Integrating Technical and Social Competencies of Construction Managers

Abstract

The construction management profession all over the world has been affected by several important changes in the industry, which are strongly connected to the need for more systemic and collaborative approaches in this sector. In fact, the literature on construction managers' education and development suggests that those changes require a balance between management and leadership competencies, as well as between technical and social competencies. This paper explores the use of a particular learning approach, called action learning, to develop those two types of competencies in construction managers. Using an action research strategy, the learning process of a group of construction managers who took part in an action learning set was observed and analyzed, the focus being on how those managers integrated (or failed to integrate) their technical and social competencies. Based on this empirical study, a conceptual model has been developed that sets out to explain the interrelationship between construction managers' technical and social competencies and make a contribution toward improving leadership and management development in construction.