The project

With the guiding question "How do you lead to success?", the CULTurn project has set itself the goal of supporting national squad coaches in the German Gymnastics Federation in the development of their leadership behavior. The project goes through various phases until June 2024:

The project starts with an initial diagnosis that covers both self-image and external image. An online questionnaire is used for this purpose, which is completed by the coaches (self-image) and their direct training environment (external image). Athletes and coaches' superiors are thus given the opportunity to assess their leadership behavior and provide feedback, which will be a valuable component and reference point for the following intervention phase.

After an initial assessment was created, feedback discussions were held in which the feedback was processed and the intervention phase was pre-structured. This intervention phase is already so far advanced that all trainers were able to address the individual leadership behavior of the respective trainers in two to three individual coaching sessions. In addition to this individual offer, group workshops were also held during the intervention phase, in which trainers could exchange experiences and work together on problems in leadership behavior. The workshops were also held at different locations. On-site training observation at the bases by the coach Dr. Sebastian Brückner is also a scheduled aspect that enables a further level of coaching. Even after the end of the coaching phase, a punctual continuation of the training visits is planned. At this stage (as of December 2023), the intervention phase is well advanced: group workshops have been held to work together on problems. At association level, consideration and discussion has also already taken place as to where the project has revealed a need to catch up and how the approach can be implemented at DTB level.

The results from the intervention phase will be recorded in the final change diagnostics that will take place soon. Changes in leadership behavior are to be recorded and subsequently discussed, processed and implemented in training practice at association level.

The process of the project

The first step is to assess the coaches' current leadership behaviour. This involves completing an online questionnaire, which takes a maximum of 30 minutes to complete. The coaches also select the people who will give them feedback: at least one manager, at least five colleagues, at least five athletes. In this way, the participating coaches receive their personal competence report.

In the second step, an evaluation meeting is scheduled: 60 minutes, online. The coaching process, the content and organisation of which will be agreed individually with the coaches, offers the following: three individual coaching sessions (60 minutes, online); the opportunity to observe training sessions; participation in online workshops; participation in a group workshop with (national) coaching colleagues (one of whom will be present on site). The aim is to further strengthen individual and group leadership skills.

In the third step, the external participants from the first step come back into the picture. A second time, we use the online questionnaire to look at the leadership behaviour of the trainers - where it may already be possible to identify changes. The coaches receive a personal competence report again and a final evaluation meeting is used to identify concrete progress, strengths and potential - so that the work can be sustained.

All participants will receive a certificate of attendance and 15 LE from the DTB to extend their trainer licence. If you have any questions about the project, please contact culturn@uni-muenster.de or call 0251-83-34854.

The model

The instrument on which the project is based comes from the thoughts of Katherine A. Lawrence, Peter Lenk and Robert E. Quinn. They have developed the model of competing leadership roles (Competing Values Framework). The model is complemented by the topic of charismatic leadership by Nicolas Bastardoz and Calum A. Arthur.  As Prof. Dr. Ralf Lanwehr from the University of Applied Sciences South Westphalia has already been able to explore in the team sports context, the model can be applied in sports and shall also be used here in the gymnastics context.

It is assumed that coaches have to cover different strategic areas in their interaction with athletes, which are in mutual competition with each other. These four strategic areas are "Creativity vs. Control" and "Collaboration vs. Competition". Charismatic leadership stands between those four strategic areas.

Creativity: "Doing things first" is the motto of the creative leadership role. Creative coaches are always up to date with the latest developments in their field and open to change. The strategy field "Creativity" includes the roles of the innovator, simulator and innovator.

Control: "Doing things right" is the maxim of the controlling leader. Here, the focus is on precision and technical versatility. Mistakes are to be ruled out as early as the planning stage of the coaching by setting rules and guidelines. The strategy field "Control" comprises the roles of coordinator, observer and advisor.

Collaboration: Following the motto "doing things together", coaches shape teams by engaging them in joint goals, nurturing interpersonal relationships, mentoring team members, and also reinforcing the strengths of each individual in the group context. The roles corresponding to this strategy field are moderator, team developer and mentor.

Competition: According to the motto "Do things decisively", Competition is intended to promote fast action, the setting of ambitious goals and also the assumption of responsibility in the team. The focus here is on success and on being better than others. The "Competition" strategy field encompasses the roles of the doer, competitor and driver.

References:

Arthur, C. A., Bastardoz, N. (2020). Leadership in Sport. In Tenenbaum, G., Eklund, R.C. (Hrsg.) Handbook of Sport Psychology (S.344–371). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119568124.ch16.

Lawrence, K. A., Lenk, P. Q., Robert E. (2009). Behavioral complexity in leadership: The psychometric properties of a new instrument to measure behavioral repertoire. The Leadership Quarterly 20 (2). 87-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.01.014.

The coaching

As part of the intervention phase of the CULTurn project, there will be three online coaching sessions with Dr. Sebastian Brückner.  Here, the coaches will be coached individually and their leadership behavior will be examined in detail. Special attention will also be paid to the discrepancy between the diagnosed self-image and the external image. For example, the perception of the athletes may differ from the perception of the coaches, the supervisors or the functional team. The one-to-one approach allows us to work on the basis of strengths and resources and thus to focus on as many factors as possible.

In group workshops, the coaches will work together on various topics and, in addition to impulses from the workshop leaders of the CULTurn team, will also benefit from direct exchange with each other, the so-called peer learning. The content of the coaching sessions and the group workshops will also be guided by the interests of the coaches and the results of the initial diagnostics. Guiding questions here can be, for example, "What is charismatic leadership?", "psychological security" or "emotional self-regulation".

The current status

The CULTurn project is already well advanced in its implementation at the present time (November 2023). Some findings can already be recorded, which have been summarized in a comprehensive interim report.

A total of 21 coaches from all over Germany are taking part in the CULTurn project on a voluntary basis, spread across the four Olympic sports of the DTB, with rhythmic gymnastics being less represented than the other three sports. A total of 241 people were recruited to create the external image of the coaches.

The project is on schedule in terms of work progress and is just before the third step, as shown in the tab "The process of the project": The topics covered in the individual coaching sessions can be divided into the categories of self-leadership, group leadership and leadership structures. As part of the shadowing, additional training observations were made by the coach, which will also be taken up in the individual coaching sessions. Four face-to-face workshops were also held with the support of the DTB. These took place in Berlin, Hanover, Frankfurt and Schmiden. Participation in one of these face-to-face workshops was planned for each participant. The intervention phase has largely been completed. It will now be supplemented - as described in the third step - by a second diagnostic to determine the quality of the intervention phase.

An intervention at association level is also planned as a transfer and has already been partially implemented: In close cooperation with the DTB, interim results were/are being discussed in focus group workshops and possibilities for implementing the approach in the DTB's training network are being explored. The first focus group workshop has already taken place. Two more are planned for January and April 2024 to round off the intervention phase and place the results in a broader context. The exchange with experts from the DTB and its partner organizations (state associations, bases, scientific network system) has already provided valuable impetus for further project activities. The first focus group exchange was thus successfully used for process optimization and quality assurance of the CULTurn project.

The Transfer

Transfer at association level

An intervention at association level is planned as a transfer and has already been partially implemented: In close cooperation with the DTB, interim results were/are being discussed in focus group workshops and possibilities for implementing the approach in the DTB's training network are being explored. The first focus group workshop has already taken place. Two more are planned for January and April 2024 to round off the intervention phase and place the results in a broader context. The exchange with experts from the DTB and its partner organizations (state associations, bases, scientific network system) has already provided valuable impetus for further project activities. The first focus group exchange was thus successfully used for process optimization and quality assurance of the CULTurn project.

Two transfer workshops focusing on leadership and self-regulation in the context of the Competing Values Framework have already been offered in Frankfurt, each with 20-25 participants. Further transfer workshops are planned.

CULVolley

As an extension of the CULTurn project, the CULVolley project was created in consultation with the German Volleyball Association. The CULVolley project enables coaches in German youth volleyball to obtain 360° feedback on their personal coaching and leadership culture.

The project was presented to the national, national base and state coaches as part of the review of the national youth teams.

The partners

Der Deutsche Turner-Bund e.V.:

The DTB is the German umbrella organization for gymnastics. As the second largest top sports federation in Germany, the DTB has about 5 million members, distributed among about 18,000 clubs, 22 state gymnastics federations. The DTB is home to the four Olympic sports of gymnastics - rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline, male gymnastics and female gymnastics - in addition to a wide range of other sports. These four sports are important for the CULTurn project. National coaches of these four sports - both in the junior area and in the senior area - are targeted as participants in the project.

University of Applied Sciences South Westphalia

The University of Applied Sciences South Westphalia has five locations and nine departments. It is an integral part of the university landscape in North Rhine-Westphalia with 11,937 students spread over 72 degree programs (as of 12/01/2021).

Funded by...

The project is funded by the Competitive Sports Funding of the Federal Institute for Sports Science (BISp). Based on the decree of the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI), the BISp has the responsibility to initiate, promote and coordinate research tasks that contribute to the fulfillment of the tasks incumbent upon the Federal Ministry of the Interior in the field of elite sports.

Willibald Gebhardt Institut:

As the "International Institute for Research and Knowledge Transfer in Sport Sciences", the WGI is interested in contributing its findings to the scientific discourse. The WGI supports various development and funding projects with the aim of "promoting and cultivating the human and social foundations of sport". In addition to other "settings" of everyday sporting life, the WGI's work also focuses on competitive sport. Founded in 1992, the institute supports the CULTurn project in order to promote transfer at DTB level and across associations.