A Qualitative Study of Performance Leadership and Management in Elite Sport

Abstract

This paper is an investigation of performance leadership and management in elite sport. Thirteen national performance directors of Olympic sports were interviewed with regard to best practice. Four main areas were identified: vision, operations, people, and culture. The main vision issues were vision development, influences on the vision, and sharing the vision. The main operations issues were financial management, strategic competition and training planning, athlete selection for competition, and upholding rules and regulations. The main people issues were staff management, lines of communication, and feedback mechanisms. The main culture issues were establishing role awareness, and organizational and team atmosphere.

Notes

Due to space restrictions, the interview guide is not reproduced in full here. For a copy of the guide please contact the corresponding author.

Due to space restrictions, only a selection of the distinct raw data quotes are presented in this paper. For a complete copy of this data please contact the corresponding author.