MOTIVATION AND LEADERSHIP STYLE OF ATHLETES

ABSTRACT Long-term motivation, perceived motivational climate, and leadership style are factors related to the endurance of load, resistance to stress and sports results. The aim of this study was to reveal the relationships between leadership style, motivational climate, and long-term motivation of athletes differentiated by sex, kind of sport, and sports results. The research was done among 101 athletes practicing team sports (70 men, 31 women) with mean age 20.3 years (±5.4). We used the following questionnaires: Leadership Scale for Sport (LSS), Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire-2 (PMCSQ - 2), and the Test for the study of long-term motivation assessing the long-term goals and prospects. The mastery of motivational climate is strengthened by applying democratic behavior (β=.229*) and structuring of team actions through training and instruction (β=.435**). The performance motivational climate is strengthened by using autocratic behavior (β=.426***) and avoiding: democratic behavior (β=-.459**), and giving positive feedback (β=-.236*). Long-term motivation increases with the dominance of the mastery motivational climate (β=.310**) and decreases with the performance motivational climate (β=-.202*). The obtained results give grounds to assume that the coach’s leadership style plays a significant role in shaping the perceived motivational climate, which determines the level of athletes’ long-term motivation.