Examining the benefits of athlete leaders in sport

The present qualitative study investigated the benefits of having formal and informal athlete leaders on sport teams. The participants (N = 104) included athletes from three interactive team sports (i. e., basketball, hockey, volleyball). Using open-ended questionnaires, participants were asked to indicate what constitutes an ideal number of formal and informal athlete leaders on a team, and based on this ideal, the benefits of athlete leaders. The athletes indicated that leadership should be widespread among teammates, such that 85% of a team's roster should be comprised of athlete leaders. In particular, 19% of a roster should be occupied by formal athlete leaders, while the remaining 66% by athletes occupying an informal leadership role within the team. Further, the results found that having athlete leaders on a team influenced a variety of group dynamic constructs, including team member attributes (e.g., increased resources), team structure (e.g., enhanced role clarity), cohesion, team processes (e.g., better communication), individual outcomes (e.g., more satisfied), team outcomes (e.g., performance is enhanced), and leadership behaviors (e.g., both transactional and transformational behaviors exhibited). The results are discussed in terms of how athlete leaders impact the team environment.
Leadership is viewed as an important component for team success (Weinberg & McDermott, 2002). Effective leadership can propel groups in new directions and promote change towards achieving its objective (Bennis [...]