Leadership in the Construction Industry: Developing Authentic Leaders in a Dynamic World

This book presents a new framework for leadership in the construction industry which draws from the authentic leadership construct. The framework has three major themes: self-leadership, self-transcendent leadership, and sustainable leadership.

Despite its significance, leadership has not been given due importance in the construction industry as focus is placed on managerial functionalism. At the project level, even with the technological advances in the industry in recent years, construction is realized in the form of people undertaking distinct interdependent activities which require effective leadership. The industry faces many challenges including: demanding client requirements and project parameters; more stringent regulations, codes and systems; intense competition in the industry; and threats from disruptive enterprise. In such a complex environment, technology-driven and tool-based project and corporate management is insufficient. It must be complemented by a strategic, genuine, stakeholder-focused and ethical leadership.

Leadership in the Construction Industry is based on a study on authentic leadership and its development in Singapore. Leadership theories and concepts are reviewed; the importance of leadership in the construction industry is discussed; and the grounded theory approach which was applied in the study is explained. Many eminent construction professionals in Singapore were interviewed in the field study. Emerging from the experiences of the leaders documented in this book are three major themes: (1) self-leadership: how leaders engage in various self-related processes such as self-awareness, self-regulation, and role modeling. (2) self-transcendent leadership: how leaders go beyond leading themselves to leading others through servant leadership, shared leadership, spiritual leadership, and socially-responsible leadership; and, finally, (3) sustainable leadership or the strategies leaders employ to make the impact of their leadership lasting. A synthesis of these themes and their implications for leadership development is presented before the book concludes with some recommendations for current and aspiring leaders about how they can engage with them. This book is essential reading for all construction practitioners from all backgrounds; and researchers on leadership and management in construction.

George Ofori is Professor and Dean of the School of the Built Environment and Architecture at London South Bank University, UK. He is joint co-ordinator of CIB TG95 on Professionalism and Ethics in Construction, and Deputy Chair of the Board of CoST, the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative and a Member of the Board of Trustees of Engineers Against Poverty. He has published over 110 refereed journal papers, 5 books and 29 chapters, mainly on construction industry development, leadership in construction and sustainability in construction.

Shamas-ur-Rehman Toor received his PhD from the National University of Singapore. He is an international development practitioner and currently works at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Beijing, China. Previously, he worked at the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia. He has published over 30 international refereed journal papers, 3 book chapters and 38 international peer-reviewed conference papers in the areas of leadership development, organizational behavior and project management.