LEADERSHIP IN

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

1
 Table of content

Introduction......................................................................................................................................3

Summary..........................................................................................................................................3

Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10

Reference list.................................................................................................................................12

2
Introduction

The project of any business organisation is a vital part of their business and it is important for all

the participative team members to fully concentrate on the success of the project and complete it

on time. The overall success of any project depends on the capability of the project leaders and

their adaptability to new technologies and changing business environments. Leaders are

responsible for controlling the direction of the project and monitoring the progress of projects.

Therefore leaders of a project need to involve effective skills and measures so that they can

ensure the success of the project. In this study, 10 articles will be reviewed that have discussed

the roles and responsibilities of project leaders and also evaluate their attributes that can impact

their relationships with other team members. The articles have assessed the role of emotional

intelligence that can impact the performance of the leaders and their bonding with other

colleagues and employees. Evaluation of these articles can help in understanding the role of

transformational leaders as this leadership style can allow leaders to apply innovative

technologies and adopt best practices that can encourage their employees to get involved with

project activities in an active manner.

Summary

Theme Analysis

Adapting transformational leadership style Transformational leadership style is an

innovative leadership approach that inspires

and encourages employees to be involved

3
with the organisational activities. The

leadership approach is widely known and

practiced by many renowned leaders to

generate effective results (Zaman et al.2020).

The article has analysed the best practices of

transformational leadership as it encourages

employees to follow the vision of their

leaders. One of the important responsibilities

of a CEO is to navigate employees towards

the common objectives of the organisation

and it has been seen that transformational

leadership style has made significant changes

in the value and culture of organization. On

the other hand, the application of the

leadership style has also helped in forming

emotional relationships with employees that

are important for the successful completion of

projects. Possessing emotional intelligence

will help leaders to form an effective working

environment that can assist in achieving the

highest productivity in the organisation. The

transformational leadership style is capable of

using emotional intelligence in the desired

4
 way that will allow project leaders to fill the

gap between internal emotions and external

behaviour (DOAN et al. 2020). It has been

also seen that CTL (CEO transformational

leadership) is effective in managing cross-

functional teams. As per the opinion of Zaman

et al.(2020), it is also helpful in forming a

learning environment and imposing

innovation that can create tools and

frameworks to support innovation. However,

multiple failures have been witnessed recently

such as the failure of Amazon Fire phone,

Apple's Newton that shows despite involving

transformational leadership strategy in the

management and delivering new products to

customers, organisations have failed to satisfy

the needs of customers. Therefore, involving

new technologies is not only enough for

organisations but also to conduct projects with

an effective leadership style that can maintain

the success rate of projects.

Impact of emotional intelligence Managing human factors is the vital duty of

project managers as it can impact the success

5
of a project. Emotional intelligence is an

integral part of project success and it is as

important as the technical skills of employees.

It has been seen that emotional quotient (EQ)

has helped in recognising the nonintellectual

abilities and competencies that affect the

ability of managers and pressure them to work

as per the demand of organisation (Afzal et

al. 2018). On the other hand, project leaders

need to possess human interpersonal

characteristics that can enable them to bond

with their subordinates that will ultimately

impact the working environment of the

organisation. However, it is important to note

that a humble trait of leadership must not be

confused with the servant leadership style.

There are specific traits in the humble

leadership style and it is a unique approach

based on the three elements as behaviour,

process, and outcome. Leaders that possess

the style can accept their mistakes and also

provide psychological freedom to their

subordinates that will keep them engaging

6
 with the organisational activities (Ali et al.

2020). Emotional intelligence can positively

impact the outcome of a project as high

emotional intelligence can inspire teammates

to become committed to the work and

increase the efficiency of the project. There

are four groups in emotional intelligence as

Self Emotional Appraisal (SEA), Others

Emotional Appraisal (OEA), Regulation Of

Emotions (ROE), and Use Of Emotions

(UOE). The authoritative management of an

organization needs to build emotional

relationships with its employees. Leaders need

to develop a capability that will help in

mitigating the conflict among the employees

so that the productivity of organisation can be

maintained. Transformational leadership can

enable project leaders to develop emotional

quotients that will help in completing the

project successfully.

Influence of project manager skills and The skills and capabilities of leaders are the

capability on the success of the project most important factor that can influence the

success rate of a project. The personality of

7
the project leaders can determine the success

of the project. Application of Big five

personality traits can help leaders to gain clear

knowledge about their characteristics and

improve it as per the requirement of the

project. The five traits are agreeableness,

neuroticism, openness, extraversion, and

conscientiousness. On the other hand, the

transformational leadership style can act as a

mediator between the project success and the

big five personality test. It has been seen that

extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness

have a positive impact on transformational

leadership but agreeableness can positively or

negatively impact the practice of

transformational leadership style (Hassan et

al. 2017). The involvement of a

multidisciplinary approach can help project

managers to develop a practical way that can

help achieve the goal of organisation. It has

been seen that good analytical judgment,

winning attitude and excellent communication

skills can enable project leaders to gain

8
 success in the project. It is the responsibility

of leaders to manage different tasks and

challenges in the task and deliver guidance to

the employees by forming a collaborative

working environment (Mazzetto, 2019). On

the other hand, there is a linkage between

entrepreneurial leadership and knowledge

management and it can significantly influence

the project success, while knowledge

management directly impacts the project

success, entrepreneurial leadership can

indirectly affect the project success (Latif et

al. 2020).

Impact of the trustful relationship between Leaders are responsible for forming trustful

the project manager and employees relationships with their employees as it can

help in forming a suitable working

environment that can enhance the productivity

of organisation. Therefore leaders must treat

their employees equally and motivate them so

that they can actively participate in the project

work. However, the silent treatment of leaders

can impact the success of a project as it does

not allow employees to bond with leaders

9
(Zhu et al. 2019). The silent treatment can

affect the trust between employees and leaders

and also develop fear among the workers

about the higher management that is not good

for the success of any project development

and also disable employees to contribute

effectively in the project success. Team

leaders of project management can get

negatively associated with team members'

defensive and pro-social silence. Therefore

breaking silence is an important task for

project leaders as it can be beneficial for the

success of a project. The silent behaviour of

team leaders can impact the project's success

as colleagues and employees of the project

can be intimidated by the higher authority and

do not feel free to express their opinion and

view about the progress of the project. Project

leaders are required to involve frequent

meetings that can improve the quality of

communication and breathe barriers between

leaders and followers. Lowering the

undesirable silence treatment and involving

10
 knowledge integration is critical for the

success of the project.

Role of psychological empowerment Leaders need to empower their team members

and motivate them so that they could get

attached to the organisational activities and

deliver their opinion that can impact the

success of the project. Soft skills are an

important aspect for leaders as it has been

seen that lack of emotional intelligence and

self-esteem can cause the failure of a project.

On the other hand, leaders need to develop

effective communication and listening skills

that can allow employees to share their

opinions without any hesitation.

Transformational leadership style can

significantly impact the success rate of

projects as the leadership style has enabled

leaders to involve innovation and new ideas in

the project by getting the consent of

employees. On the other hand,

transformational leadership is also associated

with operational efficiency that can

significantly impact the project's success.

11
Organisation is responsible for recruiting

relevant project managers for tier-specific

projects so that they can deliver effective

results (Ahmed and Abdullahi, 2017). On the

other hand, the implementation of innovation

in the project can also help in attaining

sustainability. However, incorporation of a

transactional leadership style can also help in

attaining success in the case of construction

projects. The transactional leadership style

will help in achieving innovative performance

by encouraging employees with regard and

incentive programs. The transactional

leadership style is mainly perfect for

construction programs as it enables leaders to

use limited resources effectively and complete

the project within the time limit (Zheng et al.

2017). Irrespective of the leadership style, it is

essential for leaders to transfer knowledge

from each other that can help in completing

projects

12
Conclusion

From the aforementioned study, it can be concluded that leaders are responsible for completing

projects within limited time and resources. The organisation needs to include leaders as per their

skills so that it can increase the success rate of projects. It has been seen that soft skills are

equally important for leaders as hard skills enable them to bond with employees and encourage

them to complete the tasks in a limited amount of time. Transformational leadership style is one

of the desired leadership styles that can allow project leaders to increase the success rate of

projects. The leadership style has allowed project managers to include innovative ideas and

encourages followers to be actively involved with the project. On the other hand, emotional

intelligence is also important for leaders as it can show support to the employees and help to

form bonds with others. Effective bonds between employees and management can develop a

suitable working environment that can minimize fear and motivate employees. High emotional

intelligence can allow teammates to actively participate in organisational activities. The skills

and capabilities of leaders can influence the success rate of projects and project leaders need to

identify the skills by applying the Big five personality traits. The test can help in generating clear

ideas about personal skills and enable them to work on areas that need improvement. On the

other hand, the application of a multidisciplinary approach can help in improving the judgment

skills and winning attitude that ultimately increase the success rate of a project. However, leaders

are required to avoid silent treatment with their employees so that they can freely share their

views. Silence treatment can cause the development of fear among the employees that also give

rise to hesitation to share their views and ultimately impact the quality of the project. On the

other hand, the transactional leadership style can also generate successful projects and it is

especially effective for construction projects where it is essential to use limited resources and

13
deliver complete projects within a limited amount of time. Transactional leaders can also

motivate employees by providing them with reward and incentive programs. Transformational

leadership and operational efficiency can influence the success rate, therefore; organisations need

to make balance within it. Organizations need to hire relevant project managers that hold specific

quality to complete the project and assess the operational strength to apply actions according to

it.

14
Reference list

Afzal, A., Khan, M.M. and Mujtaba, B.G., (2018). The impact of project managers'

competencies, emotional intelligence, and transformational leadership on project success

in the information technology sector. Маркетинг і менеджмент інновацій, (2), pp.142-

154. file:///C:/Users/AVIJIT/Downloads/Mimi_2018_2_14.pdf

Ahmed, S. and Abdullahi, A.M., (2017). Leadership and project success in the development

sector. Journal of Economics & Management, 30, pp.5-19.

http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/element/bwmeta1.element.cejsh-429bab42-bd2c-4c08-962b-

7d273307b8e7

Ali, M., Zhang, L., Shah, S.J., Khan, S., and Shah, A.M., (2020). Impact of humble leadership on

project success: The mediating role of psychological empowerment and innovative work

behavior. Leadership & Organization Development Journal.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ali-

Mudassar/publication/340635527_Impact_of_humble_leadership_on_project_success_th

e_mediating_role_of_psychological_empowerment_and_innovative_work_behavior/link

s/60156f7a299bf1b33e359fd8/Impact-of-humble-leadership-on-project-success-the-

mediating-role-of-psychological-empowerment-and-innovative-work-behavior.pdf

DOAN, T.T.T., NGUYEN, L.C.T. and NGUYEN, T.D.N., (2020). Emotional intelligence and

project success: The roles of transformational leadership and organizational

commitment. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics, and Business, 7(3), pp.223-233.

https://www.koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO202014862061615.pdf

Hassan, M.M., Bashir, S. and Abbas, S.M., (2017). The impact of project managers’ personality

on project success in NGOs: The mediating role of transformational leadership. Project

15
 Management Journal, 48(2), pp.74-87. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Muhammad-

Hassan-60/publication/314116139_The_Impact_of_Project_Managers

%27_Personality_on_Project_Success_in_NGOs_The_Mediating_Role_of_Transformati

onal_Leadership/links/59d35f284585150177f9438e/The-Impact-of-Project-Managers-

Personality-on-Project-Success-in-NGOs-The-Mediating-Role-of-Transformational-

Leadership.pdf

Latif, K.F., Nazeer, A., Shahzad, F., Ullah, M., Imranullah, M. and Sahibzada, U.F., (2020).

Impact of entrepreneurial leadership on project success: mediating role of knowledge

management processes. Leadership & Organization Development Journal.

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/LODJ-07-2019-0323/full/html

Mazzetto, S., (2019). A practical, multidisciplinary approach for assessing leadership in project

management education. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Silvia-

Mazzetto/publication/330855299_A_practical_multidisciplinary_approach_for_assessing

_leadership_in_project_management_education/links/5ce6b5c6458515712ebc9c4b/A-

practical-multidisciplinary-approach-for-assessing-leadership-in-project-management-

education.pdf

Zaman, U., Nawaz, S. and Nadeem, R.D., (2020). Navigating Innovation Success through

Projects. Role of CEO Transformational Leadership, Project Management Best Practices,

and Project Management Technology Quotient. Journal of Open Innovation:

Technology, Market, and Complexity, 6(4), p.168. https://www.mdpi.com/2199-

8531/6/4/168

16
Zheng, J., Wu, G. and Xie, H., (2017). Impacts of leadership on project-based organizational

innovation performance: The mediator of knowledge sharing and moderator of social

capital. Sustainability, 9(10), p.1893. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/10/1893

Zhu, F., Wang, L., Yu, M., Müller, R. and Sun, X., (2019). Transformational leadership and

project team members’ silence: the mediating role of feeling trusted. International

Journal of Managing Projects in Business. https://biopen.bi.no/bi-

xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2633640/Muller_TransfLeadership-Silence_AM.pdf?

sequence=1&isAllowed=y

17