LEADERSHIP / 005 [WHO ARE THE REAL LEADERS IN YOUR TEAM?]

Question
Does leadership in a team change during the season?

Study
Researchers followed 460 players from 20 semi professional men's football teams in Belgium. Players rated each other's leadership twice: at the end of preseason in July and before the winter break in November.

Findings
Leadership became more shared as the season went on. Players without an official role were seen as stronger leaders in all four roles. Captains stayed the same. Coaches were rated lower as leaders on the field, in motivation and in team atmosphere, but higher in representing the team to the outside. In teams where players had been together longer, this shift toward shared leadership seemed stronger. Growth in shared leadership went together with better team functioning.

What It Means for Athletes
Leaders emerge during the season. The captain chosen in summer is not automatically the leader the team follows in winter. This study followed teams over time but had no comparison group, so it shows a pattern, not proof of cause.

Try this: don't check leadership only at the start of the season. Halfway through, ask the team again who leads in each role, and adjust responsibilities if needed.

Source
Mertens, N., Boen, F., Steffens, N. K., Haslam, S. A., & Fransen, K. (2021). Will the real leaders please stand up? The emergence of shared leadership in semi-professional soccer teams. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 24, pp. 281 to 290.

BEHIND THE SCIENCE
Translating sports science into information athletes can actually use.