Team Readiness as a Leadership Capability: A Study of Military Students

Abstract

Team readiness represents an important concept in contemporary research on management and leadership, particularly within organizations operating in complex, dynamic, and high-risk environments. Increasing demands for adaptability, flexibility, and effective decision-making under conditions of uncertainty underscore the importance of team-oriented competencies. Although leadership development has been extensively studied, relatively limited attention has been devoted to the empirical assessment of team readiness as a multidimensional managerial competence, especially within the context of military education. This paper addresses this gap by examining team readiness through Belbin’s Team Role Theory among first-year students at the University of Defence in the Czech Republic. Team readiness is conceptualized as a multidimensional leadership-related competence encompassing the ability to understand team roles, effectively perform them, adapt to changing situational conditions, and actively contribute to collective performance within a structured organizational environment. The analysis further identifies gender differences in the distribution of team roles. After applying the Benjamini–Hochberg correction for multiple comparisons, statistically significant differences remained for the Resource Investigator role (BH-FDR p = 0.045) and the Monitor Evaluator role (BH-FDR p < 0.001). These roles exhibit a complementary character and may contribute to enhanced team effectiveness and improved decision-making quality. The study contributes to the discussion on leadership development and team competencies by providing empirical evidence regarding the composition of team roles within the military education environment. At the same time, it extends the application of Belbin’s model in the fields of leadership and governance and offers practical implications for the systematic preparation of future leaders in organizations operating under demanding and uncertain conditions. The research is based on a quantitative research design and utilizes data collected through the standardized Belbin Team Role Inventory. The research sample consists of more than one hundred students, with each respondent assessed across eight Belbin team roles (excluding the Specialist role). This approach enables an analysis of how individual behavioural predispositions influence team functioning. The most frequently identified dominant role was Shaper, followed by Implementer, while Teamworker also achieved relatively high scores. The highest mean scores were recorded for the Shaper role (M = 11.34) and the Implementer role (M = 10.46), whereas the lowest mean score was observed for the Plant role (M = 7.21). These findings suggest that students are oriented toward structured task management, responsibility, and the maintenance of team cohesion. Conversely, the lower representation of the Plant role points to a limited emphasis on creativity, which may reflect an institutional environment that prioritizes discipline, standardization, and collective performance.