Chapter 7

Movement leaders
Intro
The researcher chose seven movement leaders that are considered by the public as
visionaries and who created positive movements in their fields, oriented towards
service for the wellbeing of people and society. The choice ranged from present
leaders and leaders from the past with different backgrounds, to ensure a more
holistic input, and to extrapolate the root motive for leaders to serve others. The
research will also use the life of the selected leaders, to find common themes
between them, in the context of the leadership qualities. This input will be used for
the purpose of the research, and for defining the kind of leadership needed to lead
servitized movement in organisations.

7.1 Reason for choosing those leaders?

The reason behind the choice of those movement leaders cannot be justified on a
scientific basis, but rather it is more inclined to the choices of the researcher. The choices
focused on leaders that are widely considered by the public as movement leader, with a
positive purpose, as shown in picture 6 including; Mahatma Ghandi, who worked towards
the evolution of the collective consciousness of people, from slavery to freedom and
humanity.
In order to extrapolate beneficial themes, from the life of the chosen movement leaders,
the researcher included deep personal information about the leaders’ life, pertaining to
their upbringing, faith, stories, and moments of illumination. These details were included
in the context of the research concerns, and in order to facilitate the creation of the
service-based leadership qualities.
Picture 6: 7 Movement Leaders, from Social and Organisational Backgrounds, as Models
for service-based leadership (Source: will take the source of those pics frm dana)
#27
Mahatma Ghandi , Nelson Mandela, Dr.Martin Luther King Jr., Malala Yousafzai,
Paramahansa Yogananda ,Elon Musk, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
DEELTE THE WRITTEN NAMES
The use of the first or last name on this list depends on what they have been familiar for,
and not following certain order.
7.1.1 Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
Many studies investigated the source of the power that Mahatma Gandhi, who
was known for with the unbounded influence over a whole nation, although
Gandhi did not have a political background, or any family members in a leading
position in the government, which were the social standards to become a politician
in India back then. On the contrary, Gandhi was an ordinary lawyer, like many
other people in India, yet he held, a power that transcended social status (Kumar,
1993).
Sharma (2013) argues that the power of Gandhi came from focusing the time and
resources on attaining universal truth, rather limited belief systems, referred to the
state of unity of all there is, which is known in the Indian spiritual scripture in
‘’Satya’’ (self-realization), or as Gandhi personally described it as the power to see
the face of God in life and people. That evolved motivation unity, and was the fuel
for Gandhi’s movement towards freedom and social justice, known in history as
the non-violent resistance.
What made Gandhi different from other sages in India was sharing the same
philosophy and desire for universal truth and unity. Gandhi did not separate
spirituality from daily life and social activism, as it was the tradition for truth
seekers in India back then to live in Ashrams (spiritual monastery in Indian
religion). Actually, Gandhi refused to follow that tradition, and believed that
genuine spirituality can only be matured in the heart of society, and through
conscious discipline (Gandhi and Desai, n.d.).
When looking back at the life of Gandhi, to explore the source of Gandhi’s
motivation for unity and higher awareness, it does not seem to be an inherited
motivation that Gandhi was born with. Actually, Gandhi did not even have an
evolved awareness in his childhood. In fact, Gandhi lived in despair for most of
childhood, which lead Ghandi to attempt suicide once by consuming poisonous
weed, but he stopped at the last moment. Yet, there are two major events that
changed Gandhi’s life for good, thus affecting his commitment to awareness and
unity (Bligh and Robinson, 2010).
The first incident happened when Gandhi was young, as Gandhi used to steal
cigarettes from his father, but after a while Gandhi started to feel guilty about that
behaviour, and decided to stop. The act of stopping itself was not satisfying for
Gandhi. So, he decided then to confess to the act of stealing. Therefore, Gandhi
wrote a confession letter, which then turned into a shock for him when he saw his
father pouring tears from the letter, and then shredding it (Sharma, 2013)
With that incident, Gandhi, realised that there is nothing better than honesty.
Although that incident might be insignificant for others, yet it altered the views of
Gandhi about the power of honesty. After that, Gandhi turned into a devotional
searcher for universal truths. That can be seen through the notes of Gandhi, which
described this incident as a wakeup call. This wake up call encouraged Gandhi to
make a personal vow to stay honest regardless of the circumstances. That vow
was tested many times in Gandhi’s life, and mostly at the time of university, when
one of the teachers promoted the Indian students to cheat, and Gandhi was the
only student to refuse that, in respect to the vow to honesty. Gandhi believed that
when a vow is made, life will test the commitment of the person to that vow, till it
becomes a way of living (Munshi, 2010)
Gandhi made many other vows after that incident, as part of a moral practice.
Those vows where different than the vows made for the sake of other institutions
such as religious or political ones. Actually, Gandhi believed that when the vow is
practiced out of obligation, it cannot bring any maturity for the practitioner, and
therefore vows should be made and practiced from a place of free chosen
discipline. For example, when Gandhi made a vow for his mother not to eat meat,
Gandhi broke that vow, only to re-state the vow again as a free chosen discipline
(Sharma, 2013).
The idea of free chosen vows did not only develop Gandhi’s higher levels of will
power, but it also enhanced Gandhi’s tolerance and respect for people, who are not
following the same values. Many of those vows developed sooner into a social
movement, as such the vow of prohibiting eating meat, which then turned into a
social movement at the University College London. That movement was
developed by Gandhi, with the intention to provide vegetarian food for students, as
an eligible fight for the injustice, of not providing this service for vegetarian
students (Gandhi and Desai, n.d.).
With that unwavering commitment to vows and personal values, Gandhi was
considered by many researchers as one of the most morale figures in history, while
Gandhi considered that sense of morality and justice, as just a secondary issue, in
comparison to the main focus, which was the pursuit of universal truth. With the
pursuit of truth, the practice of morality followed as a result. That is why Gandhi
said ‘’ Morality is the basis of things, and truth is the substance of all morality’’
(Sharma, 2013). Gandhi believed that morality can differ from person to person
upon their authentic values, yet the deep universal truth including the reality of
unity and goodness are the same, as according to Gandhi all religions should guide
to that truth, and not claim their truth over others (van der Heijden et al., 2015).
The second incident that changed Gandhi’s life, is the incident of the train, which
was considered by many researchers as the point of transformation in Gandhi’s
life, or as referred to in the psychology of religion, as a conversion experience
(Gandhi and Desai, n.d.).
Gandhi was travelling in the first class seat on the train on the way to Pretoria,
South Africa, in order to assist a company in a certain law suit. In the train, a
white British man asked Gandhi to leave, with the claim that no coloured man can
sit in the first class. The man asked Gandhi to move to third class. Gandhi refused
to collaborate and insisted to stay in the first class, as Gandhi had a first class
ticket (PIRIE, 1988)
Therefore, the British man called the officers, which then threw Gandhi out in the
next station, while almost breaking Gandhi’s wrist. According to Dr. John R, one
of the leading researchers on Gandhi’s life, that incident was the most profound
experience in Gandhi’s life, because it made Gandhi feel firsthand the pain of
injustice from the ruling white elite (Sharma, 2013).
Because of the heightened level of Gandhi’s awareness at that time, Gandhi was
able to calm down, and instead of seeking revenge, decided to spend that night in
contemplating how to respond to injustice, from the awareness of truth. That was
the beginning of the shift in Gandhi’s career into an activist for social justice
(Gandhi and Desai, n.d.).
The heightened level of awareness demonstrated by Gandhi, can also be seen
through Gandhi’s words in the diary: ‘’hate the sin and not the sinner’’. Gandhi
also mentioned that this sentence is easy to understand but rarely practiced, and
that is why there are many problems in the world. Gandhi continued in the writing
to say; that it is right to attack systems and ideas, but attacking the people
themselves is eventually an attack for oneself, as Gandhi believed that everyone is
connected at the deepest level with one source, and thus attacking anyone is
attacking oneself (Toit, 1996)
. This level of awareness in spiritual context is known as ‘’Oneness’’ which is
considered the highest level of universal truth in the eastern cultures, where people
stop seeing themselves as a separate entity, but rather they percieve life from a
spiritual perspective, where everything is connected beyond the physical look
(Krishnan, 2008).
Gandhi derived many of those principles from the Hindu philosophy, especially
the principle of ‘’Satyagraha’’ which dictates the importance of holding on to the
truth; and that states that everyone is a part of the infinite, and anyone trying to
force or take power from anyone is depriving power from one’s nature. Gandhi
also believed in the principle of pursuing justice without creating harm for any
humans (Wright, 2011).
With that level of awareness, Gandhi understood that true justice can only be
achieved, when transcending the weakness in the mind, which is already created
the act of injustice itself, and not through demonizing the people who had held to
that weakness, as they are still part of that unity (Sandelius and Dhawan, 1947)
. Albert Einstein the theoretical physicist, who admired Gandhi immensely,
expressed that similar philosophy by saying ‘’the problem cannot be solved from
the same level of consciousness that has created it’’. This means that injustice
cannot be solved, by fighting it with the same level of ignorance, anger, and
revenge that it was created by. (Karlekar, 1995).
That attitude towards injustice was the seed that reaped the principles of non-
violent resistance. Therefore, Gandhi ran the non-violent resistance on the basis of
forgiveness and compassion, as a tool to evolve beyond the level of awareness of
injustice. Gandhi also stated that the non-violent resistance was the result of the
personal practice of non-violence by individuals, combined with a firm dedication
to social justice (Bligh and Robinson, 2010).
The dedication of Gandhi to the principles of non-violence, can be seen clearly
when the British soldiers killed 379 people in the Amritsar massacre in April 1919,
and Gandhi responded to that massacre, by insisting more on the principles of no
harm, by asking people of India to maintain their compassion, and refuse to be
dragged into that lower level of injustice. That does not mean, that Gandhi stayed
still, and did not respond to that event, yet Gandhi insisted on sticking to the
principles of non-violence especially in those times (Sayer, 1991).
The dedication of Gandhi to the principle of non-violence, was even clearer when
one of the Indians reacted to the massacre, by killing a British soldier. Gandhi
responded to that, by starting a food deprivation to stop the whole resistance, as in
the eyes of Gandhi, the resistance deviated from the principle of non-violent there.
Thus, Gandhi stated then that no killing for any person is allowed, no matter how
justified that is. With that, the country responded by freezing the non-violent
resistance (McLaughlin, 2012).
The strength of Gandhi and commitment to the principles of non-violence,
inspired the masses to perceive the British army as a victim rather than an enemy,
and to continue with the freedom movement from a place humanity, forgiveness,
and courage. The persistence to stay honest to the principle of non-violence, while
maintaining the courage to fight and respond is was what made Gandhi a very
respectful figure through history (Karlekar, 1995).
After that, Gandhi re-launched the non-violent movement again in 1930, as an
opposition for the increased salt tax from the British government. The movement
was guided by 70 people, including Gandhi, known as the freedom fighter. Back
then, Gandhi went to the sea and took some salt in the hand, and made a famous
pledge there; to shake the foundation of the British Empire with the salt, while
maintaining the principles of non-violence (Bush, 2014).
Going back to the details of Gandhi’s life, in order to examine the major influences
on it. At the age of 22 Gandhi met the mentor Raychand, who soon became
Gandhi’s figure and idol, and was the first to fully ignite the passion of Gandhi for
self-realization (replace z with s). Raychand also opened the door for Gandhi to
meet many religious figures, which allowed Gandhi to expand the sense of
compassion to all religions, by perceiving all spiritual practice as guidance to self-
realization. With that understanding, Gandhi was able to see the unity in all
religions instead of the separation upon practices and dogmas. In other words,
Raychand helped Gandhi to awaken the understanding of religions, to reach a
deeper level of awareness and to see that no religion is superior to the other, and
no human is superior (Karlekar, 1995).
Other Major influences in Gandhi’s life were the spiritual books, especially the
Hindu text; the Bhagavad Gita, which Gandhi read almost every day. With that, it
becomes clear that the spiritual perspective played a major role in Gandhi’s life,
wisdom, and compassion (McLaughlin, 2012).
The researcher believes that Gandhi was probably one of the most profound
examples for service-based leadership. Holding firm to higher truth, purpose, and
authentic values, Ghandi was able then to inspire and lead millions to that purpose,
resulting in liberating the whole of India of 99 years under British Empire rule. As
Gandhi himself put it ‘’my life is my message’’ (van der Heijden et al., 2015)

2.4.1.2 Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

Nelson Mandela never considered courage as a quality to be born with, but a
choice to practice moment to moment. When reporting to Richard Stengel, the
writer of Mandela’s biography, Mandela did not define courage as the absence of
fear, but the act of moving forward despite the fear. Mandela confessed to being
fearful in many occasions, and even went further to consider fearlessness as
stupidity, yet Mandela always choose the courageous stand for justice. (Stengel,
2010).
Mandela's character was somehow paradoxical, by having huge tolerance for
many things, and extremely no tolerance for injustice. Mandela always took a firm
stance against injustice and discrimination. When Mandela witnessed any act of
injustice, Mandela used to repeat firmly ‘’this is not right’’ (Pietersen, 2015).
Mandela built courage and leadership to face injustice through years of practice,
especially at the time spent in prison. The morning ritual for Mandela in prison,
was to practice how to stand with courage and dignity before starting the day, and
that is how Mandela practiced leadership qualities in the prison, while being
subjected to long and hard labour. Thus, Mandela used the prison as an
opportunity to continue fighting against injustice. That fight was seen clearly in
Mandela's manners, were he refused to cooperate with the guards in the prison
when called not by name and instead as prisoner (Nwagbara, 2013).
The courage and strength of Mandela was seen at its highest in 1969, when the
news came that Mandela’s son had been killed in a car accident, Mandela spent the
whole day in the cell, and the next day went to labour like any other prisoner,
while maintaining the same courageous stance. When interviewing Mandela later
about that incident, Mandela said that the sadness was unbearable, but that there
was a need to stand courageously in front of the guard, in order not to lose the
cause the fight was for. That showed the determination of Mandela to practice
courage for the sake of a vision held in the heart (Pietersen, 2015)

The admiration of Mendela for the value of courage was obvious, especially when
being asked about the favourite reading, where Mandela pointed out directly to a
quote from the play "Julius Caesar' that says ‘’Cowards die many time before their
death’’ (). The courage of Mandela was a symbol of power for the Africans, which
was seen through Mandela’s unshakable calmness, and sense of inner steadiness.
This made the people respect and trust Mandela more. That is why Mandela
believed in self-control as a must for leadership and the fight for justice
(Oppenheim, 2012).

Mandela fought for justice and equality, since the first time experiencing racism;
when being the only black student in the law school of University of the
Witwatersrand, and officially after that in 1950, when Mandela was elected as the
president of African National Congress Youth League (ANCY). Although Mandela
was dedicated to a non-violent approach, that changed when Mandela, deviated
from that philosophy in the year of 1960. This deviation took place when the
police killed 69 protesters from the 6000 people that were protesting peacefully.
The killing was followed then by the martial laws of banning any protests, and
putting thousands of people in prison in South Africa. Mandela went to the ground
then, to lead armed Africans before being captured and imprisoned in 1962, to be
faced after that, and specifically in the year of 1962 with 27 years of imprisonment
(Pietersen, 2015).
Regardless of the imprisonment, Mandela never lost the courage to fight for justice
and freedom, which was seen clearly through the speech of Mandela, from the
prison Rivonia Trail in South Africa in 1964: ‘’I have fought against white
domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the
ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in
harmony and with equal opportunities It is an ideal, for which I hope to live for and
to see realised. But, My Lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared
to die.…’’ (Oppenheim, 2012) _
Mandela spend the first 18 years in an isolated 8 feet cell, breaking rocks all day,
and physically harassed by several white prisoners. (Collett and Simoes da Silva,
2011). Then in 1982, Mandela was moved to the Pollsmoor Prison, where the
situation was better, allowing Mandela to read, and send 52 letters a year
(Republic, 2016).
The courage of Mandela and way of approaching injustice changed and matured
through the years, into fighting through reconciliation, which was influenced by
the principle of nonviolent resistance of Mahatma Gandhi (Maluleke, 2015).
Despite the rebellious nature of Mandela, maturity drove Mandela to fight against
the oppressor, and to calling for reconciliation. That shift in attitude is due to the
inner shift in Mandela's awareness from anger to forgiveness. That is why
Mandela was considered by many as the figure for peace and forgiveness (Havva
et al., 2016).
Mandela even expressed the qualities of peace and forgiveness through the
physical look. That is why Mandela was known for the special smile, as Mandela
consciously used the smile as a sign of peace, reconciliation, and courage or as
Mandela was referred to as the happy warrior (Ciulla, 2014). In the 1994 election, the
posters of Mandela with the smile were all over the country of South Africa, which
was against the normal look of Africans politicians, as a strong message for
Africans that Mandela was a man without bitterness and need for revenge.
Ultimately the smile of Mandela was a symbol for strength, and a call to stay firm
in the pursuit of reconciliation within a higher message (Stengel, 2010).
When Mandela was released from prison and became the president, Mandela
refused to use that power for punishment, and stated clearly that South Africa is
an open country for everyone (Havva et al., 2016).This was a strong message
about the intention of Mandela for reconciliation, for the highest good. The path of
reconciliation and empowering others, continued after the presidency period of
Mandela to turn into a journey of activism; working with the local communities
towards building schools and fighting HIV/AIDS (Stengel, 2010).
Mandela believed that leadership is all about community and not the person, by
mastering the ability of influencing the thoughts and attitudes of people towards a
higher vision, and not through the individual approach. Mandela believed that this
type of leadership is achieved through empowering others to follow a united vision
and message (Read, 2010). The researcher found that this approach to leadership,
is the core philosophy of servant leadership, whereby the leader is a servant for a
higher message first, and then a leader. With that being said, Mandela also
believed in the power of leading alone in front when needed, and allowing one’s
voice to be heard and seen, with the willingness to die for one’s values (Stengel,
2010).
Mandela had a balanced leadership attitude between democracy and individual
determination, as sometimes would obey the National Executive Communities
(NEC) even when disagreeing with them, and sometime Mandela would stand
firmly for the sake of personal beliefs, and oblige the people to follow, according
to a foresight of the highest good (Collett and Simoes da Silva, 2011).
What made Mandela a legendary leader, is not just that courage and dedication
towards justice, but rather the ability to transform anger and bitterness into
reconciliation. That was seen not just through a life of imprisonment, but through
many other situations, such as the story of Mandela’s wife, who led the revolution,
while Mandela was in prison, to realise later that the wife was not loyal. Mandela
did not seek punishment, and was able to grow from that situation through
forgiveness, to lead with the smile into the message of reconciliation (Pietersen,
2015).
Mandela made a distinct difference between principles and strategies, by stating
that strategies are always open to change, but that this is not the case with
principles. The strategies should follow the principles, and not the other way
around. That distinction kept Mandela open minded for any changes, and yet firm
in the pursuit of justice. The shift of strategies can be seen before and after prison,
from rebellious opposition into peaceful reconciliation, while maintaining the
same values of courage, freedom, and justice (van Wyk, 2014).
Mandela also made a differentiation between laws and principles, stating that laws
are not as fixed as principles, which was clear in the following writings of
Mandela ‘’ Law is nothing but organised force used by the ruling class, to shape
the social order in a way favorable to itself.’’ (Nwagbara, 2013).
When looking back at the most impactful events in Mandela’s life, which allowed
the vision of equality to come into ripeness, one can find the moment that changed
Mandela’s perception after a period of time in the prison. That was the moment
when Mandela had an enlightening moment, which was the same as the
conversion moment in the life of several leaders, mentioned before. Mandlea
realised that the way to deal with the time of prison is not only through
maintaining the strength till the time was done, but also by perceiving the prison
as a gift.
When Mandela realised that the prison was a gift, Mandela started to perceive the
prison as an opportunity, to have the space to grow in person in order to lead the
country with vision of reconciliation. That is where Mandela started writing letters
of reconciliation (Read, 2010).
Therefore, Mandela turned the time in prison into a space to practice healing and
self-mastery in terms of forgiveness, strength, and inner peace, believing in what
Gandhi mentioned before:‘’be the change you want to see in the world’’ or as
Mandela personally said ‘’be the change you seek’’. That understanding allowed
Mandela to grow into a strong character, before convincing others with the vision
of reconciliation. That’s why, Mandela was described before going to prison as
passionate and emotional, but then Mandela was described more as balanced and
in control after prison. When Mandela was asked how the prison changed him,
Mandela replied through maturity and courage (Havva et al., 2016)
That was important because the country of South Africa was not easily convinced
with a vision of reconciliation without a true powerful leader behind it, as the
Afrikaners (White South African) were afraid to lose power, and the black were
seeking revenge for the sense of injustice  (Morselli and Passini, 2010).
Mandela's ability to forgive easily, came from the personal belief that there is no
one inherently evil, and that evil is just a learnt set of beliefs from the society and
educational system. That is why Mandela never referred to acts with the word evil,
and always used the term self-interested acts. That is why, Mandela never spoke ill
of any of the opponents, or even the guards that mistreated him in the prison, but
rather said they were acting according to self-interest (Oppenheim, 2012).
Therefore, Mandela was known to introduce leadership from an evolved
perspective, which is based on forgiveness and reconciliation. Reconciliation is
now used as a major strategy for conflict resolution based on truth telling and the
respect of all other expression. Although the background of reconciliation goes
back to the 13th Century, however it got promoted by Nelson Mandela who
became known as the figure for reconciliation, (Pietersen, 2015).
According to Hegel, a writer on the philosophy of reconciliation, Hegel discussed
that reconciliation starts as a state of mind, where the person stops seeing others as
enemies (Kiliçaslan, 2008). Paul Lederach has a similar definition for reconciliation
as the creation of a safe space, where truth and mercy are celebrated (Meiring,
2002). On the other hand, Brouneus proposed different definition for
reconciliation, by accepting the negative and positive side of what happened, and
allowing them to work in harmony together. That can be achieved by creating a
relationship between the oppressed and oppressor, through focusing on the desire
for better future for the whole society (). That was seen when Mandela was asked
in one of the interview on how he managed to overcome anger, to say that the
vision towards peace for South Africa had more pull than the need for revenge
(Lieberfeld, 2009).
Also when Mandela was asked in one of the interviews in the year 2000 by Oprah
Winfrey, on how being able to transcend the bitterness and anger, Mandela replied
that there was still bitterness, but the desire to transform the country into a better
place to live in, and the strive for equality allowed Mandela to overcame that
anger, by releasing that vision of reconciliation will not be able to express itself,
without Mandela personally reaching inner-conciliation first (Stengel, 2010).
Mandela's reconciliation oriented leadership, was based on a profound sense of
empathy and desire to create a united vision for the people, which allowed
Mandela to evolve beyond anger, and to transform it into compassion and vision.
Meaning that Mandela renewed injustice with profound gratitude, hope and vision
( Mandela’s dedication for reconciliation was tested the most, when became the
president of South Africa in 1994, with the fact that 85% majority black people in
South Africa had suffered bitterness from the ruling white, and wanted a sense of
revenge. Yet, Mandela managed to lead the country into the vision of
reconciliation, by focusing on the idea of equality and justice, regarding what
happened in the past (Pietersen, 2015).

What shifted Mandela from the self-motivated leadership, for seeking freedom for
black people before going to prison, to a vision of societal freedom based on
humanity, is the connecting with a united vision, which included freedom and
equality for all people in South Africa and the world (Havva et al., 2016).

Mandela also believed in the power of persuasion and tactics, in order to bring
people together with a united vision. That is why Mandela learnt the language of
the opponents, in order to have more empathy and understanding for them. That
was shown when Mandela studied in prison, the language of the Afrikaners and
their history, which then converted into the negotiation later on, as Mandela
mentioned’’ if you talk with man with a language he understands, that goes to his
head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.’’ . Mandela was
also influenced by Lincoln's style of persuasion, by speaking last and listening
patiently to the opposing ideas first, believing that the core of leadership boils
down, to listening to the collective wisdom in the group. That is why Mandela was
a champion for the idea of listening and empowerment as principles for leadership
(Pietersen, 2015).

The Researcher believes that the paradigm of servant leadership, is very connected
with Mandela's style of leadership, as the basis of servant leadership is shaping
one’s vision and character, in accordance to a higher vision for the goodness of
humanity (Nwagbara, 2013).

2.4.1.3 Martin Luther King, Jr (1929-1968)

In December 1955 Rosa Parks, the human right activist, was the first lady to
disobey the segregation policy in Montgomery buses, separating the seats between
black and white people. That ended with arresting Parks for her refusal to move
from the seat. That incident kindled the Montgomery bus boycott movement, led
by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and other leaders in Montgomery Improvement
Association (MIA) (Wilson, 2005).

The movement sustained for its whole duration over a year, the principles of
nonviolent resistance, with the goal of equality, and alleviating the suffering of
injustice towards the black people. The movement was very organised and lasted
for more than a year, before it yielded its fruits, with the decision of the Supreme
Court, to re-integrate the bus system with no seat discrimination between black
and white people (King and Carson, 1998). The efficient planning and organised
resources, played a crucial role in the continuation of the movement over the
whole year, yet the most important factor for the success of Montgomery
movement, is the firm belief that it will reach the intended results against the rigid
system. That belief was constantly nurtured by Luther King (Thornton, 2014).

Being a preacher, Luther King used the passionate speeches and poetic language,
to fill the supporters of the movement with hope and enthusiasm. That kept the
masses believing in the intended results, even if they were not possible before
(Coleman et al., 2007). The determination of Luther King and the higher purpose
for the movement, created a sense of consensus between the masses, as King
insisted on the importance of maintaining the focus of leadership on the definite
purpose, rather on name and side achievements (Hine and Morris, 1985)
Luther king also insisted on the power of ordered strategies, in order to reach the
ultimate goal of equality, which was demonstrated through the whole period of the
movement, by staying committed to the philosophy of non-violence, through all
that time. This idea was influenced by the work of Mahatma Gandhi (King and
Carson, 1998).

Luther King was among others, who were highly influenced with the philosophy
of Gandhi in terms of love and peaceful activism, blended with the universal
understanding of unity, yet Luther King was still doubtful of the practicality of
love, in terms of creating real solutions, especially when it comes to critical
matters, such as the discrimination between white and black people (Cha, 2013).
That doubt stayed with Luther King till heard the lecture of Dr. Mordecia Johnson,
a researcher on the work of Gandhi, which changed the attitude of King towards
love. This turned King (CHECK THE SPACE), into solid believer in the love-
based leadership. In the lecture, Dr. Mordecia was explaining how Gandhi used
the non-violent movement, through what was mentioned before the
‘’Satyagraha’’, meaning love force (PLEASE CHECK THE QOUTATIONS), or
truth force (King and Carson, 1998). Luther King realised then, that love is the
true power, using the philosophy of loving your enemy as a mean for running
social movements. From that moment on, Luther king was able to integrate both
the belief in love, with the practical side of leadership and social movements
(McGarry, 2015). That was seen in the writings of Luther king, mentioning that
the value of humans is not from the intellect but from the value of life, which
leaves the idea of blackness and whiteness to pass away, with the realisation of the
unity of humans with life, thus guiding people to see differences, as insignificance
at a physical level, when compared to the sense of unity between all humans at a
spiritual level (Franklin, 1987).
Luther King was an unusual preacher,, with unique religious views more oriented
towards a spirituality, unity, and social understanding. That can be seen in King's
writings; Whether we call it an unconscious process, an impersonal Brahman, or
a Personal Being of matchless power and infinite love, there is a creative force in
this universe that works to bring the disconnected aspects of reality into a
harmonious whole (Alsup, 2009). (PLEASE CHECK THE QOUTATIONS) That
is why Luther king was also inspired by the work of the economist and socialist
Karl Marx. Although having some conflicted ideas with Marx, regarding the belief
in God, King related to the passion of Marx towards love and social justice, and
was able, then, to see that true spirituality can only flourish when its applied
towards social justice (Fairclough, 1983).
That level of maturity and spiritual understanding in Luther king's awareness, was
obvious through the speeches, which can be roughly counted to 2500 pubic
speeches directed towards hope, unity, and goodness for humanity, without
denying the injustice in the world, as King acknowledged the collective evil,
without losing faith in humanity and love (Alderman, 2002).
Luther King also insisted on fighting through non-violent resistance, as the theme
for any progressive movement. Luther King believed that nonviolence did not only
help black people gain a more empowered self-image, but it also helped to
transform long suppressed feelings of powerlessness, anger, and frustration, into a
forward movement towards collective integration, which in the opinion of King is
the opposite of segregation (Franklin, 1987).

Luther king maintained the non-violent approach, even in the midst of the personal
and repetitive attacks, either through direct attempts for stabbing, or any other
forms of violence, by saying ‘’We believe in order… I want you to love our enemy
. Be good to them. Love them and let them know you love them’’ (King and
Carson, 1998). During those challenging times, Luther king stayed true to the idea
of non-violence and love, even in the extreme cases such as bombing King’s home
(Kern-Foxworth, 1992).

Luther king claimed that the teaching of Christianity of loving your enemy, as one
of the most misunderstood teachings, to turn it into some sort of weakness, while
in reality it is the source of true power, especially when it is used in the context of
social movement. Luther king considered justice as just another face of love,
suggesting that justice is love in calculation. In short, Luther king believed with a
full heart that love should be the charge for justice, and to create an authentic
social movement, thus describing justice as the salvation for both the sinner, and
sinned against (Considine, 2016). King claims that through hatred and anger one
can only murder the haters, but not the hate and violence itself, and that violence
only breeds more evil and violence (lucas, 2017).
That was the main conflict between King and Malcom X, the human rights
activist, who insisted on the idea of facing injustice with violence (Alridge,2006)

Luther King insisted even more on the idea of love and nonviolence, when it was
against the will of the movement supporters. For example, when a stick of
dynamite was thrown on E. D. Nixon, the civil right leader, as one the main
organisers of the bus boycott, Luther king insisted that the masses shall stay
committed to the nonviolence (King and Carson, 1998). Luther king considered
the commitment to one's highest values, especially when it is least wanted, as one
of the highest traits of leadership. That is why Luther king stood many time
against the desire of black people, when they were seeking revenge, saying that; A
genuine leader is searcher for consensus but a molder for consensus (Green
2016). (PLEASE CHECK THE QOUTATIONS)

Luther King also included courage as a vital value for leadership, mentioning that
courage is a direct result of accepting death as possibly. Luther King was forced to
reach that conclusion, after bombing King’s house, and saying that without linking
peace with idea of dying for what you believe in, one cannot move steadily
forward in any cause. That can be seen clearly in the King’s speech just one day
before the assassination ‘I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man!
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord’’ (Adam, 2009).

Luther king believed that it is vital to empower the people, in order to be able to
actualise higher vision. According to King’s view, true empowerment occurs at the
level of self-concept, or by changing how people perceive themselves. That is why
Luther King created the black power movement, not as a tool for separation, or to
make black people more powerful than white people, but rather as a way to
empower the black people, towards unity and integrative society (King and
Carson, 1998)

When looking back at Luther king's childhood, and specifically at the age of 7, to
examine the experience that changed King into a fighter for justice, it is learned
that the boy Luther King used to play with, was prevented to play with King by
the parents, because of the colour issue. Luther King felt a deep anger that
moment, and decided to hate every white person. That hatred increased, even
when King became a preacher, while not being able to understand that injustice
fully. It was through a process of maturity, that King was able to fully transformed
the anger into purpose, and to become a true leader, starting with the Montgomery
Bus Boycott (King and Carson, 1998)

Also, it is important to examine the reason that Luther king and other leaders
gained that popularity. Many researchers studied the idea of developing charisma,
as an important factor for gaining trust and popularity in leadership (Shamir et al.,
1993), yet very few researchers took a deeper step, to examine the social
influencers in terms of how King reached high visibility to the message, to enable
the creation of powerful social movements. The reason behind King’s visibility
and popularity, can be distilled to the fact that King was seen an expert, with the
ability to stand out with strong conviction, and working toward a uniting value.
Luther King was a preacher and doctor in systematic theology, which positioned
him as an expert to lead the movement, while standing out firmly for equality,
which is considered a deep and uniting value (Roberts et al., 2008). Alsup (2009)
also discussed that the main themes for leadership visibility is the belief in unseen
power, which is known as strong faith, including the understanding that everything
is connected, allowing higher morals and ethics to set the bar for personal and
societal social behaviour which can also be seen clearly through the life of Luther
King.

2.4.1.4 Malala Yousafzai (1997 and still alive)

Malala was the youngest Nobel winner, who received the award in 2014. Malala
started the journey as an activist at the age of 11, by standing up a for the right of
education and equality, especially for the rights of Pakistani women for education,
which goes against the ruling policy of the Taliban regime back that time (Bailey,
2013)
The love of Malala for education, was nurtured from a very early age through the
empowering views of Malala’s family towards education, especially through the
father Ziauddin Yousafzai, who was an activist for child education and women
rights; personally running a school for women. From a very young age, Ziauddin
instilled in Malala the love for education, as an important tool for empowerment
and growth. Ziauddin believed firmly, that the reason Pakistani people were ruled
by extremist, is due to their lack of education (Lynch, 2014). That is why the
extremists were trying to forbid women from education, as a means to maintain
their power over the people (Khoja-Moolji, 2015).
Even with the empowering views of Malala’s family towards education, Malala
did not fully grasp the potency of education, until Taliban started to forbid women
to go to schools in 2008, which lead sometimes to attacking and bombing schools
that disobeyed that policy. According to Malala, people only start to appreciate
things, when they are taken from then, such as the right for education (Lamb,
2015). Despite those atrocities towards women education, Malala did not view the
Terrorist as bad, but considered them as merely a result of ignorance. That view
allowed Malala to evolve beyond the personal fight with terrorism, into a fight
with ignorance (Parsons, 2016).
In 2009 , the Taliban policy (CHECK THE COMMA) against women education
peaked, to forbid more than 50,000 girls to go to school. Malala refused to obey
that law, and managed to run the school with the father secretly, by hiding all the
signs from it. From that moment on, Malala decided to stand for women, and stand
up publicly about the power of education, in fighting terrorism and transforming
the world (Bush, 2014).
Malala started the movement by writing blogs about the human rights for
education, which soon turned into a regular column in the BBC Pakistan. Despite
the young age of Malala, she was still aware of the power of peaceful resistance,
as the backbone of any opposing movement, influenced mainly by the principles
of non-violence of Gandhi (Usborne, 2013). Malala expressed in her writings and
speeches, that when there is no education, people become fearful, powerless and
loses hope. This can turn them into prey for extreme ideologies (Nayar, 2015).
Malala also perceived education as a facilitator for equality, as students sit on the
same benches, regardless of their backgrounds (The Daily Show Interview, 2017).
That shows how the deep connection for Malala with education and the highest
human values. That is why Malala encouraged the Pakistani women to pursue
education, instead of getting married at a relatively a young age (Hammell, 2015)
When Malala started to speak in public, the family received many threats and
death notes. Yet that did not stop Malala in pursuing the non-violent movement for
education (Olesen, 2016). That courage was merged with maturity, which was also
seen in Malala’s way of thinking that time, mentioning that if terrorism reaches
Swat Valley; the place where Malala resided, Malala will not react with the same
extreme attitude, but will rather preach the terrorist about the power of education.
In Malala’s opinion, that will make no different than terrorist (Lamb, 2015).
Despite the courage of Malala, that time Malala used to feel a sense fear and
insecurity almost all the time, till Malala was shot by a member of Taliban, which
then freed Malala from any fears (Walters, 2016).
Malala was shot in October 2012. That event altered Malala’s life forever. (Lamb,
2015). Regardless of the intensity of the trauma that Malala experienced in that
situation, Malala refused to seek revenge, and chose instead the path of
forgiveness and courage (Ashish Thomas and Narain Shukul, 2015) . Malala
mentioned that being shot was the biggest gift in her life. With that ability to shift
her perception quickly in order to see the gift in the situation, that made Malala
more determined to stand up for education and women empowerment (Bailey,
2013). During the week Malala spent in the Coma, she started to receive global
attention, to speak after that at the United Nation General Assembly in July 2013,
saying that ‘’They thought that the bullets would silence us, but they failed. And
out of that silence came thousands of voices. The terrorists thought they would
change my aims and stop my ambitions. But nothing changed in my life except
this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was
born. I am the same Malala. My ambitions are the same. My hopes are the same.
And my dreams are the same’’. (UN Youth Assembly", 2017)
Those lines show clearly the strength of Malala in transforming the meaning of
what happened, from being a misfortune, into a higher drive for purpose, allowing
Malala to pursue fearlessly the cause of education and empowerment (Bush,
2014). The speech of Malala in the UN general assembly, also included the
commitment to the philosophy on non-violence, based on forgiveness and positive
change (UN Youth Assembly", 2017). The speech made it clear that even if meet
with the guy that shot the bullet, there is no wish for any harm, following the same
philosophy of compassion, every change maker followed (Walters, 2016).
Going back into Malala’s childhood, the first seeds of change, started in 2007 after
the association of Benazir Bhutto the former prime minister of Pakistan, making
Malala feel that it is the duty to stand for what one believes in, instead of waiting
for an outside party to create a solution (Lamb, 2015) That incident allowed
Malala to ask why not to be me? That shift allowed Malala to accept internally the
role of the leader, instead of waiting for the leader from outside, allowing Malala
to stand back in empowerment, to lead afterwards millions of women to stand in
their power (Glyde, 2015).
Malala is proof that the age is not an issue when it comes to creating movements,
rather the courage to move into empowering vision (Zahoor and Janjua, 2016). At
the current time, Malala runs a global foundation, with the mission of providing
every girl in the world with a quality education till the age of 12 (Fund, 2017).

2.4.1.5 Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952)

Paramahansa Yogananda was the first Yogi (the name for advanced yoga
practitioner) to bring the life style of Yoga to America. That does not mean that
Yogananda, was the first easterner to speak about Yoga in America, but
Yogananada was the first, to bring the philosophy of Yoga to the masses in the
west, and the first Yogi to live the majority of life in America, in order to spread
the spiritual lineage of India there (Farge, 2009), or as Yogananada referred to it
when speaking about the purpose; to bridge the American efficiency with the
Indian spirituality (Foxen, 2016).
Yogananda was born with heightened levels of awareness, translated with higher
abilities to perceive the world from more spiritual perspective, which the average
person in society does not have access for (Yogananda, 2005). Those abilities got
advanced, when Yogananda meet the master at the age of 17. That is where
Yogananda started honing those skills and understanding for the idea of unity with
everything, taking it into the levels of mastery (Self-realization fellowship, 2017).
At the age of 27, and after receiving the guidance through a meditation,
Yogananada decided to go to America, to spread the message of unity there, which
is the real meaning of yoga. Although that was not the personal will of
Yogananada, yet Yogananada surrendered to that will, which is known in the
spiritual context as surrendering to higher purpose (Kress, 2001).
Shortly after Yogananda reached America, the fellowship started, known as the
self-realization fellowship, which is still active and thriving till this day, with more
than 500 temple and retreat centres around the world ("SRF Centres and
Programs", 2017). Yogananda insisted from the beginning to focus on the message
of unity between people, cultures, and all religions. Yogananda even considered
all religions aims, to guide people to the unity with life, which then got changed
over years. Thus, Yogananda focused the teaching in unity and higher
empowerment, by showing people that deep inside every human there is a direct
relation with a higher power, referring to that as the essence of yoga. (Kress,
2001). Yogananda also insisted in the speeches, on the idea of uniting science and
religion, by showing people that one can change their awareness through changing
the structure of the brain (Yogananda, 2005).
That idea became recently of interest to science, through the merge of the field of
neuroscience, and specifically after the year of 2005, when the concept of neuro-
plasticity started to become more popular (the study on how the brain changes
itself with the quality of thinking and state of mind), as neuro-plasticity brought
scientific evidence on how meditation, yoga, and spiritual experiences alter the
physiology of the brain on (Dispenza, 2009).

With the powerful teachings of Yogananda, many fans and followers attracted to
Yogananda in America, as Yoganada always (CORRECT THE NAME
PLEASE)managed to merge the spiritual teachings in a practical ways, which suit
the life style in the west from health, business to relationships, which other
religious parties failed to accomplish (Mueller, 1952).

With that growing fame and power of Yogananda, the presence of Yogananda
became annoying to some people, especially for the government, who did not
accept the fact that a brown man from India, was becoming a leader in the west.
Moreover, Yogananada used to break the norms back that time, by hosting black
and white people in the same place, which created a rage between extreme
movements that favoured white people, such as the movement of Ku Klux
Klan (KKK) (Yogananda, 2005). For that, Yogananada was put under
governmental prevalence, and consistently was threatened to leave the country, till
Yogananda was forced once to leave Miami by the police, with the claims of the
chief officer of Miami that Yogananda tried to hypnotize him (Yogananda, 2003).
Even with that rage against Yogananada, the fame of Yogananda raise to higher
levels, especially through the tours around the country in 1924. That is where the
newspapers started to attack Yogananda, with the accusation of scandals, as
seducing women through the spiritual teaching (Sahagun, 2010). With that
uprising war against Yogananda, an official ban was stated, to forbid Yogananda to
enter many states (Foxen, 2016).
According to Yogananda's words in the personal autobiography, that time was the
most challenging test of Yogananda’s life, especially at that time, the life-long
friend Dhirananda split from Yogananda. Dhirananda went to create a separate
centre, and married one of the followers, which gave the newspapers another
opportunity to attack Yogananda, with the accusation of being a leader for the love
cult (Yogananda, 2005). In such moments of extreme challenges, Yogananda
always turned inward for inspiration, which reflects the maturity of Yogananda, to
look for answers from within. For that sake Yogananda moved to Mexico to stay in
silence and away from the eyes of news. That is where Yogananda reached another
guidance, to go back again to America, in order to fulfil the purpose (Farge, 2009).
With that inner guidance, Yogananda came back to California, which was more
welcoming to different philosophies and spiritual teachings. The following year,
and exactly in 1925 Yogananda started an international centre for self-realisation
in Los Angeles, California, which is considered as a uniting church for all people,
regardless of their backgrounds (Mueller, 1952). That shows the determination of
Yogananda to fulfil the purpose regardless of the outside circumstance (Patel,
2017).
After that Yogananda went back to India, and the first person Yogananda meet in
1935 was Mahatma Gandhi, which did not only showed interest in Yogananda
philosophy, but also got initiated by Yogananda to Kriya yoga; the type of Yoga
Yogananda used to teach. That shows the connecting desire between Gandhi and
Yogananda in striving for truth and unity (Yogananda, 2005). Probably that is is
why Yogananda message was appealing for public, due to its universality. That
even a visionary entrepreneur like Steve Jobs, held the autobiography of
Yogananada as the only book in Job’s computer. That shows the hunger of people
for all background to a uniting message, which speaks about universal truth
(Hudelson, 2014).

Yogananad started collected the teaching through writing for 4 years, before dying
in 1952. According to the disciples, that at that time in Yogananda talked about
feeling that the death is close, and it is his duty and purpose to collect the work
through writing, which is why Yogananda spent the last years only writing day and
night, which mainly got collected through the book, the biography of yogi
(Yogananda, 2005).

2.4.1.6 Elon Musk (1971 and still alive)

The seeds of the genius for Elon Musk, started at a relatively young age,
demonstrated through the passion for knowledge, entrepreneurship, and exploring
higher wisdom, to a point where Musk started memorising the encyclopedia at
school. At the age of 11 Musk sold a computer game with 500$, after personal
education on programming, to mark that, as the first successful venture in Musk’s
life (Vance, 2017). Although Musk was perceived as an unusual kid in school, who
was prone to ridicule by other students, yet that never relegated the passion of
Musk for knowledge (Kosoff, 2017).
Musk expanded the scope of the studies to include philosophy, religion, and
galaxy exploration as part of the early quest to understand the purpose of life.
After an ontological crisis for not being able to reach the answer, Musk reached a
deep realisation about life, which Musk described as life changing. At the age of
14, Musk came to realise that the purpose of life, to strive for higher collective
enlightenment (Vance, 2017). That realisation was then clearly manifested in every
business Musk created, starting by transforming the finical system into more
holistic system, through Zip2 company, which is known now as PayPal company,
to Tesla motors and Solar city which are designed to end the human dependency
on fossil fuel (Holman, 2015).
Musk is known for the ability to persuade people to what is considered as
impossible missions, as such the one in Space X company; which is working to
colonise Mars, to maintain the continuation of the human race (Anderson, 2012).
From studying the life of Musk carefully, it became obvious to the researcher, the
supreme will Musk had, to believe in higher vision, leading other people to act on
that, even when that goes against any logic or chances of success (Spisak, 2017).
Musk engulfed with the supreme will, extreme faith in the vision, expressed as
taking all the risk on Musk’s shoulder, which encouraged others to follow Musk’s
vision. In a way of example, at one moment Musk took the last 40 million from
selling PayPal, which is the last saving money Musk had that time, to pour all that
money in Tesla electric cars when it was in under the edge of bankruptcy (Rechtin,
2014). That unusual risk rekindled the spirit of collaboration between the board
members, to invest themselves more in Musk vision, regardless the fact that Elon
was going through that time in the biggest crisis, through the losses of other
companies as such space X, which already experienced 3 launch failure back that
time. That risk left Musk finically broke, to the point that Elon had to sleep at
some friend’s place, for not being able to afford the rent, after Musk reducing the
personally salary from Tesla Motors to 1 $ (Crain, 2013).

After two months of that heroic move, Musk received an international loan by the
US government to support the Tesla electric cars. The loan counted for of 465
million dollar, to which helped all Musk companies, to move from the edge of
bankruptcy into success. No one can tell if that loan was the result of Musk’s
courageous initiatives, but what is for sure that people get encouraged to follow
the leader that takes the leap of faith first, especially when it comes at the expense
of personal resources (Vance, 2017).

The life of Musk showed clearly that Elon stayed truthful to the purpose to
contribute to the collective human enlightenment, even when faced with deepest
suffering (Rechtin, 2017). At one of the interviews, Musk were asked if thought to
quit when the all companies were breaking down, at the time of finical crisis at
2008. The answer of Musk was clear no, or as in Musk’s words: ‘’I don’t quit in
something I believed in’’. (CHECK THE QOUTES) That blind of supreme will
power with higher purpose to create a better world, made Musk one of the most
successful and impactful entrepreneurs (Hessman, 2013).
What also made Musk successful was the ability to make people working in
harmony with a higher purpose (Logan, 2012). Beside that ability to connect
people with higher purpose, Musk has a special way of thinking, which considered
the foundational philosophy for Musk known as fist principles (Vance, 2017) . This
way of thinking is considered ancient, and was known at the time of Greek
philosopher such as Plato, by assessing one’s thoughts upon universal truth, rather
than opinion (Baer, 2017). In a way of example when Musk was intending to
create Tesla Electric cars, the general idea back then was that electric car cannot
compete with other cars, in terms of speed and shape. Musk assessed that idea on
the first principle, instead of following the herd thinking. Musk looked for the raw
components to produce electric cars, to realise that it does not have to be slower
than gas-based cars (first principle,2017).
That is one of example of how Musk used the first principle of thinking, and what
Musk meant in universal truth, by looking to laws of physics instead of opinion,
that are usually inclined personal interest. With this way of thinking Elon
challenged the status quo, to create a speed and sustainable car. Musk mentioned
that the lack of understanding for first principle, is the main reason for lack of
innovation, as it is easier for the mind to reason at that level analogies and
opinions rather than physical truth (Vance, 2017).
Musk also has a very unique way of managing the business, in more holistic way.
Musk deals with all the company as one holistic unit. For example Solar City
provides Tesla Motors with solar panels to generate electricity. This way of
management keeps transforming product and information for the highest good of
the companies (Cappell,2015). Musk is an example of a leader who challenged the
dominancy of some market for the greater good of customers and society, and also
was successful and profitable in that way (Waters, 2007). The researcher believes
that Musk’s example is a very beneficial module in the movement of servitization..
(CHEACK THE DOTS)

Here (DELETE THIS)

2.4.1.7 Shaikh Mohamad bin Rashed Al Muktoum (1949 and still alive)

Al Muktoum considered one of the most influential leaders in the Middle East, and
the man behind vision of Dubai city (). Al Muktoum has a clear philosophy for
leadership, which can be seen clearly through writing of Al Muktoum in flashes of
thoughts book, defining leader as the person who is dedicated to serve people and
making them happy. Al Muktoum also insisted that one of the duties of great
leaders is to create more leaders, instead of reducing leadership to one person only
(Bin Rashed Al Maktoum, 2015). That definition shows the connection between Al
Muktoum style of leadership and servant leadership, therefore demonstrating a
practical example of the effect of servant leadership at business and governmental
levels.
Al Muktoum goes further to define the government as servant for people, and not
the other way around (de Waal and Frijns, 2016). Aldred (2010) argues that the
most important factor for the successful leadership of Dubai government, is due
the focus on service, through technological platform to ease the transformation of
knowledge, for the sake of brining happiness and prosperity for people, which is
part of smart Dubai initiatives.
One study between 504 managers on different service sectors at Dubai, including
real states and banking, showed the positive impact of Al Muktoum style of
leadership there, through the idea of knowledge sharing (Behery, 2008).
Smart Dubai initiatives took place formally in March 2014, with the purpose of
making Dubai the happiest city in the world, by creating safe, seamless and
efficient experience of life. This shows another principle for Al Muktoum style of
leadership, by encouraging people to work in harmony for a higher purpose
(Efthymiopoulos, 2016). With that definitive in purpose, the Smart Dubai initiative
was followed with the creation of the first ministry of happiness in the world in
2016 (Reserved., 2017), with the aim of embracing the vision of Al Muktoum, of
tolerance and united living, as Dubai embraces more than 200 hundred
nationalities coexisting and working together (Mehmood-Ul-Hassan, 2016).
With that high ambition to turn Dubai into the happiest city on earth, there are
many struggles that were and still faced by Al Muktoum and his team. For that
concern Al Muktoum has a clear attitude towards the challenges in general,
defining them as a way to grow the human character (Bin Rashed Al Maktoum,
2015). Al Muktoum do not only embrace challenges, but also consider it as a very
important tool for leadership, as in in Muktoum opinion real challenges brings the
best and worst of person, allowing oneself the opportunity of an honest reflection,
to evolve ones strength in a way that is not available in other situations
(Mohamed et al., 2008)
That was clear, when Al Muktoum was asked in one of the interviews about the
financial crisis in Dubai back in 2008. The respond of Al Muktoum was assertive:
“that this is not a crisis, but another challenge, and life would be boring without
challenging (" interview 2017)”
Another distinctive qualities of Al Muktoum style of leadership, is the keen drive
to be number one in everything in life, while maintaining that strive for higher
purpose. What is remarkable of that kind of thinking, that it challenged their core
assumptions, of the Arab countries for being a third world country, and strive for
excellence instead (Ahrens, 2014). Therefore, Al Muktoum challenged the mental
assumption in the people and worker of Dubai, by planted the idea of being
number one, as the standard theme of Dubai (Gilani and Gilani, 2015). That can be
seen through Burj Khalifa project, which was not intended to be the tallest
building in the world, yet Al Muktoum refused to accept the project until it was
intending to be the tallest building in the world. Al Muktoum justification for that,
that Burj Khalifa is more than a building, and rather a reminder for people of
Dubai to the philosophy of being number one, by challenging the engineering
standards to bring the tallest building ever made so far (Aldred, 2010).
Al Muktoum always focused the leadership style to maintain the eye on the big
vision, which works for the common good, and from there following up with
strategies and bold finish line, then to focus on creating a high standard for
performance and reflection through professional systems. In other words focusing
on the higher purpose as the base, and then following up the other necessary
activities from there (Nieto-Rodriguez, 2014).