An investigation of leadership styles of construction professionals in the South African construction industry

The South African construction industry has a bearing on the economic abundance of the country. Consequently, maximum productivity is required; and to achieve this, proper leadership is one of the major factors that are needed. Literature suggests that there is huge leadership challenge among project leaders and professionals. However, little prominence is been given to the leadership competence of construction professionals in South Africa and other developing countries especially in practice. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the predominant leadership styles among construction professionals in the South African construction industry. The primary research data were collected through a structure questionnaire survey conducted on construction professionals in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The secondary data were collected from literature review. Respondents were selected using heterogeneity and convenience (purposive) sampling techniques. Data from the questionnaire were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 software. Mean values and standard deviation were computed. The rank of the predominant styles among the identified construction professionals was established. Findings from the study revealed that the three leading predominantly used leadership styles among construction professionals are democratic, transformational and transactional leadership styles. In addition, the results revealed the predominant leadership styles used among each construction professionals in the South Africa. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by increasing awareness about the essential of leadership and the proper use of its styles at any given circumstance within the South African construction industry. © 2018 The Authors. Published by Diamond Congress Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Creative Construction Conference 2018.