Abstract:
Safety-critical organisations (SCOs), such as the military, fire service, aviation, emergency services, and
construction, are characterised by being organisations with high potential for stress, accidents, and
injuries. Environments where safety is highly critical (i.e., high exposure to risk and likelihood of an
accident) - poses particular challenges for leaders. Thus, such environments call for specific leadership/
leadership style, which differ from those most effective in less safety-critical environments. Most research
literature seems to associate leadership with traditional, linear models, which are incongruent with the
behaviour of a complex system, such as the construction industry. Thus, the objective of this paper is to fill
this research gap by: (1) critically reviewing relevant literature; (2) investigating the effect of leadership
styles (LS) on safety outcomes, with emphasis on SCOs; and (3) developing a conceptual framework for
empirical testing. A survey design will be applied to collect data from project managers in the construction
industry within the Australian context. This paper presents a brief description of the effect of various LS on
safety outcomes, using the principles of complexity science. The results of this study will present the effect
of riding on the principles of complexity science to provide the premise for flexible responses to emerging
patterns and opportunities in the construction industry.
