The Role of Management Skills in the Selection of Management Model by Sports Managers

Background. Despite the research being accomplished so far, there is no clear answer to the question that "Do management skills have effect in the selection of management model by sports managers". Objective(s). The present study aims to investigate the effect of technical, human, perceptual, and political skills on the selection of managerial model by sports managers. Methods. This is a descriptive-correlational study conducted using a survey method. The statistical population of the study comprised 405 managers of sport organizations, including managers of general directorate, sports departments, and other organs of Isfahan, of whom 199 individuals were selected with stratified random sampling as the statistical sample through Cochran's sample size formula. The Bass Management Model (1996) and Management Skills of Nazari (2015) were used as the instruments and their face and content validity and reliability were confirmed (0.91, α = 0.89). Results. Based on the results of this research, among management skills, managers' perceptual skills can predict power and explain changes in management styles of managers and can explain 39% of the variance of the managers' management styles. Based on Friedman's test, prioritization of the dimensions of management skills from the managers' point of view indicates that the perceptual skills (3.9) and political skills (2.1) respectively account for the highest and the lowest rank among the studied dimensions. Conclusion. Understanding the general problems of the organization helps managers to be more careful in selecting their styles and choosing the best management model. Although technical knowledge and human and political skills play a significant role, perceptual skills have the most effective role.