Author(s): BRUCE-MARTIN, C., CAPLAN, N., Institution: NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY, Country: UNITED KINGDOM, Abstract-ID: 758

Introduction
Transformational leadership (TFL) is central to understanding the psychology of effective coaching, influencing athlete motivation, satisfaction, performance and focus. However, most studies have relied on single-method, cross-sectional designs that fail to capture the complex coach (as the) leader and athlete relationship. This research applied an explicitly psychology based mixed methods design to examine how TFL behaviours relate to athlete basic psychological needs and attentional focus within the context of tennis coaching. The aim was to advance methodological and theoretical understanding through integrated and reflexive mixed methods of enquiry.
Methods
A three-phase exploratory sequential mixed-methods design was employed. Phase 1 involved a systematic analytical review of 47 studies mapping transformational leadership in sport and identifying conceptual fragmentation and methodological imbalance. Phase 2 comprised semi-structured interviews with 20 experienced tennis coaches, analysed reflexively to examine how transformational leadership is enacted in practice, highlighting relational authenticity, self-awareness and contextual adaptability as core psychological mechanisms. Phase 3 employed a quantitative survey of 422 tennis athletes using validated instruments (DTLI, BNSSS, MAAS), with correlation, ANOVA and mediation analyses testing relationships between perceived coach leadership behaviours, athlete need satisfaction and attentional focus. Integration across phases informed instrument selection, interpretation of quantitative relationships, and development of an emergent psychological framework.
Results
Integration across phases demonstrated complementary evidence of transformational leadership processes. The review established limited methodological diversity in existing work. Qualitative findings revealed how psychological awareness and emotional regulation underpin the enactment of transformational behaviours in practice. Quantitative results showed significant positive correlations between perceived coach TFL and athlete need satisfaction (r ~ 0.45) and attentional focus (r ~ 0.22). Inspirational motivation and appropriate role modelling emerged as the most influential subscales.
Conclusion
This multistage mixed-methods investigation provides the first fully integrated psychological analysis of TFL within a single sport context. By combining systematic, qualitative and quantitative perspectives, it advances understanding of how leadership behaviours influence athlete well-being and how these behaviours are psychologically enacted in coaching practice. The study proposes a four-phase “transformational pathway” (awareness, authenticity, alignment, action) linking mixed-methods evidence to applied coach development, leadership education and athlete support, enabling a flourishing coach-athlete leadership relationship.
1. Bass (1985), 2. Bazeley (2018), 3. Creswell (2014), 5. Jowett et al. (2019)