The empowerment process makes huge demands on organizations and its
constituents. The team as the proximal work environment creates a social
environment for interactions that can change individual behaviour, attitudes and
perceptions. Leadership provides a direct channel through which individuals interpret
organizational policies and practices. The impact of leadership style and team context
on psychological empowerment in project teams was examined using data from a
parallel questionnaire survey of construction client, consultant and contractor
organizations in Hong Kong. It was posited that span of control and interdependence
will positively and significantly influence psychological empowerment. Person
orientated leadership style was expected to positively impact psychological
empowerment while task orientated leadership style was expected to have a negative
impact. No significant relationship was found between span of control and
psychological empowerment while team interdependence had a positive and
significant relationship with psychological empowerment. Task orientated leadership
was positively and significantly related to psychological empowerment in the full
sample and contractor teams but not in consultant and client teams. Person orientated
leadership was positively and significantly related to psychological empowerment in
the full sample, consultant and client teams but not in contractor teams. The distinct
findings in relation to the leadership style-empowerment link are consistent with a
systems perspective of the construction process. Client and consultant teams
constitute a "managing sub-system" and rely on management of interrelationships (i.e.
person orientated leadership) to succeed while contractor teams constitute the
"operating/task sub-system" and rely on task performance (i.e. task orientated
leadership). The findings add to the growing evidence of lack of support for the
stereotypical views on how task and person orientated leadership styles manifest. In
project settings where "getting the job done" and "teamwork" are inseparable both
leadership styles can produce positive outcomes through "leadership adjustment"
