Effect of Project Manager’s Soft Skills on the Performance of Harare –Masvingo – Beit Bridge Road Construction Project in Zimbabwe

Takaedzwa Kwenda & Jean De Dieu Dushimimana
University of Kigali, Rwanda
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6292-7848
Email: takakwe@gmail.com

Abstract: The general objective of the study was to assess the influence of Project Managers (PM) Soft Skills on Performance of Harare-Masvingo-BeitBridge Road Construction Project in Zimbabwe. The study used descriptive and correlation design. The Questionnaire was the main method of data collection. SPSS 25 was used for Data Analysis to calculate Pearson Correlation Coefficient; Regression Analysis and descriptive statistics such as standard deviation, frequencies, mean and percentages. The results showed that Project Manager’s Leadership Skills, Communication Skills and Negotiation skills significantly influenced project performance and there was strong positive correlation between the three soft skills and project performance and further the three soft skills were significant predictors of project performance. The Regression coefficients showed that for every one-unit increase in communication skills, project performance was expected to increase by 0.269 units. Similarly, a one-unit increase in Leadership Skills corresponded to a 0.326 -unit increase in project performance, illustrating the impact of leadership on achieving project success. Additionally, the negotiation skills predictor exhibits a coefficient of where a unit increase in negotiation skills will result in 0.328-unit increase in project performance. The three soft skills indeed influence project performance. Based on these findings, it is recommended that Harare – Masvingo – BeitBridge Road Construction Project should invest in targeted training programs to improve communication, leadership, and negotiation skills among Project Managers.