An Organizational Approach to Leadership Development for Engineering and Construction Management Project Practitioners
W. Edward Back, Rebecca Macdonald, David Grau

Abstract
Companies competing globally in the field of engineering and construction must continually demonstrate competency in the design and management functions associated with the delivery of complex capital projects. Such companies serve a broad and diverse industrial or commercial clientele and operate in an extraordinarily competitive and tight environment. The development of leadership skills as important core competency of engineering practitioners and project / construction management executives is an increasingly important objective for many globally competitive organizations within the capital project industry. This paper describes a proactive intervention approach to leadership development undertaken by a major engineering and construction firm. Through a post-intervention survey and workshop activities, this study determines the impact on sustained gain in leadership knowledge and skills as a result of the intervention. This study also identifies the characteristics of a leadership role model within the capital projects industry and its implementation barriers.

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