Analysis of project managers’ leadership competencies

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the three dimensions of leadership competencies, which refer to the competency school by Dulewicz and Higgs (2003) and impact on project success as well as the moderating influence of project type. Design/methodology/approach The mixed method was used and supported by survey questionnaire and semi-structured interview questionnaire. In total, 102 project managers as well as 11 senior project managers and people supervising project managers assigned to the projects participated in the study. Correlation analysis and regression analysis were performed to understand the relationship between leadership and project success. Findings The results provided empirical support for the influence of project manager’s leadership competencies, as well as their emotional and managerial skills on project success. What is more, the analysis of the results also pointed out that, depending on the type of the project, its success is influenced by other competencies. Research limitations/implications The research results are restricted by several limitations, i.e., the research model does not include the influence of other variables on the project success as well as operationalization methods of leadership and project success are not exhaustive. These limitations create possibilities for further analyses in this area. Practical implications The paper presented guidelines for the project management community concerning the proposals in terms of present management system modifications being about basing them on competencies and their development, as well as self-improvement of project managers. Originality/value The paper refers to the relationship between the leadership of the project manager and the success of the project in different types of projects and highlights how these relationships are formed in transitional economies.