Competencies Required for Public Sector Information Technology Leadership Effectiveness

Effective IT leadership is 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 poor leadership. Meanwhile, there is lack of sufficient actionable research to integrate leadership behaviours into digital transformation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the leadership competencies that improve the effectiveness of public-sector IT leaders in today's digital environment. A random sampling was used to collect survey data from 475 public-sector employees in Ontario, Canada. Smart PLS structural equation modelling procedure was applied to the data. The analysis supported the leader's decisiveness and ability to align with IT project stakeholders' interests, impact effective leadership in a digital environment.