Abstract
Projects are prone to distinct risks which can be of different types and different degrees. As these risks can have a possible negative influence on the project aspects such as cost and schedule, and consequently, project goals, it is essential for organizations to recruit an effective project manager. This research addresses how organizations signal leadership competencies required for a project manager through project manager job advertisements in Australia and New Zealand. This study complements the leadership competencies mentioned in the Project Management Body Of Knowledge (PMBOK) for project managers by developing a list of project manager competencies, categorizing the competency components into knowledge, skills, and abilities, and performing a content analysis of the use of these competencies. This study examined job advertisements between March 2020 and May 2020 across Australia and New Zealand for the project manager role. Analysis show that the top five leadership competencies across Australia and New Zealand are influencing, communication, ability to lead, team building, and problem solving. Overall, it is observed that the project manager leadership competencies advertised match with the project manager leadership competencies in PMBOK. The findings of this research suggest that when using different terminologies to describe project manager leadership competency requirements, recruiters need to ensure that they provide detailed information of these competency requirements in order to deter applicants from drawing conclusions based on available information.
