Developing players for athlete leadership groups in professional football teams: Qualitative insights from head coaches and athlete leaders

Abstract

Athlete leadership groups (ALGs) are a widely used yet under researched approach to leadership in professional sports teams. Athlete Leadership Groups (ALGs) represent a shared athlete leadership model whereby a small group of players are selected as athlete leaders and appointed to a formal ‘leadership group’ (i.e., an ALG) that shares team leadership responsibilities with the coach. Although athlete leadership has been linked to improved team outcomes, inadequately trained athlete leaders can have a detrimental effect on team functioning and performance. The aim of this study was to provide coach and athlete leader’s perceptions of the development opportunities that have been afforded to players to prepare them for their role in an ALG. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 head coaches and 14 players from leadership groups drawn from 17 teams across four professional football leagues (i.e., Super Rugby, National Rugby League, A League and Australian Football League) in Australia and New Zealand. Results illustrate that athlete leaders benefit from developing enhanced understanding of leadership as a multidimensional relational process, recognising various leadership styles, preferences, and how to leverage their influence with teammates. However, it is evident this theoretical knowledge alone is insufficient to equip players for a professional team ALG role. Players need opportunities to practice their developing leadership skills in authentic and appropriately challenging situations with support and facilitation. Findings point to the importance of systematic, individually tailored leadership development that includes scaffolded, structured experiential learning and meaningful interactions with other successful high-performance leaders. Further, this study reinforces the value of guided reflective practice in leadership development and how this process can enhance learning and transfer from leadership development initiatives. Finally, this study adds weight to calls from other researchers for coaches to be consistently intentional in employing leadership development strategies.