User blog comment:ChishioKunrin/Weiss Schnee beneath the surface/@comment-24631732-20140603191714/@comment-3257939-20140603214714

Cardin is the strongest of his team, the voice actresses of RWBY said that Jaune could beat anyone from Team CRDL except for Cardin so that confirms his strength. Also, the other members are not suited for leader since they abandoned Cardin when he was in danger, if they are really that cowards then imagine if they had the authority to choose between the Team and themselves. Cardin seems to have more potential in himself than the rest of his Team and if he tried to be nicer he could be a good leader.

Weiss on the other hand, I think Ozpin gave her the place of teammate because she needs to learn a few things about working together and not being the boss.