Leadership Styles of Sheikh Zayed & Sir Richard Branson - Essay Sample

Introduction

The paper will begin by analyzing the leadership styles of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan and Sir Richard Branson, with specific examples, and the styles of making decisions. The paper will then highlight the vision that the two leaders had and the particular significant challenges they faced. Their personal attributes that led to the creation of positive relations with their followers will then be discussed, and lastly, the societal or organizational culture that the two leaders promoted. Finally, there will be a discussion on the behaviors or characteristics of these two leaders that the group can benefit from, drawing from the knowledge gained from individual projects.

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Cases

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan was born in 1918 in Abu Dhabi, at a time when the Emirates was poor and undeveloped. As Sheikh Zayed grew, he toured the country and gained knowledge of the land and its people, and when oil company teams arrived in UAE in the early 1930s, he got his first exposure to the industry, a move that has shaped the development of country today (Alhosani, 2012). Sheikh Zayed succeeded his elder brother as Abu Dhabi ruler, and tremendously increased the contributions towards the Trucial States Development Fund, and as oil production increasing, revenue grew.

Sir Richard Branson was born in 1950 in London, to a father who was an attorney (Alhosani, 2012). He attended Scaitcliffe School before joining Stowe school later on. He started showing interest in business and entrepreneurship at an early age, with his first businesses in tree growing and raising budgerigars at the age of 15. Branson was at one point expelled from school after he was caught leaving the bedroom of his headteacher’s daughter, but got pardoned after he wrote a suicide note (Goldman, 2016). However, following his continued failure in his studies, he later dropped out of school at the age of 16 during his early high school.

Analysis of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan

Leadership and Decision-Making Styles

There are a few things that can be learnt from every leader when it comes to leadership traits. For Sheikh Zayed, there are several leadership lessons that can be learned from him as the leader of Abu Dhabi, and the following are some of them (Yakheek, 2013). First, Sheikh Zayed was a great visionary, whose unfailing vision for the country saw him set high-end expectations in education, development, economy, politics, and social goals for the country. After setting clear such visions, Sheikh Zayed then went ahead and provided his people with the necessary resources and support that they required to realize them.

Secondly, Sheikh Zayed was dedicated to his people – as a leader; he believed that it was the responsibility of any leader to treat their subjects without contempt as they were enjoined with God, who expects them to treat every creature with understanding and compassion. He easily earned his love and respect through his devotion and commitment to selflessly serve and improve the lives of his people (Alhosani, 2012). Sheikh Zayed was not only a leader, but also a statesman, and through this, he maximized on the oil-rich resources of the country and channeled such benefits to enrich the people including the less fortunate in the society. For example, Sheikh Zayed constructed schools, housing facilities, healthcare services, seaport, the airport, bridges and roads (Longfellow, 2016).

Another leadership style that can be emulated from Sheikh Zayed is diplomacy and stakeholder management. With respect and dignity, Sheikh Zayed managed to meet the expectations of both international and local stakeholders, and this enabled him to create good relationships based on mutual respect and harmony (Longfellow, 2016). He drew from Bedouin traditions of consultation and consensus in governing the nation, a tactic that was used in Arab. The leadership style has been practiced in Arab at an informal level in which an open-house meeting is held by a leading member of the society, and then members are invited to give their opinions, views for consideration and discussion. The system of communication that Sheikh Zayed adopted from Arabs got formalized in the year 1970 in the National Consultative Council, and based on such principles, the Federal National Council in 1971 was formed at the state’s parliament (Alhosani, 2012).

Sheikh Zayed was also a pragmatic problem-solver – he managed to create confidence among his people by instilling great pride in them and invigorating the young country through coming up with goals that were challenging. For example, Sheikh Zayed revived the new generation by challenging them to go for the challenging goals, which saw a new dawn in his country. Sheikh Zayed was loved by the people for the various positive attributes that he had, such as being a simple man rich in problem-solving abilities (McGurk, 2012). For most of the world leaders that he got to interact with, they were attracted by how infectious he is and his extraordinary ability to maintain patience.

Another flaunting leadership style that Sheikh Zayed had was humility and compassion, which he was well known for due to his understanding and generosity. He respected wise support and advice from the people around him (Alhosani, 2012). Being a generous leader, Sheikh Zayed was able to cleverly manage the wealth in his country, such as oil, to the benefit of his country and people. His desire to improve the quality of life for the people was evident from how he handled issues, his policies, and the changes he brought to the UAE during his tenure as the president.

In terms of decision-making, Zayed did so based on the conditions under consideration. The driving force behind the rapid development of the UAE can also be attributed to the strong leadership and effective decision-making. Zayed is always regarded as a transformative leader through his initiatives that brought modern governance and thinking to the nation (Yakheek, 2013). A recent academic study indicated that Zayed used various leadership styles and made decisions based on the specific circumstances on the ground. He mostly used the transformational leadership style, but he was also transactional and less participative in essential areas such as the military. He did not make the final decision in such critical fields like the military but instead left it to the experts in the various areas to come up with their informed decisions (Alhosani, 2012). However, Zayed was very participative in areas such as social support and education, and in most cases, he made the final decisions which he believed were for the good of the people. However, Zayed also tended to follow the laisses-faire leadership styles in some technical regions, whereby he vested full trust in the experts to deliver and make decisions pertaining to the areas (Bel, 2010). The reason as to why he did not get engaged in such operations is because he trusted in the subordinated to come up with appropriate decisions.

The Visions

Long before the world had widely recognized sustainable development, Shaikh Zayed was already working tirelessly to achieve what can be termed as an environmental miracle, where he transformed a desert into a green haven (Alhosani, 2012). He was a visionary leader who was capable of seeing the future, and he stressed the country not to rely on oil alone but rather to diversify the sources of revenue and to construct economic projects that ensured stable, free, free, and dignified life. He had a vision for industrial success, and the country used its hydrocarbons to diversify industries that are intensive in their energy needs.

The Particular Big Challenges Faced by Sheikh Zayed

One of the most challenging periods in the life of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan was the period between 1968 to 1971 (Yakheek, 2013). It was during this particular period in the career of the leader that he persuaded, withdrew, promoted, and forgave the creation of a federation that would be the current day in the United Arab Emirates. It was very saddening for Sheikh Zayed to hear some of the experts express their doubting thoughts about the survival of the budding country beyond a few months or years from its formation. Most people thought that experiment would fail due to the bad regional and internal relations, which were so severe that they were capable of tearing the young state apart (Bel, 2010).

Another challenge faced by Sheikh Zayed was the question of Palestine. He was seriously disturbed by the incalculable suffering by the Palestinians under Israeli occupation. Sheikh Zayed took it as his responsibility to plead with the world powers and fellow Arabs to assist in an equitable and fair solution. In fact, in the 1970s, when Abu Dhabi experienced a modest financial reserve, it was because of the sizeable amount of money that they donated to help the Arab confrontation nations that were facing Israel (Alhosani, 2012). Sheikh Zayed backed King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz during the 1973 October war, when the king pledged substantial financial contributions both to Syria and Egypt (Yakheek, 2013).

Personal Attributes That Created Positive Relations with Followers

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan was an open-minded leader. Sheikh Zayed was a leader who had respec for others' beliefs, and he could go out of his ways to ensure that his people were protected (Mabrouk, 2018). One example of a scenario that shows how open-minded Sheikh Zayed was is when parents in a remote area in the eastern failed to send their daughters to school for three months. The school was far away, and it meant that the parents had to send their daughters there on the school bus. However, it was against their belief to leave their daughters with strangers (the bus driver). When Sheikh Zayed heard about this, he did not force the parents into sending their daughters to school on the school bus but instead gave them salary so that they could drive their children to school on their own (Alhosani, 2012). This is a clear sign of how Sheikh Zayed had an open mind, and a critical thinker, some of the characteristics that made him be loved by his people.

Sheikh Zayed was also a humble leader, and this made him be loved by his followers. Sheikh Zayed was a leader that many people looked up to as he did not separate himself from the ordinary people. He was always ready to listen to the grievances and concerns from the people, and this made him be loved across the UAE (Yakheek, 2013). One example of a situation when Sheikh Zayed showed his humility is when a woman one day pointed at him during one of his presidential tours. Sheikh Zayed went across to the woman to see what she wanted. The woman told him that her husband had been detained, and she needed help (Mabrouk, 2018). It would not be common for other leaders to give an ear to the commoners in such a passionate manner, but Sheikh Zayed did it, and these are some of the traits or attributes that made his followers love him.

Another trait of Sheikh Zayed was that he worked hard to improve the quality of life of the people of his nation, and this made him be loved by his followers. Sheikh Zayed, as a leader in the UAE, dedicated most of his time, energy, and efforts to develop his country and also ensure that the living standards of his people got improved (Yakheek, 2013). Sheikh Zayed put a lot of effort into ensuring that he improved the lives of the current and future generations by providing decent standards of livings to his nation.

Sheikh Zayed was a great humanitarian, which he is known for due to his exceptional philanthropic efforts aimed at supporting the community and charitable activities. Sheikh Zayed, during his life as a leader, co...