Character Dimensions Required for IT Leadership Effectiveness in The Public Sector

Digitalization has changed the leadership paradigm for public-sector information technology (IT) leaders. Effective IT leadership is therefore needed to ensure that the government is maximizing the return on its investment in IT and adapting well to digitalization. There is evidence that in the past, some public-sector IT projects have failed or have been executed poorly due to various factors, including poor leadership. Meanwhile, more actionable research is needed to integrate leadership behaviors into digital transformation. This study aims to investigate the leadership character dimensions that improve the effectiveness of public-sector IT leaders in leading digital transformation projects. We adopted random sampling to collect survey data from 475 public-sector employees in Ontario, Canada. We used the smart PLS structural equation modeling procedure to analyze the data. The results revealed that collaboration, accountability, and judgment of the IT leadership impact effective leadership in a digital environment.