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Women in Sport Leadership and the Psychology of Becoming
AUTHOR:
Eli Waxler
Women in sport leadership are often discussed in terms of representation, equity, and access, with many conversations focusing appropriately on barriers that have historically limited participation within positions of authority and influence. While these discussions remain important, representation may also shape something more psychologically fundamental than opportunity alone, since the visibility of leadership within a given environment can influence how individuals understand the relationship between identity, aspiration, and future possibility.
Positive psychology has long distinguished between hedonic and eudaimonic approaches to flourishing, with eudaimonic perspectives emphasizing not simply the experience of positive emotion, but the ongoing realization of one’s capacities, values, and sense of self (Ryan & Deci, 2001). From this perspective, flourishing involves more than achievement or external markers of success because individuals tend to experience greater wellbeing when their pursuits feel personally meaningful and aligned with deeply held aspects of identity. Importantly, however, this process of becoming does not unfold in isolation, as individuals develop their understanding of who they can become partly through the social worlds they inhabit and the examples of success, authority, and belonging that remain visible within those environments over time.
Sport settings may be particularly influential in this regard because leadership roles occupy highly visible and socially meaningful positions within the culture of participation itself. Coaches, administrators, and organizational leaders do more than structure training or oversee performance outcomes, since they also function as reference points through which athletes and developing professionals interpret what leadership looks like, how authority is expressed, and who appears to belong within positions of influence. Representation in sport leadership may therefore shape more than organizational diversity alone, as it may also influence the psychological conditions under which individuals pursue meaningful and authentic forms of development.
Eudaimonic Flourishing and Possible Selves
Eudaimonic approaches to wellbeing generally emphasize that flourishing depends partly on whether individuals are able to pursue goals and activities that feel congruent with their values, identities, and capacities for growth (Ryff, 1989; Waterman, 1993). Rather than defining wellbeing exclusively through satisfaction or pleasure, these perspectives focus more heavily on authenticity, self-realization, and the development of meaningful forms of engagement across important life domains. Within this framework, the process of becoming oneself involves not only personal reflection or motivation, but also the ability to envision certain futures as both attainable and psychologically coherent.
Research examining possible selves provides an important complement to this perspective by suggesting that individuals are guided partly by future-oriented representations of who they might become (Markus & Nurius, 1986). These possible selves influence motivation and long-term behavior because they shape how individuals interpret opportunity, evaluate progress, and organize effort toward desired futures. Importantly, however, possible selves are not generated entirely internally. They are informed continuously through social observation, cultural expectations, and repeated exposure to visible models within meaningful environments.
Within sport, leadership positions often function as particularly salient reference points because they occupy roles associated with competence, influence, and institutional legitimacy. Over time, repeated exposure to who occupies these positions may contribute to how athletes and aspiring professionals interpret the relationship between leadership and identity itself. When representation broadens, the range of futures that individuals experience as psychologically available may broaden as well, not necessarily because aspirations suddenly emerge where none previously existed, but because certain pathways begin to feel more compatible with one’s existing sense of self and belonging.
Leadership Visibility and Authentic Aspiration
When leadership representation remains relatively narrow over time, some individuals may gradually experience leadership aspirations as psychologically distant from their own identities, not necessarily because such pathways are formally inaccessible, but because the characteristics associated with leadership begin to feel increasingly disconnected from their existing sense of self. Under these conditions, individuals may continue to pursue ambitious goals while simultaneously experiencing subtle forms of tension regarding whether positions of authority can be occupied authentically rather than through ongoing adaptation toward externally reinforced expectations.
This distinction may be important from a eudaimonic perspective because research examining self-concordance consistently suggests that wellbeing and sustained motivation tend to be strengthened when goals align with personally endorsed values and identities (Sheldon & Elliot, 1999). In contrast, goals pursued primarily through external pressure, social compensation, or persistent identity management often produce less stable forms of wellbeing even when achievement occurs. Leadership visibility may therefore function partly by shaping whether individuals experience positions of authority and influence as authentically compatible with who they are, rather than as roles requiring substantial modification of self-presentation or interpersonal style.
Importantly, this process does not imply that individuals require exact identity matching in order to pursue meaningful goals, nor does it suggest that flourishing becomes impossible in environments where representation remains limited. Individuals regularly pursue valued forms of development despite social and structural barriers. However, repeated exposure to broader forms of leadership representation may expand the range of futures individuals experience as psychologically attainable while simultaneously reducing the extent to which aspiration becomes associated with identity conflict or pressures toward performative self-presentation. In this way, representation may influence flourishing not only through opportunity structures themselves, but through its effects on how authentically possible certain forms of development come to feel over time.
Identity Incongruence and the Psychological Cost of Adaptation
Difficulties may emerge when individuals perceive meaningful goals as requiring separation from important aspects of identity, particularly when leadership norms appear tied to narrow expectations regarding communication style, emotional expression, or interpersonal behavior. Under these conditions, achievement may begin to feel contingent upon adaptation toward externally reinforced standards rather than toward personally meaningful forms of self-expression, potentially creating tension between performance and authenticity that persists even when success is achieved.
Research in organizational and social psychology has shown that individuals from underrepresented groups often engage in heightened forms of self-monitoring, impression management, and identity regulation within professional settings (Roberts et al., 2009). These processes may involve modifying patterns of speech, regulating emotional expression, or suppressing aspects of identity in order to maintain perceived legitimacy or social acceptance within existing systems. While such adaptations may support short-term navigation of institutional environments, they may also increase psychological fatigue over time while reducing feelings of authenticity and self-concordance.
From a eudaimonic perspective, these dynamics may matter because flourishing depends partly on whether individuals are able to pursue valued goals without experiencing persistent conflict between aspiration and identity. Representation in leadership may therefore influence not only who enters developmental pathways, but also how psychologically sustainable those pathways feel once pursued. When individuals encounter broader forms of leadership visibility, the perceived distance between achievement and authenticity may narrow, allowing ambition and self-expression to coexist with less ongoing tension.
Representation as a Condition for Flourishing
Viewing representation through a eudaimonic lens slightly reframes many common discussions surrounding women in sport leadership. Representation is often evaluated primarily in terms of fairness, visibility, or organizational outcomes, all of which remain important considerations. However, representation may also function as part of the broader psychological conditions that support authentic striving, self-development, and long-term engagement within sport environments.
When leadership roles reflect broader ranges of identity, communication style, and lived experience, individuals may experience greater freedom to pursue meaningful goals in ways that feel personally coherent rather than performative. Leadership pathways may become easier to imagine without requiring substantial separation between aspiration and authenticity, thereby strengthening the extent to which achievement feels self-concordant rather than identity-incongruent. In this way, representation may support flourishing not simply by expanding access to opportunity, but by expanding the range of futures individuals experience as psychologically available to them.
For coaches, organizations, and sport systems, this perspective may encourage reflection not only on who occupies positions of leadership, but also on what forms of identity and self-expression appear compatible with leadership itself. The question is not solely whether opportunities exist, but whether individuals can realistically envision those opportunities as authentically compatible with who they are.
Conclusion
Positive psychology has long emphasized that flourishing involves more than performance, satisfaction, or external achievement alone, since eudaimonic wellbeing depends partly on whether individuals are able to pursue valued forms of development in ways that feel authentic and self-concordant. Representation in sport leadership may therefore matter not only because it changes who occupies positions of authority, but because it influences the range of futures that individuals experience as psychologically attainable and personally meaningful. Through this lens, visibility becomes more than symbolic. It instead becomes part of the developmental context through which individuals gradually learn who they are allowed to become.
References
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Roberts, L. M., Cha, S. E., Hewlin, P. F., & Settles, I. H. (2009). Bringing the inside out: Enhancing authenticity and positive identity in organizations. In L. M. Roberts & J. E. Dutton (Eds.), Exploring positive identities and organizations: Building a theoretical and research foundation (pp. 149–169). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: a review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141–166. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.141
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