Examining effective technology project leadership traits and behaviors

摘要

Effective project team leadership theory is explored from the perspective of leader traits, skills, roles, and behaviors. Existing leadership traits and behaviors are examined from organization science empirical studies, they are differentiated from management functions, and the gap between extant theory and the project management domain is highlighted through this research. Leadership principles are examined from actual organizational work settings, specifically dynamic projects, with a view to discovering what actually happens as compared with espoused theory. The underlying research question is whether these theories hold up and can be effectively integrated to the project management domain. The significance of leadership behavior differences at the project and organizational levels is grounded on empirical evidence. The reflection of integrated organizational science and project leadership theory using qualitative and quantitative research methods contributes to the body of knowledge by sharing and learning in professional and academic communities of practice.Design/methodology/approach. Contemporary and alternative trait-based leadership theories are discussed, such as task/relationship orientations, emotionality maturity, Leadership Virtual Reality, Level 5 Leader Trait Hierarchy, charisma, emotional maturity, and personality traits are discussed. Multiple theories and typologies such as Managerial Roles, Leadership Roles Model, and Competing Values Framework, as well as the Meta-Category Leadership Taxonomy are explained using models, diagrams, and matrices. Theoretically sampled case studies are analyzed using several typologies to explore leadership behavior and traits across leaders in different projects and organizations. Participant assessments and 360° peer reviews are triangulated with qualitative and quantitative statistical measures to test hypotheses and analyze correlation between leader skills, traits, and behaviors across their projects.Findings and research value. This research identified a gap between extant organizational leadership theory and applied leadership behavior in effective projects. The preliminary results are surprising in a few cases but they generally support the proposition that effective leadership behaviors in any context are partly explained by leader traits, skills, and personality. The most unusual finding was these projects actually show that leadership principles from management science are not universally applicable (observable) in effective and efficient projects – instead the project leaders exhibited self-management theory and applied specific leader behaviors according to the situation. These findings, albeit on a small statistical scale of global significance, are a catalyst for continued and broader reflective leadership research using case study methods and hypotheses replication with these constructs.