Leading from within: The impact of athlete leaders on their teammates’ confidence and performance

This presentation includes two experimental studies that examined the impact of athlete leaders’ confidence on their teammates’ confidence and performance. Study 1 included 102 male basketball players, whereas Study 2 included 144 male soccer players. In both studies, players participated in groups of four under the guidance of a team leader (a confederate). In order to manipulate the leader’s team confidence, the appointed athlete leader of each newly formed team (i.e., the confederate) expressed either high or low team confidence. In Study 2, a neutral experimental condition was added. The results of both studies revealed an effect of team confidence contagion such that team members had greater confidence in the team when the leader expressed high (rather than low) confidence in the team’s success. Second, in line with the Social Identity Approach to leadership (Haslam, Reicher, & Platow, 2011), structural equation modeling demonstrated that this effect was partially mediated by team players’ increased team identification. Third, a significant interaction effect indicated that when the leader expressed high (versus low) team confidence, team members’ performance increased (versus decreased) during the test. Athlete leaders thus have the capacity to create a team confidence contagion within their team in both positive and negative ways. The present studies went beyond mere description and sought to explain the underlying mechanisms through which this contagion occurs. In doing so, the findings highlighted that leaders’ team confidence can be transferred to the confidence of team members, by strengthening members’ connection to the team and by facilitating efficacious team behaviors. More particularly, by showing that leaders believe in ‘us’, leaders are able not only to make ‘us’ a psychological reality but also to transform ‘us’ into an effective operational unit. It is by such means that teams of champions can become champion teams.status: publishe