Elite High-Level Sport Coach and the School Leader: What Can We Learn from Them?

The authors’ sporting backgrounds and the increasing uptake of coaching-leadership principles informed our investigation into the experiences of school leaders who had previous elite sports coaching experience. Our primary research question focused on what we can learn from school leaders with previous elite high-level sports coaching experience to guide leadership development programs. We conducted qualitative interviews with seven participants and analyzed the data using a theme-based approach. The findings demonstrated that participants had many specific traits, skills, and dispositions that facilitated their leadership including high levels of self-efficacy, and they embraced a performance development approach. The study identified some potential areas to include in leadership development, including the incorporation of more experiential practice opportunities into leadership programs.