Do Sports Develop Leadership? The Impact of College Varsity Sports on Leadership Capacity and Self-Efficacy

Benjamin P. Correia Harker¹Lindsey M. Clark²Jacob John Capin^2,3*

• ¹Educational Policy and Leadership, Marquette University, Milwaukee, United States
• ²Physical Therapy, Marquette University, Milwaukee, United States
• ³Clinical & Translational Institute of Southeast Wisconsin, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, United States

Introduction: Effective leadership in sports is associated with better team functioning, physical and psychosocial wellbeing, and reduced incidence of severe injuries. Despite widespread anecdotal support, few have empirically evaluated leadership development in athletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate socially responsible leadership capacity and self-efficacy in college varsity athletes and determine the impact of competitive sports participation on leadership capacity and self-efficacy. We hypothesized that college varsity athletes would 1) exhibit greater leadership capacity and self-efficacy than nonathletes and 2) demonstrate greater growth in leadership capacity and self-efficacy than nonathletes. Methods: The Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership was distributed to a representative sample of United States college students in 2018. College varsity (intercollegiate) athletes’ and nonathletes’ leadership outcomes were compared using the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale and Leader Self-Efficacy. The Socially Responsible Leadership Scale has an omnibus score and six subscales: self-awareness, personal responsibility, integrity, collaboration, open-mindedness, and civic engagement. T-tests were used to compare levels of the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale and Leader Self-Efficacy in athletes versus nonathletes; hierarchical multiple linear regressions for each leadership outcome were conducted with and without leadership high-impact practices. Results: There were 50,653 participants including 8,447 college varsity athletes (age 20.3±1.5 years, 56.2% women) and 42,206 nonathletes (age 20.2±1.5 years, 65.9% women). While athletes reported statistically higher self-awareness and Leader Self-Efficacy and lower integrity and open-mindedness compared with their nonathlete peers, all comparisons had trivial effect sizes (all Cohen’s d < 0.02; range: -0.067 to 0.159). There were no differences in personal responsibility, collaboration, civic engagement, and the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale omnibus. In regression models with and without leadership high-impact practices, athlete status explained only 0.1% or less of the variance in each leadership outcome. Discussion: Findings from this large sample of college athletes and nonathletes (n=50,653) challenge widely held notions regarding sports and leadership, suggesting that competitive sports alone may not develop leadership capacity or self-efficacy. While sports provide opportunities for leadership high-impact practices, athletes may benefit from additional resources to develop leadership skills inside and outside of sport.