The Changing Role of Team Leadership in Multinational Project Environments

The influences of business environment and leadership style on team performance are examined in a field study of 37 technology-based projects. The findings provide insight into the changing business environment, as well as the leadership style and organizational conditions most conducive to high project performance in complex multinational project environments. One of the most striking finding is the large number of performance factors associated with the human side. Organizational conditions that satisfy personal and professional needs seem to have a strong effect on collaboration, commitment, risk management, and ultimately overall team performance. The paper provides a framework for assessing leadership effectiveness and suggests conditions favorable for building and managing high-performance project teams in complex, globally dispersed project environments