Matthew J. Slater

Leading for gold: social identity leadership processes at the London 2012 Olympic Games

This paper adopted a social identity approach to explore the media data of leadership figures at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Media data in the form of interviews, speeches/team announcements, and blog posts from leaders integral to the London 2012 Olympic Games were analysed from 100 days prior to, during, and for 30 days following, the Olympic Games. Leaders included Lord Seb Coe, Andy Hunt, and performance directors of TeamGB athletics (Charles van Commenee), cycling (Sir David Brailsford), rowing (David Tanner) and swimming (Michael Scott). An inductive and deductive thematic analysis identified five higher order themes: creation of team identities, team values, team vision, performance consequences and ‘we’ achieved. The analysis makes a contribution to extant leadership literature by highlighting novel contextually relevant themes surrounding leadership at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Thus, opportunities for future research and application are outlined.

Promoting shared meanings in group memberships: a social identity approach to leadership in sport

The purpose of this review is to demonstrate the applicability of a social identity approach to leadership in sporting contexts. A social identity approach to leadership contends that leaders and group members are connected through feeling a sense of belonging and emotional attachment to their group. The present review (1) outlines the theoretical underpinnings of social identity theory, (2) reflects on the four principles of social identity leadership and applies them to sport, (3) contrasts social identity leadership with current leadership theories, and (4) provides suggestions for future research investigating a social identity approach to leadership in sport. Accordingly, the review illustrates how an appreciation of the social context and group members’ values allow leaders to mobilise – enlist the motivation and abilities of – athletes to achieve the leader’s vision. A social identity approach to leadership has the potential to extend understanding of leadership in sport by emphasising the role of groups and context in leadership.

The Development and Initial Validation of the Irrational Performance Beliefs Inventory (iPBI)

The growing use of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) in performance contexts (e.g., business, sport) has highlighted the absence of a contextually valid and reliable measure of irrational beliefs. This paper reports the development and initial validation of the Irrational Performance Beliefs Inventory (iPBI). The iPBI was developed to provide a validated measure of the four core irrational beliefs of REBT theory. Item development was completed in three stages comprising two expert panels and one novice panel, reducing and refining 176 items to 133. Then, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to refine the measure and reduce the number of items. A total of 665 business professionals completed the 133-item scale, alongside an established measure of irrational beliefs and a measure of negative emotion. A 28-item measure was developed (the iPBI) that showed an acceptable fit to the four-factor REBT structure. The iPBI correlated well with the established irrational beliefs measure, and with anxiety, depression, and anger, demonstrating concurrent and predictive validity. Further validation efforts are required to assess the validity and reliability of the iPBI in alternative samples in other performance-related contexts.

Using social identities to motivate athletes towards peak performance at the London 2012 Olympic Games: reflecting for Rio 2016

The purpose of the present paper is to illustrate how leaders can create high performance environments. Using Team Great Britain (TeamGB) cycling’s performance director as a case example, we discuss how leaders can develop social identities (i.e. an emotional attachment and sense of belonging) and shape group meanings as mechanisms through which performance excellence can be achieved. We draw on a contemporary theory of leadership derived from organisational and social psychology to explain how leaders can act to strengthen the emotional bonds within their sport group and motivate athletes to embrace specific group meanings. The present paper also reflects on the lessons learnt from London 2012 that could inform leadership practice in preparation for Rio 2016. In particular, the leaders’ role in developing social identities and distinctive group meanings is important to create an environment conducive to optimum performance. In sum, a social identity approach to leadership detailed within the current paper provides a useful framework to help maximise the opportunities that TeamGB gleaned from London 2012 in order to deliver performance excellence again in Rio 2016.

Implementing a Social Identity Approach for Effective Change Management

ABSTRACT The social identity perspective asserts that it is the shared connection within a unified group that forms the foundation of successful group functioning. This is particularly salient during change. This review outlines the value and applicability of social identity principles in understanding change management. The first part of the article explains the underpinnings of resilient teams from a social identity perspective. In particular, the social identity approach is introduced, before the roles of shared and multiple contents in times of identity threat (e.g. during organizational change) are discussed. The second part of the article explains social identity strategies to build resilient teams in change contexts. In particular, the review focuses on the 3Rs approach (reflect, represent, and realize) as a developmental framework to create unique and distinctive social identities during change. Finally, a theoretical advancement of the 3Rs is proposed to include Reappraisal to optimize group and individual responses to the stress ubiquitous during change.

Test–retest reliability of the irrational performance beliefs inventory

Abstract The irrational performance beliefs inventory (iPBI) was developed to measure irrational beliefs within performance domains such as sport, academia, business, and the military. Past research indicates that the iPBI has good construct, concurrent, and predictive validity, but the test–retest reliability of the iPBI has not yet been examined. Therefore, in the present study the iPBI was administered to university sport and exercise students (n = 160) and academy soccer athletes (n = 75) at three-time points. Time point two occurred 7 days after time point one, and time point three occurred 21 days after time point two. In addition, social desirability was also measured. Repeated-measures MANCOVAs, intra-class coefficients, and Pearson’s (r) correlations demonstrate that the iPBI has good test–retest reliability, with iPBI scores remaining stable across the three-time points. Pearson’s correlation coefficients revealed no relationships between the iPBI and social desirability, indicating that the iPBI is not highly susceptible to response bias. The results are discussed with reference to the continued usage and development of the iPBI, and future research recommendations relating to the investigation of irrational performance beliefs are proposed.

Exploring training adherence in elite school-age athletes

This study extends athlete training adherence research by focusing on motivation and social support in athletes who successfully attend strength and conditioning sessions. Six male elite school-age athletes with high training attendance participated in semi-structured interviews to explore their experiences of strength and conditioning training. Their parents and two of their coaches also participated in interviews, and analysis was conducted using abbreviated grounded theory methodology. Facilitating factors relating to athletes themselves include motivation, enjoyment, a mastery-approach orientation, comprehension, thoughts and actions, determination and observable results. Support from parents, coaches and other athletes was also found to be important facilitators, along with routine. Athletes should be supported to move towards autonomous motivation to enhance their adherence to training. Additional recommendations for athletes, coaches and sporting organisations are given.

Singing it for “us”: Team passion displayed during national anthems is associated with subsequent success

Abstract The present research examined the link between passion displayed by team members during the singing of national anthems at UEFA Euro 2016 and team performance in the tournaments’ 51 games. Drawing on social identity theorising, we hypothesised a positive relationship between passion and performance. Consistent with this hypothesis, results showed that teams that sang national anthems with greater passion went on to concede fewer goals. Moreover, results provided evidence that the impact of passion on the likelihood of winning a game depended on the stage of the competition: in the knockout stage (but not the group stage) greater passion was associated with a greater likelihood of victory. Extending recent reviews that highlight the importance of social identity processes in sporting contexts, these results suggest that team members’ identity-based expression of passion for the collective can be an important predictor of subsequent performance.

Doing social identity leadership: Exploring the efficacy of an identity leadership intervention on perceived leadership and mobilization in elite disability soccer

Based on social identity principles we explore the efficacy of a leadership intervention in elite disability sport. A 2-year longitudinal design involved an elite male disability soccer team that prepared for a World Championship in Year 1 and then reformed for Paralympic competition in Year 2. Athlete data indicated marginal to significant increases from baseline to intervention phases in social identification, identity leadership displayed by staff, and hours practice completed away from training camps, but no significant change in mobilization of effort (in Year 1 and 2). We discuss the applied implications, study limitations, and opportunities for future researchers.