Relationship between personality traits and leadership preferences in young chilean soccer players
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v83.118807Keywords:
Training, teams sports , soccer, leadership, personalityAbstract
Introduction: leadership in sports is influenced by various factors that are generally associated solely with the coach.
Objective: to investigate the relationship between personality traits and leadership preferences in young soccer players.
Methodology: the sample consisted of 229 male players, aged 10 to 20, from the U-11 to U-14 (n=109) and U-15 to U-19 (n=120), who completed the Big Five Inventory (BFI) and the Sports Leadership Scale (LSS), Athlete Preference version.
Results: in all age groups, openness was associated with training-centered leadership (r = 0.23), and agreeableness was negatively associated with a preference for autocratic leadership (r = −0.21). In the U-11 to U-14 age groups, conscientiousness was associated with a preference for leadership focused on social support (r = 0.25) and training (r = 0.30), and openness was associated with training-oriented leadership (r = 0.32) and social support (r = 0.24). In the U-15 to U-19 categories, autocratic leadership was negatively associated with agreeableness (r = -0.23) and extraversion (r = -0.19), and the agreeableness trait was associated with a preference for leadership styles oriented toward training, social support, and positive feedback (r = 0.20 to 0.23).
Discussion: the analysis focused on the participants’ developmental stage, the functionality of personality traits, and the leadership characteristics observed during the sports training phase the participants are currently undergoing.
Conclusions: the results may contribute to the implementation of leadership interventions in team sports that take into account interpersonal variables and the characteristics of the athletes.
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