The Role of Leadership in Successful Project Implementation: A Case Study of Zambia Rural Development Agency (ZRDA)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59413/ajocs/v6.i6.11Keywords:
Rural Development, Project Leadership, Transformational Leadership, Cultural Intelligence, Project Success, Leadership CompetenciesAbstract
This study investigated the role of leadership in successful project implementation at the Zambia Rural Development Agency (ZRDA), addressing the critical gap in understanding leadership effectiveness within rural development contexts. The investigation was guided by five specific objectives: to analyze the predominant leadership styles and their correlation with project success rates, identify critical leadership competencies, assess project management challenges, evaluate the effectiveness of leadership development initiatives, and develop an improved leadership framework for ZRDA's rural development context. The study employed a mixed-methods explanatory sequential design, combining quantitative surveys with qualitative interviews and focus group discussions. With 156 participants. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 27.0 for quantitative analysis and NVivo 14 for thematic analysis of qualitative data. Findings revealed that transformational leadership demonstrated the strongest correlation with project success (r = .687, p < 0.01), while social competencies, particularly stakeholder management (RII = 0.868), emerged as more critical than traditional technical skills. Resource constraints affected 87.2% of projects, yet paradoxically, they functioned as catalysts for leadership development. Leadership development initiatives demonstrated a substantial impact, with trained managers achieving 24.7 percentage points higher success rates than their untrained counterparts. The study concludes that effective rural development leadership constitutes a dynamic capability integrating multiple approaches rather than conforming to discrete style categories. Cultural intelligence emerged as a foundational meta-competency that determines the effectiveness of other leadership capabilities. Key recommendations include establishing mandatory cultural intelligence programs, expanding the National Project Leadership Development Program, implementing systematic mentoring initiatives, and developing explicit training modules for navigating politics.
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