Leadership competencies for effective it projects execution in a company in the Western Cape Province of South Africa

Abstract

A large number of IT projects fail due to uncertainties involved in these projects. Some of these uncertainties include the changing of specification of the original project and the cause of that can be attributed to the ever changing IT environment. These changes lead to scope creep which causes cost and schedule overruns. For IT projects to be pronounced as being successful, they have to be completed within the specified time, budget, and according to quality. To run successful IT projects is always a difficult task due to the fact that project managers lack the necessary skills and competencies. There is a great need for project managers that are competent in managing budget, time, and quality in IT projects. The poor management of IT projects is a global challenge; it’s not only happening in South Africa. In this study the researcher adapted the use of both qualitative and quantitative research methods to evaluate competencies of the project manager with the aim of determining those that would assist project managers to execute successful IT projects. The current study focuses on the competencies that make IT project managers to run successful IT projects, these are Leadership competencies to influence and persuade project team to follow a certain direction, Communication competencies to communicate all the project information effectively to relevant stakeholders, Decision making competencies to make crucial decisions in a timely fashion, Problem solving competencies to provide needed solutions on critical problems.