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Leadership in the National Football League: Do Leaders Make a Difference?

Robert G. Lord
Suzanne Hendler Devlin
Carol Oeth Caldwell
Darrin Kass

Leadership Lessons from Compelling Contexts

ISBN: 978-1-78560-942-8, eISBN: 978-1-78560-941-1

ISSN: 1479-3571

Publication date: 3 March 2016

Abstract

This research systematically analyzed the effect of leadership (coaches and owners) on organizational performance in the National Football League (NFL) during the 1970 through 1992 seasons. In addition, it examined the relation of stable individual differences in personality of NFL leaders with performance outcomes for both coaches and owners. Results revealed that leadership added substantially to the prediction of performance in the NFL, even after controlling for non-leadership variables such as quality of competition and year. Furthermore, one facet of Conscientiousness – Deliberateness – showed strong linear relations with all performance measures. The results of both studies also revealed that hierarchical level of leadership was an important moderator, with coaches having greater impact than owners. The desirability of studying leadership in the context of the NFL was recognized and suggestions were provided on the direction that research might take.

Keywords

  • Coach
  • National Football League
  • Owner
  • Leadership
  • Performance
  • Personality

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Rosalie Hall, David Day, and Murray Barrick for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. An earlier version of this chapter was presented at the American Psychological Association Convention (August, 2000, Washington, DC).

Citation

Lord, R.G., Devlin, S.H., Caldwell, C.O. and Kass, D. (2016), "Leadership in the National Football League: Do Leaders Make a Difference?", Leadership Lessons from Compelling Contexts (Monographs in Leadership and Management, Vol. 8), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp. 29-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-357120160000008002

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2016 Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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