The human algorithm: what executive behavior in strategic IT projects reveal about character in leadership

Abstract

A plethora of research exists on top management support and their support behaviors. There is a rising interest in how character in leadership impacts organizations, and the teams the top management of organizations lead. While competence has been the focus of traditional leadership theory, contemporary interest in leadership character is said to impact the sustainability of an organization. This research paper presents the support behavior of top management on strategic information technology projects, specifically drawing inferences to top management’s character as leaders and their subsequent impact on project delivery teams. By conducting a literature review, this paper advances academic discourse on character and its influence on leadership and team dynamics. There is an abundance of literature on research into information technology projects. However, the research on top management support behaviors and furthermore character in leadership is limited in this discipline. This paper also highlights the practical consequences of neglecting character in leadership, while underscoring the value of cultivating character in leaders. To research this phenomenon, the researcher constructed in-depth semi-structured interviews with 15 participants who have experience across 12 sectors namely: Banking, Mining, Healthcare, Oil and gas, Consulting, Electrical equipment, Media, FMCG, Cybersecurity, Automotive, Aviation and Legal. Participants were directly engaged if they worked in or led delivery teams that had implemented strategic information technology projects and directly interacted with the top management related to the project. Drawing on participants’ experience and opinions and using Gioia’s framework the researcher established a data structure outlining four aggregate dimensions. The conceptual model is rebranded as the Enlightened Leader Mental Model allowing key themes to be connected. In this model, the four aggregate dimensions presented are used to leverage leadership behavior into leadership character. This builds on existing literature that focuses on top management support behavior and leadership character indicators. The researcher poses that behavior and character are so intertwined that to influence one will influence the other. Senior leaders set the tone on projects and have the power and influence to impact their delivery teams, positively or negatively. The researcher challenges human resource departments to focus on character development in organizational senior leadership structures. This paper fervently argues that character in leadership matters and that the way character is displayed, through observed behaviors, is what leaves a lasting impact on project teams.