Project Manager's Behavioral Competencies Required to Successfully Deliver Projects Using a Weak Matrix Structure

Chabalala, Shidumo

Project Manager's Behavioral Competencies Required to Successfully Deliver Projects Using a Weak Matrix Structure

Thesis / Dissertation

2025

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Construction Economics and Management

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment

Abstract

Over the past several years, the South African government through its public sector entities has struggled to operationalize their strategic objectives due to a multitude of project failures. Seeing as it is commonly acknowledged that there is a strong link between Project Manager's competency level and project success, it is thus imperative to understand the competencies that a Project Manager must possess in order to successfully deliver projects in the South African public sector with the ultimate aim of increasing the probability of project success and thus aid the government in delivering its strategic objectives. Also, it is acknowledged that project management behavioural competencies have become more important to project success when compared to technical competencies. This study aims to explore what are the behavioural competencies that are essential for a Project Manager to successfully deliver projects in the South African public Sector. To answer the research question, a survey and personal interviews were conducted where project management practitioners in the South African Public Sector participated. It was hypothesized that Leadership was the essential behavioural competency that is essential to successfully deliver projects in the South African Public Sector. However, the study found that there are seventeen (17) essential behavioural competencies for a Project Manager to successfully deliver projects. The research concluded that there is no single behavioural competency, but rather established five (5) Foundational Behavioural Competencies (i.e., Communication, Teamwork, Professionalism, Leadership, Emotional intelligence), five (5) Core Behavioural Competencies (Adaptability & agility, Conflict & crisis management, Engagement & motivation, Inter-personal skills, and Results orientation), and seven (7) Supporting Behavioural Competencies (i.e., Negotiation, Consultation, Empathy, Organized, Managing, Reliability, Efficiency & effectiveness). The study also concluded that these behavioural competencies are applicable irrespective of the industry and project management structure employed to undertake a project. Additionally, the study showed that the perspective of project success in the South African Public Sector has evolved to be more holistic in line with the rest of the Western countries where the definition of success has broadened beyond the bounds of a project and considers how a project is viewed by stakeholders. South African Public Sector entities can improve the probability of project success by recruiting Project Managers who possess these competencies and can train their existing project Managers to develop these competencies.