Chapter 4: The effect of project types on leadership styles and project
4.6 Conclusion
This study indicates that the respondents working in the project management domain agree that an appropriate balance between vertical and shared leadership would lead to project management success. The more complex a project, the more shared the leadership style should be. In addition, the higher the levels of technology employed, the more shared the leadership style should be. On the other hand, the higher the pace of a project, the more vertical the leadership style should be.
Respondents were however, not sure how specific project types influence the appropriate balance of leadership styles. Possible reasons and explanations for this phenomenon are provided above.
Another possible explanation for the results of this study differing from previous literature could lie in what Ika (2012) describes as “the cultural trap”. Western project management methodologies often fail because team members in developing countries (like South Africa) simply do not accept them (Ika, 2012). Most developing countries have diverse cultural traditions and customs and should be managed in different ways; project management should be tailored to this (Ika and Saint-Macary, 2014). This “cultural trap” could have a tremendous impact on the leadership style (and team members’ perception of the appropriate balance), especially in a patriarchal, male-dominated culture where there are women team members.
In recent times, South Africa experienced an outflow of skilled and semi-skilled people (Leonard and Grobler, 2006). This emigration of skilled and experienced people (the so-called “brain-drain”) could have led to less-qualified people occupying positions previously held by people that were more suitable in terms of qualifications and experience. This could have an influence on the way that the respondents responded in the survey.
It should be taken into consideration that the five hypotheses that were proposed in this study were derived from international studies, which were done in developed countries. South Africa is a diverse, multicultural, developing country. It is therefore only reasonable to expect different outcomes from what is described in international literature. Further research on leadership styles in South Africa, and other developing countries, should be conducted to explore this phenomenon further and to determine the actual balance for different project situations.
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