Integrated Solutions for Infrastructure Development Edited by Lau, H. H., Tang, F. E., Ng, C. K., and Singh, A. Copyright © 2016 ISEC Press ISBN: 978-0-9960437-3-1 1 DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP SKILLS OF PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY MURENDENI LIPHADZI and CLINTON AIGBAVBOA Dept of Construction Management & Quantity Surveying, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa The construction industry is one of the major industries in South Africa. Like any other industry, strong leadership is vital for its growth. Moreover in order to stay competitive, South African construction firms must find a way to train their project and construction managers to become competent leaders in their specific disciplines. It is to this end, that the study presents findings on how leaders can be developed in the South African construction industry. The data used in this research were derived from both primary and secondary sources. The secondary data was collected via a detailed review of related literature. The primary data was collected through a structured questionnaire aimed at 150 projects and construction managers in the South African construction industry. From the 150 distributed questions, only 110 questionnaires were received and subsequently data based on the received questionnaire which was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings revealed that, education and qualification can help develop leaders in the South African construction industry. This was followed by leadership training courses, taking responsibility, new challenges, and internal motivation, professional and personal development. The study explores leadership and leadership development in the South African construction industry. The study presents a robust background about the construction industry and the importance of leadership. Keywords: Leadership, Project management, Leadership development, Development strategies. 1 INTRODUCTION The Construction industry is a key sector in every country as it is heavily interconnected with the economy as a whole. It affects, and is affected by; the gross domestic product of a nation. Moreover, the government policies directly affect the construction industry. The construction industry is dependent on different types of input such as human capital, financing and products from other industries. This makes leadership and management important. Without leadership a group of human beings quickly degenerates into argument and conflict because they see things in different ways and lean towards different solutions. Leadership helps to point us in the same direction and harness our efforts jointly. Moreover most leadership definitions assume that leadership is a process whereby intentional influence is exerted by one person over others in order to guide, structure and facilitate organizational activities and relationship (Yukl 2002). Kouzes and Posner (2002) understand leadership as a process, which ordinary people use when they are bringing forth the best from