SHN4263 - Leadership in Sport - Creating a High Performance Environment

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

1 - Understand and explain key leadership theories and styles relevant to the sport industry—including transformational, transactional, and servant leadership—by creating digital artefacts (e.g., infographic or narrated video) that communicate their impact on developing high-performing environments;
2 - Describe the role of leadership in fostering team cohesion and performance, through digital storytelling and multimedia tools including the ability to motivate, communicate effectively, and build trust within a sporting context;
3 - Demonstrate the ability to apply leadership strategies to real-world scenarios in sport, recognizing how different leadership approaches influence team dynamics, culture, and outcomes in high-performance settings. Draw on the understanding gained from other programme modules and apply this within a chosen sporting organisation;
4 - Reflect on the characteristics and behaviors of successful sport leaders, reflecting on their personal leadership style and identifying areas for growth in order to contribute to high-performing teams; and,
5 - Demonstrate the principles of good leadership in the professional challenge / placement.

Content:

This module introduces you to leadership theories and practices within the context of sports. It explores the characteristics of effective leadership, team dynamics, and strategies for fostering a high-performance culture. You will learn about motivation, communication, and decision-making processes crucial to leading successful sports teams. The module also examines case studies of prominent sports leaders and their approaches to building winning teams. Through practical exercises and reflections, students develop their leadership skills, preparing them to create and sustain high-performing environments in various sports settings.

Learning and Teaching Information:

This module will use a combination of lectures and seminars to support your learning and academic development. Lectures will introduce core concepts, theories, and frameworks, providing a solid foundation for understanding the subject matter. These sessions will allow you to gain a broad overview of key topics and prepare you for deeper exploration in smaller settings.

Seminars will complement the lectures by offering an interactive environment for discussion and analysis. These sessions will focus on applying the concepts learned in lectures through group discussions, case studies, and problem-solving activities. They will provide an opportunity for you to engage more deeply with the material, ask questions, and receive feedback from both peers and instructors.

By combining lectures with seminars, the module aims to balance structured learning with active engagement, helping you develop both theoretical knowledge and practical critical thinking skills. This approach caters to different learning styles and encourages a deeper understanding of the content.

Lectures
Hours: 20
Intended Group Size: Cohort

Seminars
Hours: 30
Intended Group Size: Max 30

Guided independent study
Hours: 250



Further Details Relating to Assessment

Task 001:
Digital portfolio: In today's digitally driven world, developing digital proficiency is crucial for future leaders in sports who aim to build and sustain high-performing cultures. This assessment brief is designed to help students explore the intersections between sport, leadership theory and leadership in practice while developing their digital skills. It provides an opportunity to harness digital tools to describe, present and communicate insights about leadership in sport and the cultivation of high-performance cultures.

- Task 1: Apply leadership theories to analyse a real-world example of a high-performing sports team or organization. Create a video that analyses the organisation against different leadership theories and identifies the strategies and practices that contributed to the success of the selected case study.
- Task 2: Create an infographic that highlights the leadership qualities of a particular leader in your chosen sport.
- Task 3: Use Microsoft Designer to create the image of a perfect leader in a high performing sports environment, write a 500 word justification with academic literature to support your image.

A formative opportunity will be offered for task 001. This will take the form of a 1-1 meeting with your module team. Students will be given the chance to present their portfolio to gain feedback and have a discussion about the written content with their tutor.

Task 002:
Complete a two-week ‘employer challenge’ and/or an optional two-week placement, supporting students working towards graduate-level employment. Completion confirmed by attendance and engagement with the professional challenge or feedback from your placement host. Students undertaking a placement will be required to adhere to the sign off process with the Careers and Placements team.

Task 003:
This assessment brings together key learnings from first-year modules, including the sporting sector, marketing, leadership, and finance in sport. It is designed to encourage students to critically reflect on their academic and personal development throughout the year and apply their knowledge to career planning.

You will produce a reflective report (1,000 words) analysing your first-year academic journey. With guidance from the university's careers and placements team, students will develop a career plan tailored to their interests and aspirations within the sports industry based on their first year reflections. This will include:
- An overview of a specific career or sector of interest that have developed as a result of the modules in the first year.
- Identification of key skills and qualifications required for the roles associated with the areas of interest.
- A gap analysis of their current skills versus industry requirements.
- A short-term action plan, outlining steps for your second year that will help you to achieve your career goals.



Assessment across this module is designed to actively develop students’ digital skills, including the ability to create multimedia content (e.g., video, infographics), use AI tools responsibly, and communicate insights effectively through digital platforms. These skills are essential for engaging with the evolving demands of the global sport industry and for enhancing professional readiness in a digitally driven world.

Please note that the professional challenge / placement is an LTU requirement.

Assessment:

Fact File

Module Coordinator - PRS_CODE=
Level - 4
Credit Value - 30
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered -

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