AN INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPACT OF EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM ON FIRM PERFORMANCE

¹Tony Ikechukwu Nwanji, ²Wilson Ozuem ³Kerry E. Howell, ⁴Sainey Faye, ⁵Ben-Caleb Egbide, ⁶Adegbola Olubukola Otekunrin, ⁷Joseph U. Madugba, ⁸Damilola Felix Eluyela

^1,3,5,6,7,8Department of Accounting and Finance, Landmark University, Nigeria

²University of Cumbria and University of Warwick UK

³School of Business, Teesside University, UK.

⁴Department of Accounting and Finance, New University, Buckingham, UK

Email: ¹nwanji.tony@lmu.edu.ng; ²wilson.ozuem@cumbria.ac.uk

³kerry.howell@northumbria.ac.uk; ⁴sainey, faye@bucks.ac.uk,

 ⁵ben-caleb.egbide@lmu.edu.ng, ⁶otekunrin.adegbola@lmu.edu.ng, ⁷madugba.joseph@lmu.edu.ng, ⁸eluyela.damilola@lmu.edu.ng

ABSTRACT:

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of effective leadership of the project management team on firm performance. We used the Fernando Flores’ model of the participatory projected environment is excellent and ideal for the success of the project. The study employed qualitative research using a Case Studies Approach to analysed data collected through a survey questionnaire. The study showed the importance of effective leadership and the role of the Board of Directors in leading toward successful project management that meets the needs of the project stakeholders from the two project teams understudy, the banking Project Team and the Supermarket Project Team.The implication of findings from this study is that project managers need to recognise how to elicit effective performance from their project teams to achieve the goals and aims of the organisation’s projects.We found that effective leadership from senior management through transactional and transformational leadership theory will lead to effective project management.The authors also found that both the Banking team and the Supermarket team under this study performed well when management involved the team members in the management of the project instead of using command and control method of project management. This is more so from transformational leadership than the transactional leadership. The transformational leadership bring the best out of the project team members when management carries them along in the project, giving them a sense of belonging and part of the success of the project. Overall, we concluded that effective leadership of project management happened when top management and the board of directors of the banking project team and supermarket project team are fully involved through communications and openness throughout the different stages of the project from the planning, processing and operation and completion of the project which led to organisational performance within the banking and supermarket project teams. The results of this study showed that staff and members of the project teams are an essential part of the success of the project that leads to organisational performance. 

Keywords: Project Management, Transactional Leadership, Transformational Leadership Project Stakeholdership and  Board of Directors.