“The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say "I." And that's not because they have trained themselves not to say "I." They don't think "I." They think "we"; they think "team." They understand their job to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don't sidestep it, but "we" gets the credit. This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done.”
Peter F. Drucker
What is it that distinguishes successful leaders from others? How come that some organisational leaders succeed in creating a well-oiled team, where the target profit is obtained and colleagues enjoy coming to work, whereas other leaders are confronted with disappointing losses, burnouts, and job losses? The same question arises on the sport ground. How come that some coaches succeed in shaping a team in which players would always go that extra mile for each other, while other coaches have various world star players, but do not succeed in joining their forces?
Recent research, both within organisational and sport contexts, points to the talent of leaders to cultivate a strong team identity — a shared sense of 'we' and 'us' — in their team. Good leaders (whether it is the CEO, the manager, the coach or the leaders within the team) succeed in making their team members think, feel, and behave as members of one team (as 'we' and 'us'), rather than as a group of individuals (as 'me' and 'you'). This sense of 'we' and 'us', in scientific terms referred to as a joint social identity, leads team members to go beyond what is strictly expected from them to help each other and their team. After all, these highly identifying team members perceive the success of their team as a personal success. Moreover, by cultivating this team identity, both formal leaders and leaders within the team create a leverage to foster the team's effectiveness and their resilience as a team, as well as team members' satisfaction and well-being.
“The ratio of We's to I's is the best indicator of the development of a team.”
To guide formal leaders on the one hand, and the leaders within the team on the other hand in cultivating and strengthening this joint team identity, we developed two programs; the 5R Program solely focuses on the cultivation on this joint team identity, whereas our all-in 5RS Program starts with implementing a structure of shared leadership and then combines the strengths of both the formal leader and the leaders within the team to strengthen that sense of 'we' and 'us'.
Read more about our studies related to this topic:
Measuring leadership in sport: Development and validation of the Identity Leadership Inventory – Youth (ILI-Y)
Butalia, R., Miller, A., Steffens, N. K., Haslam, S. A., Bruner, M. W., McLaren, C. D., Boen, F., Slater, M. J., Dunn, K., & Fransen, K. (2024). Measuring leadership in sport: Development and validation of the Identity Leadership Inventory – Youth (ILI-Y). Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 73, Article 102630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2024.102630
Unlocking the power of ‘us’: Longitudinal evidence that identity leadership predicts team functioning and athlete well-being
Fransen, K., Boen, F., Haslam, S. A., McLaren, C. D., Mertens, N., Steffens, N. K., & Bruner, M. W. (2022). Unlocking the power of ‘us’: Longitudinal evidence that identity leadership predicts team functioning and athlete well-being. Journal of Sports Sciences, 40(24), 2768-2783. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2023.2193005
Leading the way together: A cluster randomised controlled trial of the 5R Shared Leadership Program in older adult walking groups
Fransen, K., Cruwys, T., Haslam, C., Iserbyt, P., Seghers, J., Vanderlinden, J., Van Uffelen, J. G. Z., Verbaanderd, E., & Boen, F. (2022). Leading the way together: A cluster randomised controlled trial of the 5R Shared Leadership Program in older adult walking groups. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 19, 63. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-022-01297-x
Identity leadership and social identification within sport teams over a season: A social network analysis.
Bruner, M.W., McLaren, C.D., Mertens, N., Steffens, N.K., Boen, F., McKenzie, L., Haslam, S.A., Fransen, K. (2022). Identity leadership and social identification within sport teams over a season: A social network analysis. Psychology Of Sport And Exercise, 59, Art.No. 102106. doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2021.102106
When the final whistle blows: Social identity pathways support mental health and life satisfaction after retirement from competitive sport.
Haslam, C., Lam, B. C. P., Yang, J., Steffens, N. K., Haslam, S. A., Cruwys, T., Boen, F., Mertens, N., Brandt, K. D., Wang, X., & Fransen, K. (2021). When the final whistle blows: Social identity pathways support mental health and life satisfaction after retirement from competitive sport. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 57, 102049. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2021.102049
Harnessing the power of ‘us’: A randomized wait-list controlled trial of the 5R Shared Leadership Development Program (5RS) in basketball teams
Mertens, N., Boen, F., Haslam, S. A., Steffens, N. K., Bruner, M. W., Barker, J., Slater, M., & Fransen, K. (2021). Harnessing the power of ‘us’: A randomized wait-list controlled trial of the 5R Shared Leadership Development Program (5RS) in basketball teams. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 54, 101936. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2021.101936
Leading together towards a stronger ‘us’: An experimental test of the effectiveness of the 5R Shared Leadership Program in basketball teams.
Mertens, N., Boen, F., Steffens, N. K., Cotterill, S. T., Haslam, S. A., & Fransen, K. (2020). Leading together towards a stronger ‘us’: An experimental test of the effectiveness of the 5R Shared Leadership Program in basketball teams. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 23(8), 770-775. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2020.01.010
The power of empowerment: Predictors and benefits of shared leadership in organizations
Edelmann, C., Boen, F., & Fransen, K. (2020). The power of empowerment: Predictors and benefits of shared leadership in organizations. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 582894. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.582894
The impact of identity leadership on performance and well-being in team sport: Is psychological safety the missing link?
Fransen, K., McEwan, D., & Sarkar, M. (2020). The impact of identity leadership on performance and well-being in team sport: Is psychological safety the missing link? Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 51, 101763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101763
All for us and us for all: Introducing the 5R Shared Leadership Program
Fransen, K., Haslam, S. A., Steffens, N. K., Mallett, C. J., Peters, K., Mertens, N., & Boen, F. (2020). All for us and us for all: Introducing the 5R Shared Leadership Program. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 51, 101762. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101762
Making ‘us’ better: High-quality athlete leadership relates to health and burnout in professional Australian football teams.
Fransen, K., Haslam, S. A., Steffens, N. K., Mallett, C., Peters, K., & Boen, F. (2020). Making ‘us’ better: High-quality athlete leadership relates to health and burnout in professional Australian football teams. European Journal of Sport Science, 20(7), 953–963. doi: 10.1080/17461391.2019.1680736
We will be champions: Leaders' confidence in 'us' inspires team members' team confidence and performance.
Fransen, K., Steffens, N. K., Haslam, S. A., Vanbeselaere, N., Vande Broek, G., & Boen, F. (2016). We will be champions: Leaders' confidence in 'us' inspires team members' team confidence and performance. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 26(12), 1455–1469. doi:10.1111/sms.12603
Leading from the top or leading from within? A comparison between coaches' and athletes' leadership as predictors of team identification, team confidence, and team cohesion.
Fransen, K., Decroos, S., Vande Broek, G., & Boen, F. (2016). Leading from the top or leading from within? A comparison between coaches' and athletes' leadership as predictors of team identification, team confidence, and team cohesion. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 11(6), 757–771. doi:10.1177/1747954116676102
When do elite cyclists go the extra mile? Team identification mediates the relationship between perceived leadership qualities of the captain and social laboring.
De Cuyper, B., Boen, F., Van Beirendonck, C., Vanbeselaere, N., & Fransen, K. (2016). When do elite cyclists go the extra mile? Team identification mediates the relationship between perceived leadership qualities of the captain and social laboring. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 47(4), 355-372. doi:10.7352/IJSP 2016.47
Believing in us: Exploring leaders’ capacity to enhance team confidence and performance by building a sense of shared social identity.
Fransen, K., Haslam, S. A., Steffens, N. K., Vanbeselaere, N., De Cuyper, B., & Boen, F. (2015). Believing in us: Exploring leaders’ capacity to enhance team confidence and performance by building a sense of shared social identity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 21(1), 89-100. doi:10.1037/xap0000033
The myth of the team captain as principal leader: Extending the athlete leadership classification within sport teams.
Fransen, K., Vanbeselaere, N., De Cuyper, B., Vande Broek, G., & Boen, F. (2014). The myth of the team captain as principal leader: Extending the athlete leadership classification within sport teams. Journal of Sports Sciences, 32(14), 1389-1397. doi:10.1080/02640414.2014.891291
The impact of athlete leaders on team members’ team outcome confidence: A test of mediation by team identification and collective efficacy.
Fransen, K., Coffee, P., Vanbeselaere, N., Slater, M., De Cuyper, B., & Boen, F. (2014). The impact of athlete leaders on team members’ team outcome confidence: A test of mediation by team identification and collective efficacy. The Sport Psychologist, 28(4), 347-360. doi:10.1123/tsp.2013-0141