رفتارهای هوش هیجانی و رهبری تحول گرای مدیران پروژه ساخت و ساز Emotional intelligence and transformational leadership behaviours of construction project managers

1.0 Introduction The construction industry has been identified as one of the most difficult environments to successfully lead people effectively to achieve organisational success. Despite advances in technology and management, the construction industry remains a people-reliant sector with a significant portion of costs in most projects spent on human resources (Loosemore et al. 2003). People are employed from a wide range of backgrounds and professional cultures, to work in teams to accomplish short-term project goals in varied operating environments. These goals are not necessarily compatible with other projects and the individual’s objectives, making the construction industry a challenging environment in which to lead people effectively and achieve project objectives. The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) (2008) reported a distinct lack of influential leaders in the industry. CIOB (2008) also highlighted clear differences between qualities and capabilities required in leaders in the construction industry compared to leaders in other business sectors. Traditionally, leadership in the industry has centred on power, authority and getting individuals to perform tasks and processes required by the leader and organisation (Spatz 1999, Ofori 2008). The understanding of leadership in construction has evolved beyond task orientation, to focus on the importance of the team members’ performance and project success (Spatz 1999, Ofori 2008). This newly evolved understanding encompasses teamwork built on trust, communication and co-operation, rather than focusing on actions and processes. Prior research highlighted the importance of developing the leadership capabilities of construction project managers that goes beyond technical skills development (Toor and Ofori, 2008). According to Ogulana (2011), construction project success depends on a number of factors that include the competencies of the project leaders, their personalities, characteristics, skills and leadership styles, amongst others. The construction project manager often faces an environment unique to the industry with project challenges, social-political, environmental and legal pressures while providing leadership to manage the people-side of the project and organisation (Muir, 2005). The lack of influential leaders and the prevalence of low productivity within the construction industry when compared to other sectors, suggests the need for better understanding of what is required by the industry in terms of leadership to achieve optimal project and organisational success (CIOB 2008). Various management malfeasances and project failures in the sector have emphasised the need for practical and effective leaders to manage projects and team members effectively, in order to achieve improvement, growth and future success in the construction industry (Ofori 2008).