Introduction
Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) defines strategic leadership as organizational transformation and development through increased leadership capacity. To improve leadership practice, development, and skills, an individual must understand the strategic leadership concepts shared by the CCL text. The release of “Becoming a Strategic Leader: Your Role in Your Organization’s Enduring Success” was a product of Sheikh Zayed’s vision to develop Abu Dhabi as an international community with a strong focus on educational institutions and the sustainable development of Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Zayed used CCL strategic leadership concepts to promote vision and organizational change by planning for the long term and understanding that today’s decisions can impact future generations. Sheikh Zayed’s vision for a union was not one of power or one that would drastically change the world but instead of building a country that would serve as an example for many others. Sheik Zayed clearly understood the challenges he would face and adjusted his vision from something too big to attain to something feasible to overcome these challenges. Leadership depends on individuals’ styles and how they communicate ideas rather than focusing on themselves.
Theoretical Concept of CLL Strategic Leadership Style
Hierarchy of Needs
The hierarchy of needs theory is the first theoretical concept of CLL strategic leadership. In this theory, a group of people is organized into a hierarchy, with the basic needs of the lower levels, such as food, safety, and shelter. This theory posits that as these basic needs are met, people move to the next level, seeking social acceptance through relationships with others in their community. The highest level in this theory is self-actualization, where people pursue higher education and creative activities and seek new challenges to develop themselves (Hughes et al., 2014).
This theory would apply to leaders with essential security and economic needs who wish to reach for more challenging career goals, such as senior management or executive positions. For instance, Sheikh Zayed helped Abu Dhabi become a viable union by sharing strategic leadership roles validated by the collective leadership framework.
Model of Motivation
The next theory is the model of motivation. Hughes et al. (2018) point out two factors influencing people’s motivation in this theory of motivation. The first factor – job characteristics – influences satisfaction with the job. The second factor – management style and administrative practices- does not influence satisfaction, but rather how employees feel about their work and the organization. It suggests that an individual as a leader must establish and maintain effective relationships with others, which is essential to effective leadership practice (Hughes et al., 2014). For instance, Sheikh Zayed’s role as a ruler of Abu Dhabi was strengthened through his commitment to building relations with other leaders, especially ministers and diplomats.
Theory X and Theory Y
The other theories are theory X and theory Y of management. Theory X states that people only sometimes work to their total capacity because they are lazy, lack ambition, and need a boss to motivate them. Theory Y states that people have full potential. They are motivated by responsibility, challenge, and autonomy over their tasks. The theory indicates that leaders are interconnected and that every individual’s development occurs in their social networks (Hughes et al., 2014). For instance, Sheikh Zayed was able to make strategic decisions about the development of Abu Dhabi’s security branch through increasing relations with Abu Dhabi’s foreign dignitaries.
Organizational Development Model
The next theory is the organizational development model. This model has three levels of the organization: an individual, a group, and a unit (Hughes et al., 2014). According to this theory, an individual can move up the organizational ladder through promotion to the group level and then onto a unit level. All these leaders have a role to play as they are responsible for developing the organization by promoting change, implementing change, and maintaining the organization (Hughes et al., 2014). For example, as a ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed benefited from his leadership experience. He could take lessons from the successes and failures he faced as ruler of Abu Dhabi and incorporate them into his practice. Thus, leaders should understand that communication is key to leading effectively.
Challenges of CCL Leadership Style
Transforming the Community’s Perception of Leadership Styles
Several challenges are faced depending on the leadership style one implements. The challenge includes changing the community’s perception of the leadership style. According to Ahmed and Al Amiri (2022), this challenge is moving from a traditional time-to-time leadership style to a contemporary one. This change in leadership style will help leaders adapt to the strategy but also help them build the trust and confidence of the community they want to lead. Sheikh Zayed overcame this challenge by being a ruler and a caring and effective leader for over 40 years. It enables Sheikh Zayed to control and manage people within the community and organization with a high level of employee attachment or loyalty (Wilson, 2013).
Embracing the Possibility of New Leadership
Another challenge is accepting that someone else can be in charge. In the UAE’s first union, Sheikh Zayed founded the first non-oil-based economy and created a union that allows other individuals to be responsible for what should be done in their fields (Wilson, 2013). In order to overcome this challenge, Sheikh Zayed first made sure that each individual participating in the union had a role and responsibility for the union. It was done by selecting an administrator, and then he convinced the top leaders to be part of the union.
Confronting Internal and External Resistance
Furthermore, the other challenge is dealing with internal and external opposition. The challenges faced by Sheikh Zayed during his reign as ruler of Abu Dhabi included many internal questions. The internal questions included how to set up a modern new government without employing Europeans educated in Western institutions and how to appoint or promote those who did not have European education and experience. According to Hashim (2018), this leadership style is the most difficult one because it requires creativity and critical thinking to develop a strategic plan that all community members would accept. Sheik Zayed overcame this challenge by employing local workers educated in Arabic cultural heritage and culture. The result was that Sheikh Zayed ruled Abu Dhabi without any foreign interference, which was very important in creating a union.
Regarding external challenges, Sheikh Zayed went above and beyond what he had to deal with to obtain his goals. Hashim (2018) argued that this challenge requires leaders to improve their sources, relationships, and tactics. His leadership style allowed him to be successful and overcome many hurdles, including the Saudi oil concessions by eliminating Americans, who were his main source of information on Saudi Arabia’s intentions in the region. and the war with Iraq imposed by Saddam Hussein on Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. According to Anadol and Behery (2020), it is because the community will be very sensitive when they sense they are being changed. This challenge is very important and useful in analyzing how Zayed was an effective leader during his time as ruler of Abu Dhabi.
In addition, Zayed was a leader who wanted to ensure that the community he ruled adopted their values, culture, and practices by building schools, introducing their language, and teaching them about their history. To ensure these changes are implemented, he recruited many young people worldwide to Abu Dhabi (The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, 2004). He also developed his sources by ensuring a good relationship between his leadership team and him at all levels to avoid misunderstanding. As a result, he converted the community from a new tribe to an active and engaged nation in less than ten years.
According to the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (2004), this challenge is very important in the analysis of Zayed’s leadership because he knew how to deal with challenges by using his vision and making sure his community was unified around his plans, his policies, and his goals. Thus, Zayed was unafraid to open the country to foreigners and ensure the community interacted with them.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I want to change in the future by doing more research on how the UAE’s government has impacted our lives. For example, how much is the UAE government spending on education annually? Having a deep knowledge of history, politics, and economics is a great advantage. I will also research other ruling families worldwide, see some of their achievements, and try to add them to those of our ancestors; they are all models for us to follow as we need to keep learning from history and our predecessors. It is because they have proven that they can run a country successfully, and it is one of the reasons why we are what we are today. It is important because I will share my ideas with others so that if they see that we can achieve something or disagree, we can discuss it and find a solution that works for everyone involved.
Finally, this review will impact my work by making me think about my goal of becoming a strategic leader. I will learn from the great leader, Sheikh Zayed, and apply his ideas and principles of strategic leadership in my future, ensuring that I am a truly strategic leader. It also encouraged me to learn new things and study other ideas to understand the UAE’s development and growth as a union or Sheikh Zayed’s development as ruler of Abu-Dhabi. For instance, learning from Sheikha Fatima’s and Sheikha Hamda’s ideas in developing their nation and the federation of the UAE is how they were role models towards becoming a strategic leader, as they both supported each other in achieving their goals of being leaders.
On the other hand, this review will impact my relationships with others by opening my mind to learn other ideas and make new supportive friends. It is because to be a good leader, I have to have the characteristics of one, regardless of my position in life; a leader is always a leader no matter what kind of work you do or the country’s ethics, work ethic, responsibility, and trustworthiness. Through the review, I can tell my family and friends about the importance of learning from people who left a mark in history and how their ideas are credible if you study them and apply them.
References
Ahmed, G., & Al Amiri, N. (2022). The transformational leadership of the founding leaders of the United Arab Emirates: Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan And Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum. International Journal of Technology, Innovation and Management (IJTIM), 2(1). Web.
Anadol, Y., & Behery, M. (2020). Humanistic leadership in the UAE context. Cross Cultural & Strategic Management. Web.
Hashim, A. R. B. (2018). Defence and preservation. In Planning Abu Dhabi: an urban history (pp. 214-241). Routledge.
Hughes, R. L., Beatty, K. C., & Dinwoodie, D. L. (2014). Becoming a Strategic Leader: Your role in your organization’s enduring success. (2nd ed). San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass.
The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research. (2004). Early Life. With United Strength: Shaikh Zayid Bin Sultan Al Nahyan: The Leader and the Nation. (pp. 67-131). Amazon.
Wilson, G. H. (2013). Zayed: Man Who Built a Nation. Amazon