Transformational and Transactional Leadership in Martial Arts

This study sought to provide information about both the range and effectiveness of distinct leadership styles of sport coaches. Examining students' perceptions (N = 186) of sport coaches' leadership behaviors in a martial arts setting, this study tested the factorial validity of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5X), the standard instrument for assessing a range of transformational, transactional, and nonleadership scales. The results supported a nine-factor structure of the MLQ-5X, confirming recent empirical analyses (Antonakis, Avolio, & Sivasubramaniam, 2003 Antonakis, J., Avolio, B. J. and Sivasubramaniam, N. 2003. Context and leadership: An examination of the nine-factor full-range leadership theory using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Leadership Quarterly, 14: 261–295. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Although transactional leadership was significantly related to leaders' effectiveness, transformational leadership added unique variance beyond that of transactional leadership for predicting leader effectiveness. This lends further support for the augmentation effect of transformational leadership. In combination, the results allow for a more thorough description of sport coaches' effective leadership behaviors.