Peer Leadership in Sport: Relationships among Personal Characteristics, Leader Behaviors, and Team Outcomes

The purpose of this study was to examine peer leadership in sport using transformational leadership theory as a framework. We extended research (Glenn & Horn, 1993 Glenn, S. D. and Horn, T. S. 1993. Psychological and personal predictors of leadership behavior in female soccer athletes. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 5: 17–34. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]; Moran & Weiss, 2006 Moran, M. M. and Weiss, M. R. 2006. Peer Leadership in sport: Links with friendship, peer acceptance, psychological characteristics, and athletic ability. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 2: 97–113. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) by examining relationships among personal characteristics, peer leadership behaviors, and team outcomes. Adolescent female soccer players (N = 191) completed measures assessing personal, leadership, and team constructs. Canonical correlation analyses revealed that (a) peer leaders were characterized by higher perceived soccer competence, peer acceptance, behavioral conduct, and intrinsic motivation; and (b) effective peer leadership was associated with players who reported greater task and social cohesion and collective efficacy.