To lead, you must be ready to learn

While education reform is one way to to incorporate a more analytical approach to problem-solving and improve performance in the workplace, the efforts may take years to filter through the system.

'Management is getting work done through people. Leadership is developing people through their work." This is one of the many maxims - some would say clichés - that try to explain how a boss should approach his or her role. But as anyone who is not an executive understands, good managers inspire those who work for them and instil ownership for a shared mission among their employees. Some leaders are born but most have to be taught; the best understand that to lead, they can never stop learning.
As we report today, the Abu Dhabi International Centre for Operational Excellence (ADICOE) has introduced a programme to help executives understand how to improve their managerial skills in the face of the changing emirate and the changing world. "People are controlling people right now, not leading them" says professor Hadi El Tigani, the chief executive officer of ADICOE, about many managers in the UAE. In response to these problems, ADICOE has announced a new programme for leadership education where 25 business leaders will be selected from a variety of different sectors to participate in an 18 month executive education course with instruction from some of the top names in business education, including Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard Universities. Unlike most other management and educational programmes in the UAE, both expatriates and Emiratis can be selected to participate.
While education reform is one way to to incorporate a more analytical approach to problem-solving and improve performance in the workplace, these efforts may take years to filter through the system. Prof El Tigani believes that there are many solutions that can be introduced more quickly from the top down: "Leaders control everything, resources, budgets, recruitment ... but they are not equipped for leadership."
As the global economy appears to change more rapidly with each business-cycle, leadership skills have become all the more important. But what a manager knows and what he has learnt in the past can actually hinder his leadership skills. The ability to listen, to embrace change, inspire integrity, and to lead employees towards a common purpose are timeless attributes of a leader. Hopefully ADICOE's programme will help executives cultivate them and the self and organisational awareness that they require for their companies - and for the country - to grow.