An Exploration of Canadian and Nigerian High Performance Women Wrestlers’ Authentic Leadership Development Experiences in a Male-Dominated Sport

Abstract

Sport management scholars have uncovered benefits from adopting an authentic leadership style among sport coaches (Kim et al., 2020), sport administrators/athletic directors (Cotrufo, 2014), and non-profit sport organization board members (Takos et al., 2018). However, there has been no scholarly attempt to learn about the experiences of high-performance women wrestlers who might aspire to become authentic leaders. Given the ongoing disparities between men and women leaders in sport organizations, arguably more should be done to understand the experiences of (and then support) future sport leaders who are women. Thus, this research study addresses these gaps by answering the research questions: (1) What are the authentic leadership development experiences of Canadian and Nigerian high-performance women wrestlers? (2) What are the formal and informal authentic leadership development experiences of women who participate in a male-dominated sport? (3) What are the perceived strengths and weaknesses of formal and informal authentic leadership development training among Canadian and Nigerian high-performance women wrestlers? Participants (n=11) engaged in one semi-structured interview that revealed their mostly informal authentic leadership development (Luthans & Avolio, 2003) experiences as members of their respective national teams. Analysis of the transcripts (65,342 words and 188 pages) followed Braun & Clarke (2006). Findings revealed five major themes and several sub-themes. Canadian and Nigerian high-performance women wrestlers’ authentic leadership development was found to be impacted and influenced by the athletes’ background influences and parental support. Participants reported developing authentic traits (i.e., resilience, optimism, confidence, and hope) that supported their development as authentic leaders both on (and off) the mat. Participants shared their experience being bullied and body-shamed for their participation in a male-dominated sport and indicated feeling both supported by and frustrated with their national sport organization/federation.