Abstract
The telecommunications industry of Australia is highly significant for ensuring the continuation of the digital infrastructure of the country comprising broadband, cybersecurity, mobility, cloud computing, and AI technologies. With organisations embracing the use of emerging technologies, ECPMs find themselves needing to act as coaches to their colleagues while they manage projects, with no prior training in the field of coaching or leadership. Despite coaching being an integral part of technology adoption and capacity building among employees, there have been no studies focusing on the experiences of ECPMs regarding these processes in the Australian telecommunications industry. It is for this reason that the aim of this study was to explore the experiences of ECPMs in coaching their colleagues on emerging technologies, understand the challenges faced by them, and how they overcome these challenges.
The study adopted a phenomenological approach within an interpretivist paradigm, using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as the analytical
framework. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve early-career project managers and technical professionals working in the Australian
telecommunications sector. Interview transcripts were analysed inductively to identify recurring patterns, underlying meanings, and shared themes while preserving the individuality of participants’ accounts.
Results showed that coaching roles and responsibilities often emerged informally through project delivery, given the lack of formalised organisational
programmes in place. The rapid pace of technological change, limited time availability, inadequate preparation for coaching roles, hybrid work constraints and leadership credibility without positional authority were some of the challenges articulated by participants. ECPMs respond to these pressures by developing coaching methods focused on communication, collaboration, self-directed learning and action-based problem-solving. The current research contributes to the project management and coaching literature through a detailed analysis of the coaching experience in an information technology-driven industry. The findings emphasise the need for managers to incorporate more structured coaching frameworks, leadership development programmes, mentoring programmes and formal training in coaching skills to develop better ways of supporting up-and-coming project managers. It also identifies opportunities for future studies on gendered coaching pathways, organisational readiness to digitally transform and early-career leadership development in other technology-driven industries.