The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence, Leadership Styles, and Burnout in NCAA Coaches – The Sport Journal

Authors: Luna Ugrenovic, M.S., West Virginia University, Kimberly Shaffer, Ph.D., Barry   University, Nataniel Boiangin, Ph.D., Barry University

Corresponding Author:
Luna Ugrenovic, M.S.
478 Harding Avenue Apt. 4
Morgantown, WV, USA, 26505
[email protected]
786-617-9425

Luna
Ugrenovic is a first-year Ph.D. student at West Virginia University (WVU)
studying Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology concurrently with Master’s
in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She is also a graduate teaching assistant
and mental performance consultant trainee working with the WVU DI rowing team
as well as WVU law school. 

The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence, Leadership Styles, and Burnout in NCAA Coaches

ABSTRACT 

Burnout
in coaches has been a concerning issue for many years. It can lead to a host of
medical, psychological, emotional and performance-related issues. One of the
many factors that correlates with burnout is emotional intelligence (EI; 22).
Additionally, research supports various leadership styles that correlate with
perceived burnout in different ways (32). The present study aimed to
investigate the relationships between EI, leadership styles, and perceived
burnout as well as the moderating role of leadership styles on the relationship
between EI and perceived burnout in NCAA coaches. The full range leadership
model (2) was used in this study and proposes that there are transformational,
transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership styles. A total of 244 (n = 140 male, n = 103 female, n = 1
undisclosed) coaches participated from across all three NCAA divisions.
Represented sports were field/cross country, basketball, lacrosse, soccer,
swimming, volleyball, and a variety of others. Consistent with previous research,
the results indicated a significant moderate negative relationship between EI
and perceived burnout (r = -.38, p = .000) as well
as a significant weak negative relationship between transformational leadership
style and perceived burnout (r = -.24, p = .000).
Additionally, there was a significant weak positive relationship between
passive-avoidant leadership style and perceived burnout (r =
.25, p = .000). Furthermore, passive-avoidant leadership style
showed a negative moderating effect on the relationship between EI and
perceived burnout, accounting for 20% of the variance in perceived burnout.
This means that passive-avoidant leadership weakened the negative relationship
between EI and perceived burnout. Thus, coaches who are predominately passive-avoidant
leaders may be more likely to experience burnout symptoms despite their high
EI. Consequently, the results underline the importance of developing strong
leadership competences as well as EI in NCAA coaches to decrease or even
prevent burnout.  

Keywords: burnout, emotional intelligence, leadership styles, coaching, NCAA

INTRODUCTION 

Perceived
burnout has been a topic of interest for a couple of decades, providing plenty
of literature across various domains. Despite all the research, it is still
prevalent among many professions and occupations, and can negatively affect the
personal and professional lives of men and women. Previous research indicates that
burnout has negative effects on individuals, causing a significant loss for
both organizations and individuals (15). Demerouti
and his colleagues defined perceived burnout as an outcome of imbalance between
job demands and job resources (6). Literature suggests that burnout can lead to
a number of adverse outcomes, ranging from turnover, absenteeism, perceived unproductivity,
and diminished performance (8, 30), to mental and physical health-related
issues, such as anxiety, depression, lower self-esteem, and substance abuse (3,
18, 20). In addition to standard pressures of work, coaching brings out a
unique set of stressors, such as the pressure to win, traveling, and stress
from parents of athletes, media, colleagues, administration, injuries, and fans
that can magnify the effects of burnout (23, 24, 27). According to the job demands-resources
model of burnout (JD-R), burnout consists of two processes: job demands and job
resources. In the first process, demanding aspects of work result in continuous
overbearing, and eventually to exhaustion. In the second process, a lack of resources
makes it hard to meet job demands, which later results in withdrawal behavior
and eventually disengagement. In other words, high job demands lead to
exhaustion, while low job resources lead to disengagement from work. Together,
this represents the syndrome of perceived burnout (6). 

Many
personal factors affect the levels and impact of perceived burnout. One of
these personal factors that helps explain this phenomenon is emotional
intelligence (EI). Salovey and Mayer defined EI as the capacity to be aware of
one’s own emotions and feelings, to choose among them, as well as to use this
information to navigate one’s thinking and decisions (19). It is known that
feelings and emotions contribute to the quality of interpersonal relationships
(11). Consequently, coaches are expected to develop bonds of trust to enable
appropriate functioning within their relationships with athletes, coaching
team, athletic administration, etc. (5). Therefore, effective coaches possess
qualities that go beyond sport-specific knowledge (5). Four branches of EI
(perceiving emotion, integrating emotion in thought, understanding emotion, and
managing emotion), from Mayer and Salovey’s ability model (28), are known to be
effective skills in developing relationships with different individuals in the coaching
workplace (5). Previous research showed that there is a link between burnout
and EI, indicating that higher scores on EI were related to lower scores on
burnout (13, 29, 31). 

Another
factor influencing perceived burnout is leadership style (16). Although there is research
looking at the relationship between leadership styles and burnout in different
positions such as managers, leaders of non-profit organizations, and human
service advisors (e.g. 15, 32), research that looked at leadership styles and burnout among
coaches is limited. The findings of a few studies are inconsistent, indicating
a need to further examine this relationship. A study looking at coaches’
burnout and democratic and autocratic leadership styles failed to find a link
between coaches’ burnout and these two leadership styles (12). On the other hand, a study looking
at the relationship between burnout in managers and transformational,
transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership styles found significant
relationships between the variables (32). Hence, exploring the full range leadership model could
provide a better understanding of the relationship between burnout and
leadership styles, specifically in coaches.

The
full range leadership model (2) includes transformational, transactional, and
passive-avoidant leadership styles. Broadly speaking, transformational
leadership exhibits the ability to transform followers’ thoughts and actions towards
higher potential, moral, and ethical standards. On the other hand,
transactional leadership style is characterized by transactions that can be
constructive or corrective. Lastly, passive-avoidant leadership style is
defined as a lack of leadership (2). Existing research on leadership styles and
burnout suggests there is a connection between the two (1, 16). For instance,
transformational leadership is positively related to personal accomplishment,
and negatively related to emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (32). Furthermore,
previous research argues that components of EI overlap with the core
characteristics of transformational leadership style
(10). As discussed previously, very few
studies examine the relationship between leadership style and burnout in
collegiate coaches, and those that do provide inconsistent findings. 

Consequently,
the purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between EI
and burnout as well as leadership styles and burnout in collegiate coaches.
This study also examined whether collegiate coaches’ leadership styles
moderated the relationship between EI and perceived burnout (Figure 1). Adding
to the pool of knowledge about burnout in college coaches would not only help
in dealing with perceived burnout but may also prevent negative consequences
such as turnover, absenteeism, perceived productivity, and diminished
performance. The proposed hypotheses were as follows: 

Hypothesis 1: Collegiate coaches’
emotional intelligence will be associated with lower perceived burnout. 

Hypothesis 2: Transformational
leadership style will be associated with lower perceived burnout.

Hypothesis 3: Transactional
leadership style will be associated will higher perceived burnout. 

Hypothesis 4: Passive-avoidant
leadership style will be associated with higher perceived burnout.

Hypothesis 5a: Transformational
leadership style will moderate the relationship between collegiate coaches’
emotional intelligence and their burnout.

Hypothesis 5b: Transactional
leadership style will moderate the relationship between collegiate coaches’
emotional intelligence and their burnout.

Hypothesis 5c: Passive-avoidant
leadership style will moderate the relationship between collegiate coaches’
emotional intelligence and their burnout. 

Figure 1. The proposed model.

METHOD

Participants and Procedure

G*Power
3.13 was used to complete a priori power analyses with linear multiple
regression to determine the number of participants needed for adequate power.
Using a standard alpha level (α = .05), and desired power of .80, a minimum
sample size of 89 was recommended to reveal a significant medium effect size (f = .15). The study included coaches
from all sports in NCAA divisions I, II, and III that had at least one year of
coaching experience. 

Participants
who met the aforementioned inclusion criteria were recruited via email to
participate in the study. Coaches’ emails were found on university web-pages.
Research with human participants protocol form was submitted to the
institutional review board (IRB) before recruitment and data collection. Prior
to completing questionnaires, participants were provided with an informed
consent form to read and sign. The consent form informed participants regarding
the study’s background information, overall procedures, possible risks and
benefits, and confidentiality. Participants were then asked to complete the
survey. The questions were randomized to minimize ordering effects. After
completing the questionnaires, participants were provided with the debriefing
letter. The survey in its entirety took no more than 30 minutes to be
completed. The questionnaires were posted online on Qualtrics. A total of 8,520
coaches were emailed to participate. 

Materials 

A
demographic questionnaire was
administered to attain participants’ gender, age, ethnicity, job title (head
vs. assistant coach), sport, NCAA division, years of experience, years of
working at the current job, annual household income, marital status,
educational level, athletic season, and whether he/she coaches a male or female
team. 

Emotional
Intelligence Scale (EIS;
26) is a 33-item self-report scale assessing one’s ability to detect, evaluate,
and control the emotions of oneself and others. The scale was designed based on
Salovey and Mayer’s model of EI (25). The EIS measures a total score for
emotional intelligence by measuring the following categories of emotional
intelligence: appraisal and expression of emotion in the self and others (13
items), regulation of emotion in the self and others (10 items), and utilization
of emotions in solving problems (10 items). The example of a scale’s item:
“Other people find it easy to confide in me.” The EIS scale items are rated on
the 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to
5 (strongly agree). The coefficient alpha was .87, providing
support for high internal validity. It is stated on the EIS that it is
available for use for non-commercial research and educational purposes without
seeking written permission. 

Oldenburg
Burnout Inventory (OLBI; 8) is a 16-item self-report
scale. OLBI was utilized to measure participants’ perceived burnout. The scale
assesses two dimensions of burnout: exhaustion (8 items) and disengagement from
work (8 items). The scale is measured on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly
disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). An example item for
exhaustion is “I can tolerate the pressure of my work very well.” An example
item for disengagement is “I always find new and interesting aspects in my
work.” The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was .85 for both exhaustion and
disengagement. Permission to use the scale was granted by Dr. Karina Mostert.

Multifactor
Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ;
2) Leader Form (5x-Short) version was used to evaluate three
different leadership styles (transformational, transactional, and
passive-avoidant). The MLQ Leader Form scale measures perceived leadership
behaviors. It consists of 45 items measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging
from 0 (Not at all) to 4 (Frequently if not always).
First, transformational leadership is measured with 20 items. Second,
transactional leadership is measured with 8 items. Third, passive-avoidant
behavior is measured with 8 items. Lastly, the outcomes of leadership are
evaluated with 9 items. Cronbach’s coefficient alphas for the leadership factor
scales ranged from .63 to .92. Internal consistency was above .70 for all
factor scales. Permission to use the scale was granted after purchasing the MLQ
Manual. 

Analysis

SPSS
data analysis program 23.0 was used to analyze all of the data in this study. A
correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between
collegiate coaches’ EI and their perceived burnout, transformational leadership
style and perceived burnout, transactional leadership style and perceived
burnout, as well as passive-avoidant leadership style and perceived burnout.
Additionally, Baron and Kenny’s test for moderation was applied to examine
whether each leadership style moderated the relationship between collegiate
coaches’ EI and their perceived burnout (4). A moderator is a variable that
“affects the direction and/or strength of the relation between an independent
or predictor variable and a dependent or criterion variable” (4, p. 1174). 

RESULTS

Out
of 8,520 recruited coaches, a total of 321 coaches participated, out of which
244 (n = 140 men, n = 103 women, n =
1 undisclosed) fully completed the survey. Participants’ ages ranged from 24 to
74 years and median age was 45 years old (M = 45.07, SD =
11.61). The majority of coaches worked for NCAA D III (n = 117),
followed by D II (n = 66), and D I (n = 61). The range
of years coaches were employed in their current position was between 0 and 51
years (M = 10.45, SD = 8.90), while overall
coaching experience at the NCAA level ranged from two to 51 years (M =
19.95, SD = 36.29). Most coaches were in season at the time
they completed the survey (n = 129), followed by off season (n =
93), and preseason (n = 22). Represented sports were track and
field/cross country (n = 49), soccer (n = 48),
volleyball (n = 46), basketball (n = 32), lacrosse (n =
16), swimming (n = 13), and other (rowing, field
hockey, rifle, hockey, rugby, water polo, gymnastics, fencing, bowling,
softball, and wrestling)
(n = 40). When looking at annual household income, the majority of
coaches reported earning between $60, 001 and $100, 000 (n = 77),
followed by earning between $100, 001 and $150, 000 (n = 66),
between $30, 001 and $60, 000 (n = 53), earning over $150, 001 (n =
33), and less than $30, 000 (n = 1), while 14 coaches choose not to
disclose. Of the majority of coaches reported being married coaches (n =
163), followed by single (n = 43), in a relationship (n =
24), divorced (n = 10), and widowed (n = 4). The
majority of coaches reported holding a Master’s degree (n = 149),
followed by holding a Bachelor’s degree (n = 57), and even a
handful had obtained a Doctorate (14 coaches were in the process of getting a Master’s degree, 8 were in
the process of getting a Doctorate’s degree, and 1 was in the process of
getting a Bachelor’s degree)
(n = 15). The sample was not ethnically representative with 219
Caucasian, 7 African-American,
4 Latino, 1 Asian, and 13 undisclosed. However this is representative of the
ethnic makeup of NCAA coaches, with over 85% of male and female coaches across
the three divisions being of a Caucasian background, according to the 2018
racial and gender report card (17). While there was a mix of both head coaches
and assistant coaches, the sample was predominantly head coaches (n =
233, assistant coaches n = 11). Out of the 244 coaches, 93
were a female coach coaching a female team, 81 were a male coach caching a
female team, 60 were a male coach coaching a male team, and only 10 were female
coaches coaching a male team. Table 1 represents socio-demographic
characteristic of participants divided by three NCAA divisions. 

Table 1: Socio-demographic Characteristics of Participants

Note. Other = rowing, field hockey, rifle, hockey, rugby, water polo, gymnastics, fencing, bowling, softball, and wrestling.
¹Which best describes how far into the athletic season your team is?

Descriptive
statistics were calculated to assess the skewness and kurtosis of the variables
to be used for path analyses. All skewness and kurtosis values were found to be
within the acceptable -2 to +2 range for the data to be considered normal,
therefore maximum likelihood estimation method was used. Table 2 consists of
descriptive statistics for EI, burnout (exhaustion & disengagement),
transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership styles for
male and female participants separately, as well as for the entire sample.
There were no significant differences between males and females on any of these
scales (see Table 2).  

Table 2: Descriptive statistics for emotional intelligence, burnout, exhaustion, disengagement transformational, transactional, and passive-avoidant leadership styles. 

Note. Possible ranges for the above measures. EI = 33-165; Burnout = 16-64; Exhaustion = 8-32; Disengagement = 8-32; Transformational = 20-100; Transactional = 8-40; Passive-avoidant = 8-40.

Hypotheses 1, 2, 3, and 4

To
test hypotheses 1, 2, 3, and 4, a Pearson correlation coefficient was
calculated to explore the relationship between 1) EI and perceived burnout, 2)
transformational leadership style and perceived burnout, 3) transactional
leadership style and perceived burnout, and 4) passive-avoidant leadership
style and perceived burnout. The first, second and fourth hypotheses were supported,
while the third was not. 

There
was a significant moderate negative relationship between EI and perceived
burnout (r = -.38, p = .000). There was a
significant weak negative relationship between transformational leadership
style and perceived burnout (r = -.24, p = .000).
The relationship between transactional leadership style and perceived burnout
was not statistically significant, while there was a significant weak positive
relationship between passive-avoidant leadership style and perceived burnout (r =
.25, p = .000). See Table 3 for bivariate correlations between
EI, burnout, leadership styles, and demographic variables. 

Table 3: Bivariate correlations for emotional intelligence, burnout, leadership styles, and demographic variables 

*p < .05. **p < .01.

Hypotheses 5a, 5b, and 5c

To
test hypotheses 5a, 5b, and 5c, Baron and Kenny’s test for moderation was
applied (4). To avoid potentially problematic high multicollinearity with the
interaction term, the variables were centered within the acceptable range. For
hypothesis 5a, EI and transformational leadership style were entered in step 1.
Transformational leadership style did not account for a significant amount of
variance in perceived burnout, R² = .16, F(2, 242)
= 22.10, p >.01. Next, in the step 2 the interaction term
between EI and transformational leadership style was added to the regression
model, which did not account for a significant proportion of the variance in
perceived burnout, ΔR² = .00, ΔF(1, 243) = .02,
βª = -.13, p > .05. Therefore, the hypothesized
moderation was not supported (Table 4).

Table 4: Multiple linear regression with moderator analysis for burnout, emotional intelligence, and transformational leadership style 

Note. N = 244.
*p < .05, **p < .01

For
hypothesis 5b, EI and transactional leadership style were entered in step 1.
Transactional leadership style did not account for a significant amount of
variance in perceived burnout, R² = .16, F(2, 242)
= 23.32, p >.01. Next, in step 2 the interaction term
between EI and transactional leadership style was added to the regression
model, which also did not account for a significant proportion of the variance
in perceived burnout, ΔR² = .00, ΔF(1, 243) =
.65, βª = -.75, p > .05. Therefore, the
hypothesized moderation was not supported (Table 5). 

Table 5: Multiple linear regression with moderator analysis for burnout, emotional intelligence, and transactional leadership style

Note. N = 244.
*p < .05, **p < .01

Lastly,
for hypothesis 5c, EI and passive-avoidant leadership style were entered in
step 1. These variables accounted for a significant amount of variance in
perceived burnout, R² = .19, F(2, 242) = 27.45, p <
.01. Next, the interaction term between EI and passive-avoidant leadership
style was added to the regression model, which accounted for a significant
proportion of the variance in perceived burnout, ΔR² =
.02, ΔF(1, 243) = 5.65, βª = 1.49, p <
.05. The moderation was statistically significant (Table 6). 

Table 6: Multiple linear regression with moderator analysis for burnout, emotional intelligence, and passive-avoidant leadership style

Note. N = 244.
*p < .05, **p < .01

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 

The
present study examined relationships between EI, leadership styles, and
perceived burnout in NCAA coaches. More specifically, the study looked at the
moderating role of leadership styles on perceived burnout in coaches (Figure
1). Results showed that EI was negatively associated with perceived burnout (r =
-.38, p = .000). Hence, the first hypothesis was supported,
indicating a moderate relationship between EI and perceived burnout. Hypothesis
2 was supported, indicating that there is a significant weak negative
relationship between transformational leadership style and perceived burnout (r =
-.24, p = .000). On the other hand, hypothesis 3 was not
supported, in that the relationship between transactional leadership style and
perceived burnout was not statistically significant. Hypothesis 4 was supported,
showing a statistically significant weak positive relationship between
passive-avoidant leadership style and perceived burnout (r =
.25, p = .000). Furthermore, the moderation analyses performed
in this study were partially supported. More specifically, passive-avoidant
leadership style did have a moderating effect on the relationship between EI
and perceived burnout, accounting for 20% of the variance in perceived burnout,
whereas transformational and transactional leadership styles did not show a
moderating effect. In other words, hypotheses 5a and 5c were not supported,
while hypothesis 5c was. 

As
expected, EI was negatively associated with perceived burnout in college
coaches (r = -.38, p = .000). That is, it seems EI
has a moderately positive effect on perceived burnout. This suggests that
coaches who have difficulty understanding, perceiving, and managing their own
and their athletes’ emotions are more likely to experience some of the signs
and symptoms of burnout, such as fatigue, depression, stress, and anxiety.
Despite the lack of research on the direct relationship between EI and perceived
burnout in college coaches, there is evidence supporting the relationship
between the two when looking at professions such as teachers, doctors, and
counselors (13, 14, 21, 22, 29, 31). More specifically, the current finding is
consistent with the previous studies supporting the idea that EI is negatively
related to perceived burnout (13, 29, 31).

Consistent
with previous literature, the findings indicated a statistically significant
negative weak relationship between transformational leadership style and
perceived burnout (r = -.24, p = .000). This means
coaches who are transformational leaders are less likely to feel burnout.
Similarly to coaches with higher EI, these coaches, who are predominantly
transformational leaders, are less likely to experience burnout symptoms such
as exhaustion and disengagement. Additionally, a statistically significant
positive weak relationship between passive-avoidant leadership and perceived
burnout was found (r = .25, p = .000). This means
that coaches who tend to be more passive-avoidant leaders are more likely to
feel burnt-out. Additionally, it is important to mention that coaches who are
predominantly passive-avoidant leaders are more likely to have a negative
impact on their followers and tend to fail in providing inspiration and direction
(28). In line with the current findings, a previous study found a negative
relationship between emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, which are
factors influencing burnout, as well as a positive relationship between passive-avoidant
leadership style and exhaustion as well as depersonalization (32). Zopoatis and
Constanti’s findings suggest transformational leaders are not only more
effective in their leadership role but are also less likely to experience
burnout (32), which supports current findings and underlines the importance of
leadership styles when looking into an individual’s as well as a group’s
well-being. 

On
the other hand, the relationship between transactional leadership styles and
perceived burnout was negative, but not significant. This indicates that some
coaches who are predominately transactional leaders may be less burnt-out.
However, the lack of a significant relationship could be due to the
characteristic of transactional leadership. A coach who is a transactional
leader defines expectations, and performance that achieves these expectations
is promoted. With this being said, this kind of leadership style might not be a
relevant variable when trying to examine burnout in coaches. 

The
moderating role of three different leadership styles on the relationship
between EI and perceived burnout in coaches was investigated by the fifth
hypothesis. There was no evidence for the moderating role of transformational
leadership style. Moreover, transactional leadership style also failed to
moderate the relationship between EI and perceived burnout. This means that
transformational and transactional leadership styles did not act as buffers in
the relationship between EI and perceived burnout. This suggests that even if
coaches are transformational or transactional leaders, but have a low EI, their
transformational or transactional leadership style may not account for their
low EI, and they will still have a higher likelihood of becoming burnt-out.
This could be since a coach who has poor skills of perceiving, interpreting,
understanding, and managing emotions in him/herself or others will probably not
be a predominantly transformational or transactional leader. Since
transformational leaders are characterized as being able to transform and shape
their followers’ perspectives on themselves, opportunities, and challenges (2),
EI likely plays an important role in this process by allowing the coach to have
a better understanding of how to make these impactful influences. However,
this needs further exploration.

On
the other hand, passive-avoidant leadership had a negative moderating effect.
This means that passive-avoidant leadership weakened the negative relationship
between EI and burnout. In other words, a coach who is a passive-avoidant
leader may be likely to experience burnout despite his or her high EI.
Therefore, future research should further investigate passive-avoidant
leadership as it relates to EI and perceived burnout, as to the best of our
knowledge, no previous research has been conducted with these three variables.

There
are a few limitations to this study. The first limitation is the lack of
control over collecting the data due to the use of self-reports administered
online. This way of collecting data limits precision and control, including
control of the physical environment (9). The second limitation is that the
study only looked at NCAA coaches, which limits generalizability to other
coaches. Another limitation is a lack of information regarding coaches who may
coach more than one team or more than one set of athletes. For instance, some D
II and D III coaches could potentially be coaching both male and female teams,
as well as different sports at the same time. This question was not asked and
could lead to more findings regarding workload and burnout in coaches. This
could be an important factor when trying to understand burnout, considering
that those who coach more than one team have more athletes to manage, or
different sports to focus on at the same time.

Future
research may expand upon the conceptualization of coping skills and other
factors that influence the relationship between EI and reduced burnout in
coaches. Additionally, looking at the same variables (EI, burnout, and
leadership styles) in coaches from sports organizations other than NCAA, and
then comparing the results may help in understanding burnout better, including
the influence that organizational association may exert. Another way in which
more understanding of burnout in coaches could be gained is by exploring the
amount and type of supporting staff that is available to coaches. Coaches who
have more supporting staff may be less prone to burnout, possibly due to
reduced demands (one component of burnout). Expanding on current findings,
future research should seek to gain more understanding of the moderating role
of leadership styles on the relationship between EI and perceived burnout, due
to the apparent absence of research looking at transformational, transactional,
and passive-avoidant leadership as moderators. 

APPLICATIONS IN SPORT 

In
terms of applied implications in sport, this study offers some promising
insights. There are a few ways in which the findings can be used to prevent
negative consequences of burnout in coaches and to increase their
effectiveness. To avoid the negative consequences of coaches’ burnout, this
study showed that it is important to consider improving EI as well as
leadership skills. This implies that to decrease the chances of feeling
burnout, there should be a more holistic approach when coaching with athletes.
In other words, by improving coaches’ ability to interpret and manage theirs
and others’ emotions as well as to effectively lead a team, coaches will be
less likely to become burnt-out. In the long run, this may allow coaches to
create a more productive environment and strengthen the bond between themselves
and their athletes. Additionally, coaches may be well-served by predominantly
utilizing a transformational leadership style when working with athletes, since
this leadership style was shown to have a negative relationship with perceived
burnout. 

On
the other hand, this information can be also useful for athletic directors in
the selection of coaches. By hiring the coaches who are demonstrating
transformational leadership qualities as well as higher EI, athletic directors
might have fewer issues dealing with burnout in coaches and all the negative
consequences of burnout, such as turnover and absenteeism. Furthermore, for
sport psychology practitioners, the findings suggest that EI and leadership
styles are additional aspects to consider when helping coaches prevent or
recover from burnout. For instance, one way to prevent or decrease burnout in
coaches would be to create preventative burnout programs focusing on developing
more effective leadership skills and improving EI.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

None

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