LEADERSHIP IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

“Relationship between leadership styles and project success in the South Africa
construction industry”

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND GOVERNANCE, ATENEO DE DAVAO

UNIVERSITY
CODE: 11-128: IGNATIAN LEADERSHIP FOR MANAGERS AND
ENTREPRENEURS
ROAWIE QUIMBA
July 2, 2021
 This article presents a review of literature relating to leadership styles in the construction
industry, with the specific aim of identifying the best suited leadership style practices and project
success in South Africa. The research objective was necessitated because of the vital role of
leadership in achieving organizational goals and the promotion of individual professional’s
achievement. The study explores leadership and leadership styles in the construction industry
and it further highlight’s the theoretical literature with regard to leadership.
Leadership is one of the most important and essential factors in project and construction
management. Leadership can be seen as the art of influencing others to achieve desired results.
According to Walker [1] Leadership is defined as the manner in which the project managers and
construction managers conduct themselves in their role, in order to obtain the best performance
from the people they are managing. Leaders guide behaviors by setting the vision, direction and
the key processes; in other words, leadership has a large influence on the whole project process,
including the actions of others.
Since, construction and project managers in the construction industry are responsible for
the productivity of the project members; they should maintain cohesion in the project. Hence,
they should be leaders who can motivate and inspire construction workers within the given
projects. This is because leadership is considered to be good if it is designed to accomplish the
goal or mission of an organization which is done through project team leading and project time
managing, within budget, to a high quality, and with a satisfied customer. In construction,
leadership is even more essential Munns and Bjeimi [2] emphasize that the success or failure of
project management is highly dependent on the project leaders. The construction process
includes planning, organizing, leading and controlling, also known as the four basic management
functions. Project managers and construction managers should possess these functions in order to
successfully manage construction projects. And leadership styles have to do with how people
interact with those they seek to lead.
In this article they simply emphasize the six leadership style that can be suited and
somehow useful in the construction industry.
 Transactional Leadership, also known as managerial leadership, focuses on the
role of supervision, organization, and group performance. Leaders who
implement this style focus on specific tasks and use rewards and punishments to
motivate followers. Transactional leadership is often used in business not just in
construction industry when employees are successful, they are rewarded; when
they fail, they are reprimanded or punished. It is the “telling style”.
 Charismatic Leadership is defined by a leader who uses his or her
communication skills, persuasiveness, and charm to influence others. Charismatic
leadership emphasizes influencing a group or organization to make the world a
better place.
 Transformational leadership to which leaders encourage, inspire and motivate
employees to innovate and create change that will help grow and shape the future
success of the company. Transformational is a “selling” style.
  Democratic Leadership is based on mutual respect. It is often combined with
participatory leadership because it requires collaboration between leaders and the
people they guide.
 Laissez-faire leadership is based on trust. People who enjoy a wide degree of
latitude in making decisions and working on projects autonomously are often
most comfortable with laissez-faire leaders. The short version of laissez-faire
leadership: Do what you want as long as you get the job done right.
 Authoritarian leadership is the opposite of the Laissez-Faire leadership and
Democratic leadership. The autocratic leadership process generally entails one
person making all strategic decisions for subordinates
Through to this six style of leadership a management can choose on what style of
leadership they should practice. I find it so interesting specially in the terms of teamwork. You
can’t have achieved a goal without teamwork and the term reward. As reality check you are love
to work especially when you are highly appreciated and properly compensated. Leadership had
a huge impact on the success of each project. Project success may be determined if the project is
done on time and within the budget and the leadership they practice. According to Jarad [3], the
team is equally important for project success. The collaboration within the team and the
performance of each individual team member as well as the performance of the team as one unit
are critical factors for project success. Without a performing team it is difficult to secure project
success, and for a leader to have a performing team, the leaders have to ignite the fire of
performance and set boundaries within the team for it to function. In addition, leading a project
towards success requires the manager to get the work done by the team members efficiently and
effectively. The entire process requires the leader to have a clear vision, clarity in reasoning,
practical in scheduling and the ability to attract a talented and efficient team. This, together with
the application of a leadership styles brings about project success. This paper examined the
leadership styles of project leaders in the construction industry and literature revealed that certain
styles are effective based on the given moment or situation within the project.
To this end, leadership has been widely covered in management/ business school,
however, little attention has been given to managerial and leadership behavior or styles of
leaders in the construction industry. However, for the construction industry and for the managers
to be effective they must be able to identify and apply the necessary leadership style suitable for
the given situation. Moreover, they should be able to adapt to changes and sometimes
contradictory circumstances in which they need to show versatility and flexibility.
[1] Walker, A. Project Management in Construction, 3rd Ed., Blackwell science, 1996.
[2] Munns A. K., & Bjeirmi B.F., 1996. The role of project management in achieving
project success’
[3] Jarad, G.H. (2012). ‘The construction manager leading characteristics for the success of
construction projects in the Gaza Strip’ Master's Thesis, The Islamic university of Gaza.