In the age of globalization and dynamic projects environment, to select the appropriate project leader is a big challenge for any corporate/firms. Research has shown that the project leader is one of the most important success factors of projects. A project leader has an impact on the overall quality, timeline, cost and success of the project, and the quality of the individual project leader may affect the project cost by as much as 10%
(Herbert et al., 1970).
In modern times, project leaders are not only responsible for managing the day-to-day technical, engineering and standard works or achieving short-term goals of the project such as conforming to the basic triangle of time, budget and acceptable quality, but also have for aligning with the rapid change in the business environment, so as to achieve long-term project objectives and Return on Investment (ROI). They also need to manage change, scarcity of competent resources, deal with various behavioral issues with internal and external stakeholders and build high relationship (Toor and Ofori, 2008; and Lloyd-Walker and
Walker, 2011).
Managing projects in the modern times requires a different kind of skill set, knowledge and behavioral attributes. Accordingly, the focus of this paper is on the competencies of project leadership and how these leadership competencies may fit the needs of a successful project. In the modern times, project leader needs to have and apply different leadership behaviors, competencies and styles. The project leader should possess not only essential technical knowledge but also should have positive values, highest levels of ethics, morality, lead from the heart, personal capabilities, out-of-the-box thinking, interpersonal skills, etc. (Lloyd-Walker and Walker, 2011).
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