Daring to dream: Leadership practices in Norway’s U20 national football team

Abstract

To examine the success of the U20 Norwegian male national football team of 2019 from a leadership perspective, this thesis considers several success factors that may have helped the team reach the World Cup. It applies the theories of giving behavior, appreciative inquiry and value-based leadership to analyze the leadership practices within the team. Based on semi-structured interviews with 10 interview subjects, including the head coach, players and staff, the authors outline and discuss their findings from the interviews in combination with existing theory. The research identifies four main factors that have been decisive for the team’s success: (1) combining long-term dreams with short-term goals, (2) balancing vertical and horizontal leadership by allowing people to take advantage of their strengths, (3) creating a continuous giving behavior within the group and (4) applying unorthodox approaches to the implementation of values.