Project Manager's Soft Skills and Project Performance: A Case of Transforming Eastern Province Through Adaptation Project in Bugesera District, Rwanda

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of project manager’s soft skills on performance of Transforming Eastern Province Through Adaptation (TREPA) Project in Bugesera District, in Rwanda. The specific objectives of this study was to assess the effect of project manager’s conflict resolution skills on performance of TREPA Project in Bugesera District; To find out the effect of project manager’s motivation skills on performance of TREPA Project in Bugesera District; To determine the effect of project manager’s leadership skills on performance of TREPA Project in Bugesera District; and to examine the effect of project manager’s communication skills on performance of TREPA Project in Bugesera. The theories that guided this study were Theory of goal setting, Theory of communication, Theory of agency and Theory of decision. The study employed a descriptive and correlational research designs. Target population was 1753 participants including project managers, project team members and beneficiaries. The sample size was 326 respondents selected by using formula proposed by Yamane. Researchers used a random sample sampling to select participants from the entire population, followed by a stratified sampling strategy to divide them into manageable subsets. When collecting data, the researcher used questionnaire, documentary analysis, interview schedule and observation guide. The collected data was analyzed using mixed methods, descriptive statistics, correlational analysis and multiple linear regression analysis with the help of Statistical MS Excel. The data presented, analyzed and interpreted in line with research objectives. The predictors (conflict resolution skills, leadership skills, communication skills and motivation skills) and the performance of TREPA Project in Bugesera District are well correlated (R value of 0.819). There is a 0.341coefficient for conflict resolution skills (t=6.205, p=0.000), a 0.143 coefficient for leadership skills (t=2.641, p=0.009), a 0.182 coefficient for communication skills (t=3.420, p=0.001), and a 0.276 coefficient for motivation skills (t=5.316, p=0.000). This means that Transforming Eastern Province Through Adaptation Project iproves in direct correlation with the level of each of these factors. These coefficients have meaningful statistical significance and major roles in contributing to the performance of TREPA, since their p-values are considerably below the normal significance thresholds of 0.05. Based on these findings, it is recommended that Bugesera District invest in comprehensive training programs focused on developing project managers' conflict resolution and leadership skills. Furthermore, the implementation of regular communication workshops and motivational strategies would be highly beneficial for the TREPA Project.