Leading for multidimensional sport employee well-being: the role of servant leadership and teamwork

• Published in: Sport management review Vol. 25; no. 5; pp. 748 - 770
• Main Authors: Swanson, Steve, Todd, Samuel, Inoue, Yuhei, Welty Peachey, Jon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 20.10.2022
• Subjects: Leadership; life satisfaction; physical health; servant leadership; teamwork; well-being
• ISSN: 1441-3523; 1839-2083
• DOI: 10.1080/14413523.2021.2014225

The personal well-being of sport industry employees has received little attention in the literature. The current investigation addresses this gap by developing a hypothesized model of servant leadership for well-being, positing that such an approach can shape psychological, social, and physical outcomes in the sport workplace. As servant leadership is known to create an environment where employees are awakened, engaged, and developed, this approach is positioned as a key influencer of employee well-being in the sport context. Using data from 489 employees working in professional sports, structural equation modeling analyses indicated servant leadership is predictive of employee life satisfaction and teamwork, with the latter mediating servant leadership's influence on both life satisfaction and physical health. A holistic approach to leadership for multidimensional well-being is henceforth proposed along with management implications for creating environments where sport employees can thrive both inside and outside the workplace. Servant leadership facilitates psychological, social, and physical well-being. Servant leadership is predictive of employee life satisfaction and teamwork. Employee teamwork emerged as an important mediating factor in this context. The relative strength of servant leadership is assessed across well-being dimensions. A holistic approach to leadership for multidimensional well-being is proposed.