Leading together towards a stronger 'us': An experimental test of the effectiveness of the 5R Shared Leadership Program (5R S ) in basketball teams.

Objectives: Leadership has been suggested to be a key factor in gaining a competitive advantage as a team, with shared leadership being a better predictor of team functioning than vertical leadership. Although the benefits of shared leadership are well-documented, evidence about how to implement a shared leadership structure remains sparse. This leaves coaches with three key challenges: (1) identifying the best leaders; (2) defining what roles those leaders should fulfill; and (3) developing their leadership skills. Solutions to these challenges have been proposed in the 5R Shared Leadership Program (5R ^S ) - a leadership development program that seeks to implement an effective structure of shared leadership within sports teams.
Design: To test the effectiveness of 5R ^S program, we conducted an experimental-comparison group intervention in which eight national-level basketball teams (N = 96) completed a questionnaire at two points in time (i.e., pre- and posttest). The teams in the intervention condition completed the 5R ^S program, in which we identified the leadership structure in their teams (through Shared Leadership Mapping), appointed the best leaders in their leadership role, and then developed their identity leadership skills.
Results: The results revealed that the 5R ^S program was successful in strengthening athlete leaders' identity leadership skills, and as a result also team members' identification with their team. Furthermore, in contrast to athletes in the comparison condition, athletes in the 5R ^S condition were able to maintain their levels of intrinsic motivation and commitment to team goals, while also reporting improved well-being.
Conclusions: The present study provides encouraging evidence that, by implementing a structure of shared leadership and by promoting athlete leaders' identity leadership skills, the 5R ^S program is able to improve the team's functioning and the well-being of its members.
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