SMGT Candidate Presentation

#UMNDRIVEN to Advance Leadership Research and Teaching in Sport ManagementJacqueline Mueller, MSc

About Me

Agenda

Line of Research

Synergies and Contribution

Approach to Teaching and Mentoring

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About Me

Personal Development and MilestonesEarly commitment to sport competition leads to academic pursuit

2001Accepted into the Handball Academy at Borussia Dortmund

1990Born in Dortmund, Germany

1999School Champion at the Federal Youth Games

2006 - 2007Handball Youth Coach U8

2009Accepted into the Sport and Event Management BSc at the University of Applied science

BSc. Sport and Event Management

University of Applied Science Europe, Iserlohn, Germany

MSc. Sport Business and Innovation Management

Loughbourough University London

PhD Sport ManagementLoughborough University London Institute for Sport Business

Education Road MapContinuous dedication leads to academic accomplishments

2020

Line of Research

LeadershipShedding more light on followers and their role in the leadership co-construction process.

GenderAddressing gender inequalities in on-field and off-field sport management.

Team DynamicsGoing beyond the coach-athlete relationship and traditional dyadic leadership approaches to understand how leadership can emerge at all positions within a team.

Research Areas Three Fields of Study I am Passionate About

Record of Scholary ResearchDevelopment and Dissemination of New Knowledge

Publications► Journal

Billsberry, J., Mueller, J., Skinner, J., Swanson, S., Corbett, B., Ferkins, L. (2018). Reimagining Leadership in Sport Management: Lessons from the Social Construction of Leadership. Journal of Sport Management, 32 (2).

► Book ChapterBryham, G., Ferkins, L., Dee, K., Mueller, J. (2019). Women’s Involvement in Sport Governance – A Case Study of New Zealand Rugby. In Lough, N. and Geurin, A. (eds.) Handbook of the Business of Women’s Sport. Routledge

Skinner J., Mueller J., Swanson S. (2019). Professional Sport Leagues and Tours. In Li, M., McKintosh, EW and Bravo, GA (eds.) International Sport Management 2nd Edition. Human Kinetics.

Ahead of Print► Journal

Swanson, S., Billsberry, J., Kent, A., Skinner, J., Mueller, J. (in press). Leader Prototypicality in Sport: The Implicit Leadership Theories of Women and Men Entering Sport Management Careers.Sport Management Review.

Conference Papers► Mueller, J., Swanson, S., Skinner, J., Billsberry,

J. (accepted). Content and Structure of Implicit Effective Leadership Theories in Sports. EASM, Seville, Spain, 03 Sep 2019 – 06 Sep 2019.

► Mueller, J., Billsberry, J., Swanson, S., Skinner, J. (11-2018). Surfacing Implicit Leadership Theories in a Professional Sporting Context: A Comparison of Four Research Techniques in a Bundesliga Handball Club. SMAANZ, Adelaide, Australia 21 November 2018 - 23 November 2018.

► Mueller, J., Skinner, J., Swanson, S., Billsberry, J. (09-2017). Implicit Leadership Theories - A Phenomenographic Study within a Sporting Context. EASM, Magglingen, Switzerland, 03 Sep 2017 - 08 Sep 2017.

Research ProductivityEnriching the Academic Body of Knowledge

Submitted► Conference

Billsberry, J., Swanson, S., Mueller, J., Skinner, J. (submitted). Adapting a Generic, Non-Essentialist, Filmmaking Approach to Leader Development to a Specific Context. IPLS, Mykonos, Greece, 06 May 2020 – 09 May 2020.

Presented► Poster

Mueller, J., Skinner, J., Swanson, S., & Billsberry, J. (2017). Leadership Perceptions in Professional Football – Finding the “Right Man for the Job”. Loughborough Doctoral College Showcase, 22 June 2017 In Progress

► Book ChapterSkinner, J., Mueller, J., Swanson, S. (in progress). Sport, Leadership, and Social Responsibility. In Werner, L.A. and Marymount, L. (eds) Oxford Handbook of Sport and Society. Oxford University Press.

Sport Management & LeadershipEstablishing a strong line of innovative research

Reimagining Leadership in Sport Management: Lessons from the Social Construction of Leadership

Problem

• Leadership research in sport management has continually lagged behind the generic leadership literature

• Majority of leadership research within a sport management context is limited to leader-centric notions

Exceptions: Kihl, Leberman, & Schull (2010); Ferkins & Shilbury (2015)

Goal

• Demonstrate how a non-essentialist approach can reframe and invigorate our understanding of leadership in sport management

• Explore implications for research, teaching and practice

Conceptual Paper

Impact Factor: 2.167H-Index: 31ABCD: A*Cited: 7

Implications:Creating Innovative and Impactful Knowledge

PracticeContext Matters• Leadership success in one arena does not necessarily mean success in a new arena• Leadership can enact informally, beyond formally assigned positioning• Importance of impression management – Reading the audience• It does not matter what the truth is, it matters more what people think the truth is

Theory and ResearchLeadership Scale for Sport (Chelladurai & Saleh, 1980)• Questionnaire is actually generating data on participant’s perceptions of leaders not an objective assessment of the coaches

Qualitative Interviews (Fletcher & Arnold)• Imply that something has been learned about leadership rather than about the perception of the interviewees on leadership matters

TeachingProvide Students with a more complete Perspective on leadershipRole of the Instructor plays high relevanceThreshold Concept• Transform students understanding of the topic and open up higher levels of study• Make transition from basic to advanced understanding of the subject• Help students make better sense of previous leadership findings

Leader Prototypicality in Sport: The Implicit Leadership Theories of Women and Men Entering Sport Management Careers

Call: Implicit Leadership Theories (ILTs) should be placed

at the forefront of leadership research in sport

Problem• Generic ILT literature has been strong in surfacing ILTs, but weak in exploring their relevance

for specific context such as Sports• Managing in the sport context may have idiosyncrasies not prevalent elsewhere (Todd & Kent,

2009)• Variations in ILT determine what people deem acceptable and effective in the specific context• Previous research has submerged women’s perception of leadership beneath masculine

approaches to leadership

Goal• Taking the first step in Introducing ILTs into the sport context• Generating the structures of basic-level sport management ILTs for women and men who are

about to enter the industry• Providing the first quantitative analysis of ILTs by gender

Empirical Paper

Impact Factor: 2.138H-Index: 36ABCD: A

Results Phase 1: Item Generation & Frequency

• Confident• Organized• Honest• Open-minded• Caring• Loyal• Trustworthy• Determined• Responsible• Dependable• Adaptive• Communicative• Experienced• Fair• Motivating• Outgoing

New Items

• N = 101• Freshmen and sophomore students who

took sport management undergraduate classes at a large University in the US

• Gender Split• 64.4% Men; 35.6% Women

• 1803 items generated in total• 552 different attributes emerged• 55 items mentioned by 10% or more of the

participants• 18 also appear in either Epitopaki & Martin

(2004); Offermann et al. (1994); or Offermann & Coats (2018).

Known Items• Intelligent• Charismatic• Knowledgeable• Creative• Hard-Working• Goal-Oriented• Respectful• Understanding• Strong• Attractive• Authoritative• Innovative• Focused• Courageous• Dedicated• Energetic• Well-Dressed• Assertive

• Approachable• Articulate• Driven• Inspirational • Passionate• Physically Fit• Powerful• Ambitious• Flexible• Poised• Risk-taker• Committed• Competitive• Decisive• Know sports• Optimistic• Persistent• Personable• Respected• Team-Oriented

Sample

Results Phase 2: Factor Identification - Women

Factor Name(No. of Items)

Items(Factor Loading)

Reliability(Cronbach’s Alpha)

Sensitivity (9) Loyal (0.88), Caring (0.86), Understanding (0.85), Honest (0.82), Trustworthy (0.79), Respectful (0.76), Fair (0.65), Approachable (0.63), Optimistic (0.59)

.93

Knowledgeable (8) Knowledgeable (0.93), communicative (0.83), intelligent (0.69), experienced (0.60), decisive (0.55), confident (0.55), team-oriented (0.49), innovative (0.48)

.87

Physical Attractiveness (5)

Physically fit (0.93), attractive (0.73), well-dressed (0.73), strong (0.57), competitive (0.50)

.78

Inspirational (7) Inspirational (0.72), authoritative (0.70), motivating (0.68), personable (0.68), courageous (0.58), risk-taker (0.48), passionate (0.45)

.85

Dedication (4) Dedicated (0.82), responsible (0.65), determined (0.63), hard-working (0.52)

.88

Focused (2) Focused (0.74), attentive (0.70) .60N (total) = 267; N(f) = 80

Results Phase 2: Factor Identification - Men

Factor Name(No. of Items)

Items(Factor Loading)

Reliability(Cronbach’s Alpha)

Sensitivity (8) Fair (0.83), flexible (0.64), approachable (0.59), caring (0.56), personable (0.56), adaptable (0.45), understanding (0.44), trustworthy (0.44)

.83

Dedication (8) Goal-oriented (0.89), dedicated (0.81), committed (0.57), responsible (0.48), open-minded (0.48), confident (0.46), team-oriented (0.43), driven (0.41)

.82

Physical Attractiveness (3)

Physically fit (0.94), attractive (0.77), well-dressed (0.49) .75

Focused (2) Attentive (0.72), focused (0.64) .67

Creativity (3) Creative (0.84), energetic (0.73), innovative (0.63) .77

Inspirational (2) Inspirational (0.89), motivating (0.70) .78

Courageous (6) Courageous (0.82), poised (0.70), persistent (0.62), powerful (0.60), decisive (0.50), assertive (0.41)

.78N (total) = 267; N(m) = 187

Missing Factors DiscussionObservations from research on Leader Prototypicality in Sport

Key Observations Factors that failed to appear

Tyrannical Items Masculinity Items

Non-appearance of masculinity factor Maybe reconceptualization of leadership

is emerging from centuries of ‘think leader think male’ attitudes

Very positive ILTs Would darker elements of leadership emerge

later? Emphasis on physicality, vitality, and dynamism

Characteristics of on-field sport seem to bleed across the on-field/ off-field divide

Participants may conflate their own on-field sporting exploits with notions of leadership going forward

Is physical emphasis maintained once people start working in the industry?

Presence of emotional considerations Notions of inspiration and passion are very

relevant to the sport context Do participants consider leadership in sport

organisations to be akin to coaching on the field?

Idea of connecting with others There may be higher expectations for leaders in

sport management to motivate and inspire group members

Emerged factor structure aligns well with common notions for sport cultures

Implications:Creating Innovative and Impactful Knowledge

Theory and ResearchSport Management• Established baseline of off-field basic level sport management ILT to enable future analysis of socialization effects in

sports• Explored differences between women’s and men’s perceptions of leadership at the beginning of their career

Mainstream ILT Literature• First study to surface ILTs at transition to adulthood

PracticeOnboarding• Sport Management recruits seem to have romanticized notions of leadership• Increased importance of induction, socialization, and on-boarding activities• Don’t only focus on organizational on-boarding but generally prepare for the world of work

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TeachingLeadership has a dark side• Undergraduate students seem to be more naïve when it comes to the nature of work• Expose students to the realities of leadership in organizational life

1. Assessing the usability of established ILT methods for the professional on-field sport context

2. Highlight the impact of ILT congruence on cohesion and perceived leadership effectiveness in sport management

3. Introducing Social Network Analysis as tool to understand leadership emergence within team settings

1. Exploring differences between prototypical and ideal leadership characteristics within sport management

2. Conducting a longitudinal ACTION inspired study of ILT outcomes with USA Rugby3. Establishing a link between personality profiles (DISC) and individual leadership

preferences in sport4. Discover the socialization effects of varying sport contexts on the formation of ILTs

Research Goals

PhD Thesis:Implicit Leadership Theories and Team Dynamics in Sport – A Social Network Perspective

Research being conducted to complement thesis

Synergies & Contribution

Global NetworkEnhancing research and teaching quality through global connectivity

Australia: Strong connections with Deakin Sport Management Department. Currently collaborating with Mike Naraine on drafting SNA Paper(s)

New Zealand: Established publication track-record with AUT SPRINZ Faculty. Co-authored a book chapter with Bryham, Ferkins and Dee.Co-wrote a JSM paper with Ferkins.

Europe: Strong connection within the EASM community through current role and previous conference attendance.

London: Gained work and research experience in a major metropolitan area famous for sports with established academics from around the world (i.e. Skinner, Swanson, Smith, Geurin)

USA: Lead consultant for leadership and team cohesion project with USA Rugby 7.

Exploring opportunities for collaborations with Zak Damon at the University of Central Arkansas

Belgium: Collaborating with Bram Constandt from the University of Ghent and Ferkins on a conceptual paper on Ethical leadership and Social Identity.

Two 1st League Volleyball teams participated in PhD Data collection.

Germany: Main source of PhD Data and strong connections to professional handball teams.

Key Contribution to the UniversityEnhancing academic prestige and teaching through unique qualities

Distinctive and cutting-edge view of leadership theory

Very organised and able to balance large-scale projects with research and other work commitments

Experienced teaching postgraduate students from diverse backgrounds

Innovative teaching approaches

Service commitment

Publication pipeline

Global mindset

SNA Analysis

Attracting high quality graduate students

The Perfect FitCreating Synergies within the School of Kinesiology and Beyond

Contributing to established research streams whilst adding a new perspective

Potential Collaborators:

Department level: Dr. Vikki Schull and Dr. Lisa Kihl

School level: Dr. Nicole LaVoi

Seeking opportunities for interdisciplinary teaching within the School and the College

Potential classes to teach into

Organization and Management of Sport (SMGT3143/ KIN5725)

Potential classes to add to the curriculum:

The Social Construction of Leadership

R1 institution

Approach to Teaching & Mentoring

Teaching PhilosophyCreating an Environment Conducive to Learning

• Teaching is more than delivering information

• Creating an inclusive learning environment that stimulates thinking, debate, and understanding

• “Blended Learning Approach”• Enable students to learn for

themselves instead of spoon feeding

• Being aware of different learning types• Use visuals to support slides• Use a combination of frontal

teaching, readings, and discussions • Being aware of cultural differences

• Support students from minorities and increase access to education

• Use innovative approaches such as film making

• Interdisciplinarity and co-teaching• Meeting the demands of 21st Century

and new generation by implementing technology into lectures to enhance student engagement and learning

• Use different assessment to allow students with different abilities to perform well

• Complement lectures with workshops, tutorials, practical side visits, and/or guest lectures by industry experts

Effective AdvisingCreating a mutually nurturing relationship

StartIdentifying and recruiting high potential students that share apassion for leadership and or gender research within sport

GoalCreate mutually nurturing

relationships and establish a base for future collaboration

and publication

Communication

Creating a relationship based on trust and respect through open and honest communication

Guidance

Increasing the degree of freedom and enabling students to become a more independent researcher

Awareness

Being aware of the students` ambition and motivation

Reflection

Coninually reflect on the progress of work and establish how the quality could be enhanced

Jacqueline Mueller

J.g.g.mueller@lboro.ac.uk@Jm_Sportleaders+44 739 8247 081

Q&A

THANK YOU!

Back up for Questions – Results Step 2 Phase 2Means, Standard Deviations, Reliabilities, and Intercorrelations - Women

Factor M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6

Sensitivity 4.49 .60 (.93)

Knowledgeable 4.56 .46 .50** (.87)

Physical Attractiveness 3.51 .84 .32** .30** (.78)

Inspirational 4.34 .56 .51** .54** .49** (.85)

Dedication 4.79 .39 .67** .63** .29* .46* (.88)

Focused 4.74 .41 .25* .27* .13 .32** .12 (.60)

N (total) = 267; N(f) = 80** p < .001* P < .05

Back up for Questions – Results Step 2 Phase 2Means, Standard Deviations, Reliabilities, and Intercorrelations - Men

Factor M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Sensitivity (8) 4.30 .53 (.83)

Dedication (8) 4.50 .43 .55** (.82)

Physical Attractiveness (3) 3.20 .96 .16* .12 (.75)

Focused (2) 4.54 .52 .22** .49** .01 (.67)

Creativity (3) 4.19 .67 .43** .46** .27** .31** (.77)

Inspirational (2) 4.38 .73 .26** .51** .09 .36** .39** (.78)

Courageous (6) 3.97 .59 .40** .58** .30** .37** .54** .51** (.78)

N (total) = 267; N(m) = 187** p < .001* P < .05

Back up - Emerged Factors DiscussionResults from research on Leader Prototypicality in Sport

• Sensitivity• Involves concern for followers’ well-being• Similar to factors that emerged in previous studies, however conceptualized

differently• More emphasize on trust, approachability, and caring

• Dedication• Women emphasizing process (dedicated, determined, hard-working, responsible)• Men’s conceptualization is more goal/performance oriented• Previous studies conflate process/goal dichotomy

• Physical Attractiveness• Slightly different meaning than attractiveness factor• Addition of physical health

• Inspirational• There is only a slight connection with previous factors i.e. Charisma• Includes notion of passion• Important role of emotions in sport organizations

• Focused• Not present in previous studies• Terminology of being focused is ubiquitous in sport context• Mental focus is considered essential ingredient for high performance

Emerged Factors Male Factors• Creativity

• Same meaning as newly found factor in Offermann & Coats (2018_• Related to ideas of being creative and innovative• Inclusion of energy item gives the factor a dynamism pertinent to sport.

• Courageous• Closed factor would be strength factor from O&C (2018)• Accentuates poise and persistence suggesting sense of calmness in

challenging situations• Importance of power and courage in sport

Female Factor• Knowledgeable

• Aligns with intelligence factors in previous studies• Non-appearance in men’s factor structure is surprising

• Maybe seen as integral components of other factors?

Surfacing Implicit Leadership Theories in a Professional Sporting Context: A Comparison of Four Research Techniques in a Bundesliga Handball Club

Problem

• Majority of ILT research used samples of undergraduate students in Laboratory experiments (Riggs & Porter, 2017)

• Structure and Content of ILTs of women and men entering sport management careers indicates departure from existing ILT factor structures, but further examination with on-field and working sample in the industry is needed (Swanson et al. 2019)

• Various techniques to surface and analyse ILTs have emerged, however, they have not been tested in a professional on-field sporting setting

Goal

• Assess the varied success and usability of established ILT methods to research and surface basic level ILTs in sports

Empirical Conference Paper

Call: One of the most pressing challenges in this field is finding efficient ways to

surface and then compare and combine implicitly hold leadership prototypes within sport (Billsberry et al. 2018)