The Impact of Managers’ Leadership Skills on Construction Project Performance in Dubai

Dubai represents an icon in terms of development within the United Arab Emirates and Middle East in various fields; especially infrastructure, real estate, and tourism. The construction sector has witnessed a qualitative leap in terms of jobs requirements and type of production expected from people working in Dubai. Therefore, construction organisations are now looking for experienced professionals with effective leadership and management skills rather than technical experience; which is also important. Therapid development within the construction field has raised vast interest in the leadership aspect, and has encouraged organisations to seek effective methods to increase their chances of thriving within the Dubai market. The aim of this research is to investigate the impact of project managers’ leadership skills on the construction project’s performance in Dubai. A descriptive and an explorative mixed approach were used in this research to investigate practical experiences of professionals working within the industry. A questionnaire was conducted amongst employees of two reputed construction organisations to demonstrate their views in regards to leadership skills. A semi-structured open-ended interview was also conducted with four senior project managers working for the Dubai construction field to identify the key elements of effective leaders and clarify the impact of leadership. The results revealed that leadership skills are a major factor that differentiates between effective leaders and managers. Moreover, any deficiency in technical skills can be recovered by developing effective leadership skills. Cultural awareness of any member working within the Dubai construction industry proposed to be a key factor in facilitating success. Also, effective leadership is highly attached to peoples’ life and the quality of relations developed by the leader. In summary, there are different opinions about effective leadership and the convergence point among these opinions is people oriented and accommodated with the surrounding environment as a key factor for success.