Use of Emotional Intelligence to Enhance the Leadership Skills of Project Managers in Construction: A Qualitative Delphi Study

Abstract

Human factors are crucial in project management, significantly impacting project outcomes. Technical (hard) and nontechnical (soft) skills are essential for enhancing team performance, but leaders’ lack of soft skills often leads to project failure. This study investigates the role of emotional intelligence (EI) in improving the leadership skills of project managers to achieve project success in construction. Adopting a qualitative approach, the research utilized a Delphi method with three rounds of semistructured interviews, involving sixteen industry experts selected through purposive sampling. The collected data were analyzed using manual content analysis. The study identified eleven key leadership skills in project managers that can be enhanced by EI components, including social skills, relationship management, motivation, teamwork, tolerance, self-efficacy, effective communication, goal achievement, appearance, public relations, and human resources management. Additionally, the research uncovered twenty-one EI components that can improve these leadership skills, twelve barriers to using EI, and twenty-seven strategies to manage these barriers. The findings suggest that leaders with higher EI possess more skills and achieve better project outcomes. Thus, the study recommends fostering continuous learning among project managers and enhancing EI in leaders to improve team performance, communication, and conflict resolution, ultimately leading to better project outcomes. This research makes a unique contribution by creating a comprehensive framework for applying EI to enhance leadership skills within the construction industry, a field that has received limited attention in this context. By identifying critical EI components and strategies to overcome barriers, the study provides actionable insights for improving project outcomes and advancing knowledge on leadership in construction project management.