Leadership in Project Management: A Literature Review

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Table of Content

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 s

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

Focused Literature Review - Summary of Articles....................................................................4

Conclusion................................................................................................................................13

References................................................................................................................................15

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 Introduction

Leadership and Management, these two terms are frequently used interchangeably in

daily contexts, but there lies a notable distinction between them – leadership is relationship

by which a leader influences the follower’s behaviour, whereas management is the

administration of public undertakings or business concerns professionally [ CITATION

Mül09 \l 16393 ]. Projects include within them, an array of components, the primary three of

which are scope, time, and cost. A project manager with developed leadership skills can

manage these components of the project while leading the team efficiently, ensuring

successful achievement of the components and the project simultaneously [ CITATION

Kar09 \l 16393 ].

The present paper aims at conducting a focused literature review of ten articles on the

topic of Leadership in Project Management, utilising Google Scholar as the search engine,

and using the keywords “leadership project management” and “leadership style project

management”. The ten articles have been purposively sampled based on their general

relevance with the topic of the present study. The articles have been scoped keeping in mind

the over-arching theme of the present study, i.e., the correlation between leadership and

project management, what the leadership styles and skills are required for project managers

for success of the project, why there is the need for merging leadership and managerial

attributes, and how can this incorporation be achieved for the purpose of benefit for the

project and the team.

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 Focused Literature Review - Summary of Articles

Author(s)
Purpose/Theme Findings Comments
(Year)
Indicates any Three There are several ways to showcase
possible ways, recommendations the quality of a leader in the
on the Project have been made manager’s leadership manners. The
Management regarding leaders of this age should be more
front, and ways leadership styles flexible and transformational with
of improving and improving full of potential and vision rather
leadership. them as than being rigid and transactional. To
managers. execute a project with efficiency
project manager should calculate the
variability and possibilities of the
Kurzydłowsk
success of their aim. Continues
a (2016)
monitoring of the project is needed
by any project manager with good
management and leadership skills to
avoid delay or chances to get failed
in any project. A project manager
with individualised approach gets the
success most of the time as they
know the potential and merits and
demerits of the team members
(Kurzydłowska, 2016).
Demonstrate the Positive To analyse statistically the
importance of correlations have parameters of a project manager and
leadership skills been found his/her leadership quality in terms of
in project regarding the leadership skills and the project
management by leadership as a success rate several researches had
reviewing and factor for success been done. The performance of the
cross-referencing of the project, for team depends on their coordination,
the literatures. the work ethics and efficiency of
implementation individuals in team and also
Novo et al.
to completion. execution depends on the leadership
(2017)
skills of the project managers (Novo,
et al., 2017). Even it has shown that
if a project manager works in any
project which is new to the manager
and doesn’t fall under the manager’s
area of expertise then a negative
impact works on the team and it
effects the project and its success in
itself.
Toor et al. Demonstrates Authenticity is Managers in times should be able to
(2007) the relationship an important take calculated risk in their decision
between form of making. Open communication with
leadership and leadership that the team can reduce some risks in a
management, by involves being in project which might later on enhance

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 presenting a case a total awareness the speed of a project positively.
for demanding of own self. Future projects of the world in the
and wanting world needs project managers with
more demanding efficiency of leading a project and
roles. leads to the end with the success in
hand (Toor, et al., 2007). Leadership
qualities need constant modification
and change in terms of project
difficulties and variation of
challenges. Leadership styles
sometime suited to the project
management division. Narcissistic
leaders more often concentrate on
their personal goal rather than the
achievement of the team.
Reviewed Literatures Success factors of a project in a
literature based present on organisation highly depends on the
on literature in project success, project managers and their
the context of on leadership management skills. Project managers
project success. styles, have who all are trained in project
ignored the management skills has better idea to
impact that lead a team but several industries
product manager demand different project
can have on management skills hence a manager
product success. with EI should have to have the
Turner & expertise which the particular
Muller (2005) industrialize project requires to full
fill the project demand. Higher
performance is equivalent to the
good leadership skills. Emotional
Intelligence is a skill which
sometimes develops better with
experience and time in a same sector
of organisation and may shape the
person as a better leader with great
management skills (Turner & Muller,
2005).
Coulombe Presents the co- Reinforced the Leadership quality hold a complex
(2015) innovation of value of adaptive dimension at work and helps to keep
many skills of a harmony in between the employee
stakeholders leadership for maintaining a progressive work
related to project project process. Establishing new regulation
management management, and acceptance of the same somehow
involving a case proposing a depends on the project managers and
study presented. model for the power to make people convey the
interactions. company norms and changes and
direct the changes in a positive way
towards the production quantity and
quality. Adaptability for a leader is
very crucial for an organisation

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 (Coulombe, 2015). Service provider
and the benefitted people from a
sector is important to have a multi-
skilled leader for better
understanding the customer needs
and project management.
Attempts to find Affirmative Several leadership styles had some
the presence of results of the commonality in several kind of
any study confirmed industries. Coaching, strategic,
commonality in the hypothesis, laissez-faire, bureaucratic, autocratic
the preference of i.e., leadership and democratic are few leadership
leadership within styles indeed styles. Strategic style is been used in
an industry of impact project healthcare sector and finance sector
project management two different sector which has
management. teams, but little completely several goals to serve
effect based on people in a different way had a
different. common leadership approach style to
contribute in their industry. Gender
Cunningham biasness on choosing of leadership
et al. (2015) styles are there as men prefers
democratic styles whereas women
followed the strategic way to align
any given project to handle or lead
(Cunningham, et al., 2015).
Although there are specific
leadership styles adapted and
developed among different types of
industries which is rigid but
individual of those industries has
their own preferred leadership
qualities that varies among men and
women.
Müller et al. Proposes a The articles have Leadership is a social skill which
(2017) theoretical input combined the varies person to person. Not always
about balanced vertical and leadership term is associated with
leadership by horizontal types only formal managers in a
generating a of leadership to workplace. In recent days leadership
model. come up with a skills are very much needed to
brand-new form, manage and to keep going a steady
the balanced production in an organisation not
readership style. only that a leader with proper
leadership quality a manager can
influence the team and enhance the
production speed to an extend very
soon. Different personal
characteristic can shape a leader to
bring some great leadership quality
in the manager (Müller, et al., 2017).
Virtues like value, moderation and
relationship reflects on a person’s

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 self leading process and also on
interpersonal leadership.
Investigated into Self-awareness, Emotional Intelligence is an
the benefits of self-management important factor, if one has this it
Emotional and open effects on the person and to the
Intelligence in communication organisation. Project heads having EI
project are the keys to can lead the team in a better way and
management and bring out the best generate good performance in the
leadership styles. performance of given target. A person who has open
the employees. communication style and proactive
Sunindijo et leadership tends to have higher EI. In
al. (2007) fact, EI is counted as an important
factor that contributes in one’s
success in an organisation. To
determine the performance of a task
EI works better than IQ (Sunindijo,
et al., 2007). In terms of giving more
effectiveness in a given program EI
is considerate important twice than
that of IQ of the person.
Examines how A conceptual The project managers should have a
transformational model is created collaborative project management
leadership style on the basis of asset to maintain their leadership
impacts project literature review, skills and those qualities are value,
management, in linking various rarity, Imitability and organisation.
enterprises areas of Transformational leadership quality
owned by State transformational of a person when put impact on the
of Abu Dhabi, leadership team positively any difficult task can
UAE. independently be done with an ease. To keep a
with assets of steady foot on global market several
project enterprises are looking forward to be
Nusari et al.
management. managed by project managers
(2018)
(Nusari, et al., 2018). Organisational
effectiveness comes with proper
research and development later on
the aim and execution of skills. As
an independent variable of leadership
skills transformational leadership
qualities always an asset. Being
enthusiastic and articulating a vision
compiling the way of possibilities to
execute the goal is a great quality of
a leader.
Mazzetto Multidisciplinary Proposes a A company depends on their project
(2019) project evaluated practical managers and trusts their leadership
the leadership approach to skill that they would be able to full
skills of project assess leadership fill the required goal and aim of the
managers in skills while company by leading the teams and
charge of many selecting the people working in ground level on a
working groups. project manager. company. If any problem occurs to

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meet the targeted success of a project
initially the project managers are the
primary reporting person for the
team to resolve the issue and move
smoothly towards success without
further obstruction. To guide a team
dedicated to complete a project the
project managers should have
collaboratively better grasp of the
project and educated, knowledgeable
and experienced enough to guide the
members (Mazzetto, 2019).

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 Conclusion

Motivation can be said to be the linkage between leadership and power, whose

absence can affect the project management to a great length. Leadership quality in project

management leaders are being promoted in many working sectors for success of the projects;

experience plays a role in the development of the leadership skills of the project managers.

This in turn also help in better execution of further projects by fostering better

communication within the project team. Better leadership skills are a primary requirement in

every sector for project development execution, despite being differences in different sectors

of the projects. The overarching similarities in leadership skills requirement have been

nurtured in different ways based on the gender of the project manager too, as male and

female managers tend to orient different leadership skills and apply them differently.

Previously, various companies used to train project managers in managerial skills, but in

recent times, emotional intelligence is also stressed upon as part of developing leadership

skills for mitigating any conflict of interest within the team working in a project. Open

communication and interpersonal relationship is now given enough importance for team

dynamics which require adequate leadership skill in a project manager, for achieving the

project goals efficiently. The leaders among different sectors have been observed and

surveyed by their skills and performance, and the result is that their high emotional

intelligence plays greater role in efficient managerial leadership than having more

intelligence quotient.

The present paper aimed at generating a systematic literature review of ten articles

focusing on leadership and project management, to generate common themes among them

apart from the over-arching theme of how relevant leadership, leadership styles and

leadership skills are managers of a project. The articles have focused on several aspects like

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product management skills, leadership skills, the similarities and differences between them,

and how these skills can lead to better execution and completion of product. These articles

which exemplify like case studies, review works, the variety and richness of data may well be

considered to conclude that leadership is integral to management, and every personnel to be

selected as project head should be tested for both their leadership.

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 References

Coulombe, C., 2015. Innovation, Adaptive Leadership and Project Management. Review of

Integrative Business and Economics Research, 4(4), pp. 225-236.

Cunningham, J., Salomone, J. & Wielgus, N., 2015. Project management leadership style: A

team member perspective. International Journal of Global Business, 8(2), pp. 27-54.

Karas, M. S., Raisinghani, M. S. & Webb, K. S., 2009. The Importance of Leadership in

Project Management. In: T. T. Kidd, ed. Handbook of Research on Technology Project

Management, Planning, and Operations. s.l.:IGI Global, pp. 75-85.

Kurzydłowska, A., 2016. Leadership in Project Management. Humanities and Social

Sciences, 21(23), pp. 103-112.

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

management education. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 11(1), pp. 50-65.

Müller, R., 2009. Leadership in Technology Project Management. In: T. T. Kidd, ed.

Handbook of Research on Technology Project Management, Planning, and Operations.

s.l.:IGI Global, pp. 59-74.

Müller, R., Packendorff, J. & Sankaran, S., 2017. Balanced leadership: A new perspective for

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Novo, B., Landis, E. A. & Haley, M. L., 2017. Leadership and Its Role in the Success of

Project Management. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 14(1), pp. 73-78.

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Nusari, M., Al Falasi, M., Ghosh, A. & Isaac, O., 2018. Impact of transformational leadership

on project management assets. International Journal of Management and Human Science

(IJMHS), 2(4), pp. 38-51.

Sunindijo, R. Y., Hadikusumo, B. H. W. & Ogunlana, S., 2007. Emotional Intelligence and

Leadership Styles in Construction Project Management. Journal of Management in

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Toor, S.-u.-R., Ofori, G. & Arain, F. M., 2007. Authentic Leadership Style and its

Implications in Project Management. Business Review, 2(1), pp. 31-55.

Turner, J. R. & Muller, R., 2005. The Project Manager’s Leadership Style as a Success Factor

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