What Kind of Student Leads? A Social Network Perspective on Leader Emergence in Student Group Projects

Abstract

With the increase in teamwork within organizations, interest in the impact of leader behavior on group performance has surged. Yet, research on how people learn to work in teams is lacking. The thesis addresses this gap in the literature by examining what kind of student leads by looking at both individual characteristics and perception of teammates. This research analyzes data on students’ characteristics and team member perceptions collected at multiple time periods from undergraduate students across three courses participating in group projects. Using social network analytic techniques, I was interested in determining how different individual traits such as personality, past experience, and attitudes toward teamwork predict leadership emergence, as measured by leadership network centrality scores, and change in network centrality over time. This research contributes to a better understanding of student leaders so we can prepare students improve relevant leadership skills in the workplace.