The effects of an authentic coaching intervention on athlete outcomes: A pilot randomised controlled trial

Objectives: Authentic leadership has been found to be related to promising outcomes in sport. However, no intervention designed to increase coaches' authentic leadership exists. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate such an intervention. Design: The study was a pilot randomised controlled trial. We used a mixed design with Group (Intervention, Control) as between- and Time (pre, post) as within-participants factors. Method: A total of 18 coaches (M_age = 37.89; 83% males) and their athletes (N = 153; M_age = 20.48; 50.3% females) were randomly allocated, via block randomisation, into either an intervention (coaches n = 9, athletes n = 90) or a control group (coaches n = 9, athletes n = 63). The coaches in the intervention group received a 2-h-long workshop and completed weekly coaching logs. Data were collected via questionnaires, which were administered to both the coaches and their athletes prior to the workshop and two months after the workshop. Results: The results revealed that the intervention group reported higher authentic leadership compared to the control group. A mixed-design analysis of variance indicated that athletes in the intervention group reported significantly higher enjoyment and prosocial behaviour from pre- to post-intervention compared to the control group. Conclusions: The findings suggest that an authentic coaching intervention can be effective in improving coaches' authentic behaviours and promoting positive athlete outcomes.