‘coach as leader’ for a multitude of outcomes (e.g. performance success, athlete development, social outcomes). Given the call for more contextually specific and action orientated research, the aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of coach leadership within the Hong Kong rugby union environment. The study adopted an interpretive paradigm to gain deep insight into coaches’ and players perceptions of leadership in rugby. Data was collected from 16 participants via three separate online focus groups. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyse and interpret the data. The findings suggest that for leadership to be effective, coaches must possess a socio-cultural understanding of their context, have a clear vision for their team and have a principle of transformational and value-based leadership to assist with decision making. Additionally, coaches must become role models and demonstrate authentic leadership characteristics to be able to build and maintain relationships with the people in their organisation through effective communication. Sharing leadership appeared to be an effective method adopted by coaches to enhance leadership throughout a rugby organisation. We suggest that the results provide a grounding for coach learning within a unique coaching context.