IMPACT OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN IT

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

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 Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................3

1.1 Background............................................................................................................................3

2.0 Literature review........................................................................................................................5

3.0 Research aim and objective.......................................................................................................8

4.0 Methodology..............................................................................................................................8

5.0 Ethical consideration.................................................................................................................9

6.0 Research Limitation.................................................................................................................10

7.0 Reference List..........................................................................................................................11

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1.0 Introduction

In today's fast-paced technological world, effective project management is very necessary for
companies to be successful. The knowledge, understanding, and management skills of project
managers are vital to the successful conclusion of information technology initiatives. In recent
years, transformational leadership has emerged as a prominent philosophy of leadership and a
prevalent method of leadership practise.

1.1 Background

IT projects are considered successful if they are finished on schedule, remain within their allotted
budget, and achieve the objectives they set out to do. A transformative leader possesses
characteristics such as foresight, inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and compassion for each
individual follower. Leaders that have the ability to change their teams create in their employees
the confidence and determination to go above and beyond what is expected of them. They inspire
their workers to be creative, instill in them a sense of purpose in the work they do, and create
possibilities for advancement. James MacGregor Burns put forward the notion of
transformational leadership, which centres on the leader's capacity to influence their followers
for the better by appealing to their deeper motivations. Using their charm, intellectual
stimulation, individualised consideration, and clear vision, transformational leaders are said to
inspire their people to do more than they ever thought possible.

A successful management of an information technology project is dependent on a variety of

elements including project planning, communication, risk management, participation of
stakeholders, and technical skill. It has been determined that transformational leadership is one
of the key factors that can have a favourable influence on the results of a project (Doan et al,
2020). The members of the team that they manage are inspired and motivated thanks to the
transformational leaders who have created a common vision and feeling of purpose. This has the
potential to result in increased levels of motivation and commitment to the project goals among
the workforce. Teams who are motivated and dedicated are more likely to devote effort above
and above what is required, successfully overcome obstacles, and keep a positive attitude

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throughout the lifespan of the project. Transformational leaders are those that cultivate a climate
of communication that is both open and encouraging.

In this setting, people of the team feel encouraged to express their ideas, concerns, and
comments. Leaders have the ability to encourage information sharing, problem-solving, and the
development of consensus via the promotion of active discussion and cooperation. Increased
team cohesiveness, better project coordination, and fewer misunderstandings are all outcomes of
effective communication and cooperation, which contribute to these outcomes. The members of
the team that they manage are encouraged to think creatively and innovatively by
transformational leaders. In order to generate new ways to problem-solving and to promote
intellectual stimulation, leaders need to challenge the status quo. This ultimately results in the
development of innovative solutions (Abu-Rumman, 2021). When applied to the management of
information technology projects, this can lead to the creation of innovative techniques,
technologies, or process changes that are ultimately responsible for the successful completion of
the project. Transformational leaders make it a priority to invest in their team members'
professional progress by offering mentorship, training, and other possibilities for advancement.
Leaders provide their teams the ability to acquire new abilities, take responsibility of their work,
and make independent decisions through delegating authority to specific persons and
encouraging a culture of continual learning.

This can contribute to better levels of job satisfaction, higher levels of knowledge, and an overall
improvement in the execution of the project. It is vital to recognise and handle any issues and
concerns in the use of transformational leadership within IT project management. Despite the
fact that transformational leadership may have various potential benefits, this may also present
challenges. Some of these may include a resistance to change, the demand of an organisational
culture that is supportive, the capability of striking a balance between individualised
consideration and project objectives, and the requirement of leadership succession planning.

The influence of transformational leadership on the management of information technology

projects is an attractive field of research that has the potential to improve both the success of the
project and the performance of the team. Organisations are able to design strategies to capitalise
on the good effects that this type of leadership has on project results if they first have an
awareness of the possible advantages, obstacles, and concerns connected with this leadership

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style. This study proposal is to investigate the influence that transformational leadership has on
the management of information technology projects, with the goal of offering useful insights for
academic scholars as well as professionals working in the field.

2.0 Literature review

Sl No. Author Year Title

1 Farea 2021 “The Impact of

Transformational Leadership
Factors on Project Progress
and which Factor has
Significant Influence and
Great Contribution towards
Project Success”

2 Doan, Nguyen, and Nguyen 2020 “Emotional intelligence and

project success: The roles of
transformational leadership
and organizational
commitment”

3 Zaman, Nawaz, and Nadeem 2020 “Navigating innovation

success through projects.
Role of CEO
transformational leadership,
project management best
practices, and project
management technology
quotient”

4 Park and Pierce 2020 “Impacts of transformational

leadership on turnover
intention of child welfare
workers”

5 Abu-Rumman 2021 “Transformational

leadership and human
capital within the disruptive
business environment of
academia”

6 Manzoor, Wei, Nurunnabi, M., 2019 “The impact of

Subhan, Shah, S.I.A and transformational leadership
Fallatah on job performance and CSR

5
 as mediator in SMEs”

7 Afsar, Masood, and Umrani
2019 “The role of job crafting and
knowledge sharing on the
effect of transformational
leadership on innovative
work behavior”

8 Carreiro and Oliveira 2019 “Impact of transformational

leadership on the diffusion
of innovation in firms:
Application to mobile cloud
computing”

9 Shafi, Lei, Song, and Sarker 2020 “The effects of

transformational leadership
on employee creativity:
Moderating role of intrinsic
motivation”

10 Al-Husseini, El Beltagi and 2021 “Transformational

Moizer leadership and innovation:
the mediating role of
knowledge sharing amongst
higher education faculty”

Table 1: List of journals

(Source: Self-created)

Source Themes

1 Theme A: Transformational leadership

Theme B: Organizational outcomes and behaviours

2 Theme C: Organisational commitment

Theme D: Enhancement of employee outcomes

3 Theme E: Updation and innovation

Theme F: Sharing knowledge

4 Theme C: Organisational commitment

Theme D: Enhancement of employee outcomes

5 Theme A: Transformational leadership

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 Theme B: Organizational outcomes and behaviours

6 Theme C: Organisational commitment

Theme D: Enhancement of employee outcomes

7 Theme A: Transformational leadership

Theme B: Organizational outcomes and behaviours

8 Theme E: Updation and innovation

Theme F: Sharing knowledge

9 Theme A: Transformational leadership

Theme B: Organizational outcomes and behaviours

10 Theme E: Updation and innovation

Theme F: Sharing knowledge

Table 2: Theme Identification

(Source: self-created)

Themes CS1 CS2 CS3 CS4 CS5 CS6 CS7 CS8 CS9 CS10

Table 3: Comparison of Case study themes

(Source: Self-created)

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3.0 Research aim and objective

The purpose of this research is on how transformational leadership affects the success of IT
projects.

The objectives are,

● The purpose of this study is to investigate how different aspects of transformational
leadership, such as employee engagement, empowerment, and vision setting, affect the
success of IT projects.
● By examining the relationships between transformational leadership and project
outcomes like performance, stakeholder satisfaction, and on-time, under-budget
completion, we can identify the most crucial aspects of this style of management.
● The purpose of this study is to better understand the mechanisms at play between
transformational leadership and IT project success by examining the mediating or
moderating role of other variables like emotional intelligence, organisational
commitment, job crafting, imparting knowledge, and intrinsic motivation.

4.0 Methodology

The papers cited in the proposal will be analysed using a systematic literature review technique.
By using a systematic literature review method, we can be confident that the available literature
on the effects of transformational leadership in IT project management will be thoroughly and
objectively analysed (Mengist et al, 2020).

Articles from credible databases like Google Scholar and specialised management, leadership,
and IT project management publications will be identified using a methodical search process.
Searches will use phrases like "transformational leadership," "IT project management," "success
factors," and similar topics. In order to cover up-to-date studies, the search will be limited to
publications from 2019 to 2023.

Each article will be evaluated against a set of standards for acceptance or rejection. Articles
submitted should examine the effect that transformational leadership has on IT project
management, and include either empirical data or theoretical insights to back up their claims.

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Non-relevant or studies that focus on other types of leadership will not be considered. Articles
written in other languages won't be accepted.

Information such as authors, publication year, study aims, methodology, variables studied, and
important findings will be recorded as part of the data extraction process. To guarantee
uniformity in data gathering, a data extraction form will be developed. The collected information
will be analysed to reveal patterns and themes about the effect of transformational leadership on
IT project management.

The chosen articles will be evaluated based on their quality to determine their reliability and
accuracy (Kraus et al, 2020). The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist is one
example of a standardised quality evaluation instrument that will be used to evaluate the articles'
methodology. This evaluation will aid in establishing the validity and trustworthiness of the
research considered.

In order to offer a thorough overview of the effect of transformational leadership in IT project

management, the results of the chosen papers will be synthesised. Employee participation,
empowerment, vision setting, emotional intelligence, organisational commitment, job crafting,
knowledge transfer, and intrinsic motivation will all be highlighted in the summary as crucial
elements of transformational leadership that impact project success. Researchers and
practitioners in the field of IT project management will benefit from the clear and
straightforward reporting of the study's findings.

5.0 Ethical consideration

1. Since there is no need to contact with human subjects in a systematic literature review,
informed permission is not required. It is essential, however, to abide by copyright
regulations and give credit where credit is due for the articles that are included.
Researchers should treat the papers carefully, keeping the material to themselves until the
study is complete.
2. When extracting and reporting data, it is important to ensure that the authors' names
remain concealed at all times. Academic honesty is essential for researchers, and they

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 must never plagiarise their work. All sources included in the literature review should be
properly cited and attributed according to standard reference requirements.
3. Researchers should approach the literature review objectively, taking into account papers
from a wide range of sources and points of view. This involves removing any potential
bias from the selection or interpretation of the papers, such as conflicts of interest.
Methodology, data analysis, and reporting should all be done openly and accurately to
ensure trustworthiness of the research. It is important to examine and admit any potential
biases or limits of the review process (Yong et al, 2020). Researchers should read up on
the research ethical rules established by their organisation or association.
4. Researchers should check for conformity with these principles at every stage of the
literature review process, since they may give explicit requirements or suggestions about
ethical behaviour in research.

6.0 Research Limitation

There may be flaws in this work, despite its careful analytical and systematic literature review
approach. Examples of these constraints are:

● The publications on which the analysis is based may suffer from publication bias since
researchers are more eager to share encouraging findings. The results and conclusions
may be skewed as a result of this bias.
● Because the literature may be tailored to a certain industry, organisation, or culture, it is
possible that the study's conclusions cannot be universally applied to all IT project
management settings. This investigation will take into account a wide variety of studies
in an effort to overcome this restriction.
● The study relies on previously published works, the quality, depth, and breadth of which
may differ (Gualtieri et al, 2021). The strength of the literature review's findings hinges
on the credibility of the research used to build them.
● Primary data collection from participating organisations or people is not part of this
study. Therefore, original data collecting may be needed to provide depth and context to
the findings.

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7.0 Reference List

Farea, M.M., 2021. The Impact of Transformational Leadership Factors on Project Progress and
which Factor has Significant Influence and Great Contribution towards Project Success.
Management.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mazen-Farea/publication/355861499_The_Impact_of_Tran
sformational_Leadership_Factors_on_Project_Progress_and_which_Factor_has_Significant_Infl
uence_and_Great_Contribution_towards_Project_Success/links/6183a38f0be8ec17a96b890a/
The-Impact-of-Transformational-Leadership-Factors-on-Project-Progress-and-which-Factor-has-
Significant-Influence-and-Great-Contribution-towards-Project-Success.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://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0857/0c78110bf7835d8843ed2d908d2134e09e39.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/pdf

Park, T. and Pierce, B., 2020. Impacts of transformational leadership on turnover intention of
child welfare workers. Children and Youth Services Review, 108, p.104624. https://e-
tarjome.com/storage/panel/fileuploads/2020-02-03/1580720749_E14308-e-tarjome.pdf

Abu-Rumman, A., 2021. Transformational leadership and human capital within the disruptive
business environment of academia. World Journal on Educational Technology: Current Issues,
13(2), pp.178-187. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1299258.pdf

Manzoor, F., Wei, L., Nurunnabi, M., Subhan, Q.A., Shah, S.I.A. and Fallatah, S., 2019. The
impact of transformational leadership on job performance and CSR as mediator in SMEs.
Sustainability, 11(2), p.436. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/2/436/pdf

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Afsar, B., Masood, M. and Umrani, W.A., 2019. The role of job crafting and knowledge sharing
on the effect of transformational leadership on innovative work behavior. Personnel Review,
48(5), pp.1186-1208. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/PR-04-2018-0133

Carreiro, H. and Oliveira, T., 2019. Impact of transformational leadership on the diffusion of
innovation in firms: Application to mobile cloud computing. Computers in Industry, 107,
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Shafi, M., Lei, Z., Song, X. and Sarker, M.N.I., 2020. The effects of transformational leadership
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1029313218305530

Al-Husseini, S., El Beltagi, I. and Moizer, J., 2021. Transformational leadership and innovation:
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https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10026.1/13686/Transformational%20Leadership
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Mengist, W., Soromessa, T. and Legese, G., 2020. Method for conducting systematic literature
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221501611930353X

Kraus, S., Breier, M. and Dasí-Rodríguez, S., 2020. The art of crafting a systematic literature
review in entrepreneurship research. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal,
16, pp.1023-1042. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11365-020-00635-4

Yong, J.Y., Yusliza, M.Y. and Fawehinmi, O.O., 2020. Green human resource management: A
systematic literature review from 2007 to 2019. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 27(7),
pp.2005-2027. https://e-tarjome.com/storage/panel/fileuploads/2019-08-
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Gualtieri, L., Rauch, E. and Vidoni, R., 2021. Emerging research fields in safety and ergonomics
in industrial collaborative robotics: A systematic literature review. Robotics and Computer-

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