Project Managers’ Competencies in International Development Projects: A Delphi Study

Abstract

Project Managers’ (PMs) competencies are critical issues for international development projects (IDPs), and the success of IDPs is largely dependent on how prudently and effectively a PM manages the IDPs operations. So far, the topic of PMs Competencies is mainly explored in the private sector context using a survey-based research approach, and very few attempts have been made to examine the competencies of PMs in the IDPs sector. Accordingly, this study examines the PMs’ competencies at each phase of the project life cycle (Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing) by drawing on the sample of 15 PMs from the IDPs’ sector by employing a Delphi method, which enables aggregation of experts’ opinions in a more structured and systematic manner. Findings of this study proposed five of the most critical competencies within each phase of the project life cycle and ranked based on their relative importance, for example, leadership, communication, planning, innovation, motivation, etc. The findings contribute to emerging literature and bring new insights on project managers’ competencies in the IDPs sector.

The influence of the eye of competence on project success: exploring the indirect effect of people on both perspective and practice

“…This is consistent with previous works (e.g. Sang et al, 2018;Alvarenga et al, 2019;Bashir et al, 2021;Sampaio et al, 2021) which found the importance of behavioral competencies to project success. However, few studies verified it using empirical quantitative analysis (Gruden and Stare, 2018).…”

Competence of project management professionals according to type of project: a systematic literature review

“…Table 8 presents the list of the competences found. Two competences were identified as unique to this type of project in this study, which are Loyalty [69] and Acceptance [70]. For Gomes et al [69], the competence of Loyalty refers to the ability of the project professional to honor their commitments to subordinates and the organization, and thus be an effective politician.…”

“…For Gomes et al [69], the competence of Loyalty refers to the ability of the project professional to honor their commitments to subordinates and the organization, and thus be an effective politician. According to Bashir et al [70], Acceptance competence refers to the competence of the project professional applied during the project closing phase. Thus, the project professional must be able to manage the acceptance of all documentation and reports delivered by stakeholders.…”

“…In this type of project, for the PMCDF competence guide, 14 competences were not mentioned: Acceptance [70]; Altruism [31], [37], [71], [72]; Courage [31]; Change Management [31], [77]; Certification [7], [31], [71], [73], [74];…”

Ears on the Street: Practitioner Opinions on What Competencies Sales Executives Need and How to Develop Them

“…Even though literature reviews to determine important competencies (Jokinen, 2005), surveys about perceived development needs (Viitala, 2005) and meta-analyses with implications for developments (Gaddis & Foster, 2015) have been conducted, just what exactly the “right competencies” are remains unclear. According to the literature, competency models can be found for industries (Prifti et al, 2017), specific sectors (Bashir et al, 2021; Ranjbar et al, 2014), hierarchical levels (Kan et al, 2002), positions in the company (Kaur & Bains, 2013), centuries (Rahman, 2012), generations (Harrison, 2015), subgroups such as females (Jaafar et al, 2016), core competencies (Edgar & Lockwood, 2021), as well as general competency frameworks that can be individualized (Midhat Ali et al, 2021). Yet from the abundance of models, it is difficult to determine exactly which competencies are important for specific jobs.…”