Leadership in the project environment: A correlational study of leadership practices and project performance

The application of project management tools and techniques does not ensure projects will achieve their expected outcomes; competent leadership is also believed to be a necessary component. The purpose of this study was to determine whether relationship existed between project managers' leadership practices and project performance. A quantitative correlational method, using Kouzes and Posner Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) instrument to measure leadership, was used for this purpose. Performance scores were provided by the organization from which the sample was drawn. The study's population was composed of project managers leading North America automotive product development projects. Hypothesis tests found no relationship between project managers' leadership practices and project performance. The absence of a correlational relationship could be due to the sample's range of performance scores, which may not have been sufficiently diverse to detect potential relationships. The finding does not suggest leadership was unimportant to North American automotive product development project management. It does, however, suggest that more study of project managers' leadership skills and project performance is warranted.