How do darker personality traits impact the athlete-coach relationship? A study from Nottingham Trent University found that darker personality traits like ruthlessness and manipulative tendencies are more prevalent in athletes competing in individual sports. Coaches who were more narcissistic tended to be less responsive to the needs of athletes, and coaches and athletes with “mismatched” narcissism levels tended to get along better. However, particularly ruthless athletes tended to have less respect for their coach. Overall, while dark triad traits could result in better athletic performance, these traits could undermine the athlete-coach relationship. (Study Finds)
Phone Topic: Did you have a kind or tough coach when you played sports?