Can a person learn to become an inspirational leader, or is it an innate trait that they’re born with?
According to the American author and executive educator Jim Kouzes, 69, leadership can be learnt, and he has spent the past 44 years helping others to unleash their leader within.
Mr Kouzes is the co-author, along with Barry Posner, of the influential book The Leadership Challenge, which uses case studies to examine the five practices they say you need to follow to be an exemplary leader. Now in its fifth edition, the book has sold more than 2 million copies and is available in 22 languages.
Mr Kouzes was in Dubai this month to deliver a seminar, sponsored by Right Selection and John Wiley & Sons, to a group of local executives on how to be exemplary leaders.
“People have much more potential than they think they have, but many individuals hold on to a belief that they can’t because they’ve accepted the argument that, ‘well, I’m not a natural-born leader, so I can’t learn this stuff’,” says Mr Kouzes. “The evidence-based research we’ve done proves that you can. But you need to have the belief.”
Mr Kouzes and Mr Posner came up with the five practices by interviewing a variety of leaders across a range of organisations to find out when they feel they are at their personal best.
Despite differences in culture, gender, age and other variables, the “personal best” stories revealed similar patterns of behaviour.
“We discovered five core practices common to all: they model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart.”
From that grew an assessment tool Mr Kouzes refers to as “the Leadership Practices Inventory” (LPI), a questionnaire used to conduct research involving more than five million respondents. It contains 30 behavioural statements – six for each of the five practices. Leaders rate themselves on the frequency with which they believe they engage in each of the 30 behaviours, and up to ten other people rate them too.
Mr Kouzes says, ideally, leadership training should happen at a young age. “98 per cent of employers said they would like to see leadership development on a candidate’s CV, and 95 per cent of employers would like it to start by age 21 or earlier,” he explains. “But the majority of employees don’t enrol in their first leadership training until they’re in their early forties, when they’ve often already been in supervisory positions for around 10 years. How can we expect them to perform at a high level if they’ve started their training so late in their careers? Would you accept that from a doctor or an airline pilot?”
Mr Kouzes was himself inspired to think about leadership at the age of 15 when he was chosen to be one of a dozen Eagle Scouts to serve in the honour guard at the US president John F Kennedy’s 1961 inauguration.
Mr Kouzes went on to serve two years in the Peace Corps, teaching at a school in Turkey. He then worked for the United States war on poverty programme, helping provide services to the poor. An administrational job at the executive development centre of Santa Clara University in California brought him into contact with Mr Posner in 1981.
Since they wrote their defining book in 1987, Mr Kouzes says their LPI assessment tool has been used in more than 72 countries by more than 5 million people. He cites Apple, Oracle and the global defence company Northrop Grumman among the companies that have adopted The Leadership Challenge's model in their training. And he says the Ajman Tourism Department is a client.
“Their general manager of tourism did something really fascinating,” says Mr Kouzes. “He created a vision wall on which he put pictures of all the employees in his organisation, and they each wrote their own vision. So that was a way for them to see how their visions and aspirations could also be fulfilled, by enlisting them in a common vision.”
Mr Kouzes says a common misconception is that because someone occupies a managerial position, it makes them a leader.
“Giving orders and leading are two very different things,” he says. “Anders Ericsson, the leading expert on expertise, has said that, ‘living in a cave won’t make you a geologist’.”
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Results
Stage Two:
1. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 04:20:45
2. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix
3. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates
4. Olav Kooij (NED) Jumbo-Visma
5. Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ
General Classification:
1. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix 09:03:03
2. Dmitry Strakhov (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo 00:00:04
3. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 00:00:06
4. Sam Bennett (IRL) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:00:10
5. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:12
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
GOODBYE%20JULIA
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Roll%20of%20Honour%2C%20men%E2%80%99s%20domestic%20rugby%20season
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The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
All Blacks line-up for third Test
J Barrett; I Dagg, A Lienert-Brown, N Laumape, J Savea; B Barrett, A Smith; J Moody, C Taylor, O Franks, B Retallick, S Whitelock, J Kaino, S Cane, K Read (capt).
Replacements: N Harris, W Crockett, C Faumuina, S Barrett, A Savea, TJ Perenara, A Cruden, M Fekitoa.
%3Cp%3EThe%20Punishment%20of%20Luxury%3Cbr%3EOMD%3Cbr%3E100%25%20Records%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
Company%20profile
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Company%20profile
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