Effect of Leadership Practices on the Success of Engineering Projects: A Case of Gihira Water Treatment Plant Upgrade Project in Rubavu District, Rwanda
Theodore Niyigena and Jean De Dieu Dushimimana
University of Kigali
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1727-3491
Email: niyigenatheodore@gmail.com
Abstract: The study assessed the effect of leadership practices on the success of engineering projects, using the Gihira Water Treatment Plant Upgrade Project in Rubavu District, Rwanda, as the case study. Four leadership dimensions were examined: transformational leadership style, communication practices, conflict resolution strategies, and negotiation practices. A descriptive-correlational design was applied within a mixed-methods study, while the manuscript reports the quantitative strand. The target population comprised 2,147 project stakeholders and a sample of 326 was determined using the Krejcie and Morgan formula. The instrument attained a Content Validity Index of 0.895 and an overall Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.862 for 34 measurement items. The regression model explained 82.6% of the variation in project success (R = 0.909, R² = 0.826, adjusted R² = 0.824). Transformational leadership had a positive significant effect (B = 0.243, t = 7.839, p = 0.000), communication practices produced the strongest effect (B = 0.457, t = 11.718, p = 0.000), conflict resolution strategies were significant (B = 0.140, t = 4.375, p = 0.000), and negotiation practices also contributed significantly (B = 0.127, t = 3.098, p = 0.002). The study concluded that engineering project success depends not only on technical execution but also on leadership that sustains a shared direction, reliable information flows, constructive disputemanagement, and fair stakeholder agreements. It recommends systematic leadership development, stronger project communication systems, formal conflict-resolution mechanisms, and integrative negotiation procedures in major public infrastructure projects.
