An Empirical Study on Project Manager's Leadership Behavioral Practices Impacting Project Success - The Australian Construction Sector

An Empirical Study on Project Manager's Leadership Behavioral Practices Impacting Project Success - The Australian Construction Sector

The study aims to bridge the gap for an in-depth empirical analysis by investigating the project managers’ leadership behavioral practices, helping practitioners tackle unique challenges in the Australian construction sector. A quantitative approach was employed using a survey questionnaire to collect responses from (66) project managers/leaders. Exploratory factors/multivariate regression has identified four key success factors: (1) Relationship Management, (2) Leading by Example, (3) Self-Management, and (4) Interpersonal Sensitivity and thirteen contributing leadership practices, emphasizing inclusiveness, relationship-building, self-feedback objectivity, sharing information, and controlling emotions that significantly impact project success. Synthesizing information indicated transformational, transactional, and authentic styles of leadership practices and an inclination to adopt innovative behaviors promoting positive change for achieving project success. Besides, the study found remarkable differences in the project leadership practices from those extracted from global research studies, suggesting future investigation. The study’s results addressed the challenges experienced in the construction industry: delays and inefficiencies, supply chain management, communication barriers with a multicultural workforce, stringent government regulatory and safety compliance, infrastructure demands, skills shortages, sustainability, organization culture, and new technology adoption. It will significantly contribute to the body of knowledge by generating valuable insights and perspectives for a deeper understanding of construction-related practices for the practitioners.