The Relationship between Servant Leadership and Athlete Satisfaction

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between servant leadership and satisfaction of female student athletes at Iranian universities of medical sciences. In terms of purpose, the study is an applied research that adopted a descriptive-correlational method. The population of the study consisted of all female athletes of basketball and volleyball teams in League-One of Iranian universities of medical sciences in 2013 (N=232). The data were collected using a personal data sheet, Organizational Leadership Assessment for Sport Teams ) Laub, 1999) and Athlete satisfaction questionnaire (Chelladurai & Riemer, 1997). Both descriptive and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient, simple and multiple regressions) were used to analyze the data. The results showed a significant positive correlation between servant leadership and athlete satisfaction (P < 0.01, r=0.70). The results of regression analysis revealed that servant leadership style could account for and predict a certain percent of athlete satisfaction variance. In sum, one may conclude that servant leadership can increase athlete satisfaction. Thus, considering the invaluable role of athlete satisfaction in team performance, it needs to be paid special attention by both coaches and athletes in team sports.