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Humanistic leadership in the Humanistic

leadership in
UAE context the UAE
Yaprak Anadol and Mohamed Behery
Dubai Business School, University of Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Abstract
Received 31 January 2020
Purpose – The main intention of this paper is to understand humanistic leadership through an eminent leader Revised 12 June 2020
representing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) culture. The authors identified a prominent humanistic leader of 24 June 2020
a well-known private university in Dubai as an example, analyzing his leadership approach from a humanistic 26 June 2020
lens and demonstrating humanistic leadership characteristics linked to the cultural roots. Accepted 26 June 2020
Design/methodology/approach – This paper is designed as a single case to examine how humanistic
leadership behaviors and practices are applied in an organization and how they are connected to the UAE
culture. The leader and his seven followers are interviewed by using semi-structured forms, and inductive
conventional content analysis was utilized to identify common themes and concepts related to humanistic
leadership traits in the UAE.
Findings – The paper highlights ten themes named humility, respect, care, fairness, transparency, well-being
orientation, generosity, family focus and will with humanistic determination. These themes coincide with the
various well-accepted humanistic literature theories and are also aligned with salient Islamic values and the
existing humanistic leadership theories. A humanistic leadership description is provided to show the
implications to the UAE context.
Research limitations/implications – This study only focuses on a single higher education institution, and
further studies need to be conducted to reach a generalization.
Practical implications – The paper offers an alternative humanistic leadership for government
departments, semi private and private companies to create an organizational culture where those values are
flourished and creating an awareness in youth leadership programs to include humanistic leadership principles
that will eventually increase social welfare.
Originality/value – This study provides an insight into humanistic leadership phenomenon by giving a
contextual example from the UAE. As there has been no attempt to link humanistic leadership to the UAE
culture, the findings of this paper will contribute to cross-cultural leadership research.
Keywords UAE culture, Humility and leadership, Humanistic leadership characteristics, Humanistic
leadership framework, Humanistic leader attributes
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Humanistic leadership is often interpreted as guiding a series of principles to develop a
meaningful and purposeful human experience based on core values in achieving common
good (Rodr
ıguez-Lluesma et al., 2014). Humanitarian leadership in business organizations
becomes the foundation of a sustainability view, which includes the organization’s
stakeholder perspective. In society humanistic leadership is considered at individual level
where the leadership is associated with a human-centered view in relation to leader’s position
and role (Freeman, 1994; Pirson and Lawrence, 2010; Kimakowitz et al., 2011; Rodr
ıguez-
Lluesma et al., 2014).
Pirson (2017) suggests that development of management theory was initiated by focusing
on economistic models and has evolved gradually with the involvement of the “human”
factor. During the last decade the humanistic approach has been studied by many scholars
(Mel
e, 2013, 2016; Pirson and Kimakowitz, 2010, 2011; Dierksmeier, 2016). Although the term
“humanistic” is culturally adaptive (Acevedo, 2012), there are some interdisciplinary
commonalities that exist to explain the concept (Mel
e, 2016), including wholeness, dignity, Cross Cultural & Strategic
Management
development, common good, spirituality and sustainability. Likewise, humanistic leaders are © Emerald Publishing Limited
2059-5794
expected to demonstrate adherence to the humanistic principles within cultural norms. DOI 10.1108/CCSM-01-2020-0023
CCSM Global leadership and organizational behavior effectiveness research project (GLOBE) was
designed to investigate the relationship between national culture, societal effectiveness and
organizational leadership. Culture is defined as “shared motives, values, beliefs, identities and
interpretations or meeting of significant events that result from common experiences of
members of collectives that are transmitted across generations” (House et al,. 2013). The
research determines six dimensions of culturally endorsed implicit leadership (CLT). “Humane
orientation,” which is characterized by modesty and compassion for others in altruistic fashion,
is our reference point for humanistic leadership (House et al., 2013). Humane orientation can be
defined as the degree to which a society or organization encourages and rewards individuals for
being fair, altruistic, caring, generous and kind to others (House et al., 2013).
Moving forward, as per the focus of this special issue proposed by Fu, Kimakowitz,
Lemanski and Liu (2019), we aim to reflect a leader’s humanistic behaviors and practices in
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a cross-cultural setting, for the themes of wholeness,
mutual improvement and the common good as proposed the “components” of humanistic
leadership network. These themes are translated respectively as a humanistic leader “focuses
on the multiple needs and motives of the followers by showing care and respect to all; pay
attention to the development of self and followers mutually and try to reach a goal, to a
common good, by recognizing all stakeholders’ interests.
As there has been no attempt to link humanistic leadership to the UAE culture, this paper
is designed as a single case to examine how humanistic leadership behaviors and practices
are applied in an organization and how they are connected to the UAE culture. We aim to
understand humanistic leadership through an eminent leader representing the UAE culture.
We identified a prominent humanistic leader of a prestigious, well-known private university
in Dubai as an example and analyzed his leadership approach from a humanistic lens. The
leader is a very famous and highly respected person in the national community. He is holding
multiple senior positions in government, private institutions and associations, and his
initiatives are highly recognized. As a representative member of the national community, the
leader’s humanistic approach is strongly linked to both Islamic principles and the cultural
heritage of the UAE. Therefore, we believe that his leadership attributes may well serve to
understand the UAE style of humanistic leadership; hence, contribute to the cross-cultural
leadership literature.
Considering the uniqueness of the context, first the background of the country, the
institution, and the leader is provided, then the methodology of the research is explained.
Following that, the results of the analysis of leadership attributes and behaviors in
connection to cultural roots are exhibited. Finally, the discussions and implications for the
research are presented.

Background
From a cross-cultural perspective, humanistic leadership practices in the UAE are worth
analyzing as it may give a different perspective to humanistic leadership research. As an
Islamic country, UAE has attracted attention not only with its economic developments in
recent years but also with its notable humanistic initiatives on happiness and tolerance that
have been targeting the well-being and unity of its diverse community. The cultural roots of
the country are a combination of Islam, Bedouin traditions and modern society. To recognize
the humanistic approach that is applied in the UAE, first, it is necessary to understand the
dynamics of the county, the institution and the leader.

The country
As one of the youngest countries in the world, the UAE stands between East and West,
carrying the most desirable features of both civilizations. After the British Trucial States
period was over in 1971, The UAE was formed as a federal monarchy under the leadership of Humanistic
HH Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and it constitutes of seven Emirates. From several leadership in
obscured tribal states, the UAE has emerged as one of the most dynamic and wealthiest
countries in the world with a high GDP per capita, i.e. 66,912 USD (UN 2019a, b). The UAE is
the UAE
considered the second-largest economy in the Middle East. Besides, it has been recognized as
the regional leader of innovation, artificial intelligence and human capital. The UAE has
ranked the 35th in the Human Development Index among the advanced countries (UN, 2019a,
b) while ranked 25th globally in the recent World Economy Forum’s (WEF) Global
Competitiveness MENA Report (2019).
Compared to many well-established countries with centuries of existence, the UAE is still
very young, and its national identity is developing. The UAE’s population is unique.
According to the UN MENA Report (2019), the local (national) community is only 12% of the
9.6 million people. The remaining 88% is expatriates that constitute of South Asians (59%),
Egyptians (10%), Filipinos (6%) and others (13%). This distribution indicates the magnitude
of cultural diversity.
Leadership practices in the UAE are also unique. The leaders (rulers) of the country are not
only competitive and goal-oriented but also follow the humanistic approach when dealing
with the country’s diverse population to ensure coherence between the different groups
toward the prosperity of the country. Consistent with the humanistic values (Kimakowitz
et al. 2011; Pirson, 2017), Sheikh Zayed believed that the highest rewards for individuals,
families and society are to invest in people’s well-being (happiness), knowledge and
capabilities. During his lifespan, he treated everyone with unconditional respect, regardless
of nationality, gender, status or religion (Zayed.ae, 2018), until his demise in 2004, Sheikh
Zayed valued the contributions of the expatriates in building the country and promoted
today’s cultural and ethnic diversity in the UAE.
The 2030 Agenda (2020) of the UAE suggests that there is a significant overlap between
well-being and happiness and global competitiveness reports. Consequently, in the past years,
there are some critical measures established by the rulers to increase the welfare of the
community as the UAE is globally ranked the 2nd in “Highest public trust in politicians” as per
the WEF report (2019). Some of these leadership practices in the country are reflections the
humanistic and benevolent approach of the UAE leaders to society as a whole (UAE, 2002a).
For example, the UAE is the only country that has a “Minister of Happiness.” In the past few
years, all government and semi-government institutions, as well as many private companies,
have changed “customer service centers” to “Customer Happiness Centers” that aims to
enhance the well-being of multiple stakeholders when providing services (UAE, 2002a).
Containing a vast expat community, by respecting the people and their cultures, the UAE
endorses the “tolerance” concept as a national plan, aiming to create a model for tolerance and
positive co-existence of different nations, cultures and backgrounds. Tolerance theme was
communicated by all government and private institutions throughout the county, fueling the
mutual respect between all stakeholders in the community. Any kind of fight or disrespect
usually is not welcomed in the county. The UAE prioritizes leadership education and
development of the youth as future leaders of the country. Continuous growth is the key to the
Emirati youth program, which is based on six core themes of values to unleash their full
potential. As per the MENA report (2019), these values are ethics, happiness and positivity,
creative leadership, science and technology, development projects and the UAEs model of
government leadership.
Despite the social changes that the national community is exposed in the past decades, the
UAE society stays attached to its Islamic belonging (Alhosani, 2012). In the face of the
momentous transformation from the Tribal States to a Modern-Islamic society, the cultural
roots of the humanistic approach in the UAE is linked to the tenets of Islam. Islamic principles
are mainly found in Holy Qur’an and Hadith (the Prophet’s sayings), and they not only affect
CCSM the other cultural pillars like traditions, customs, values, heritage but also shape the society
and the UAE leadership. Bekuun (2012) presented the virtues of Prophet Mohammed (peace
be upon him (PBUH)) as an Islamic leadership model and suggested truthfulness, integrity,
trustworthiness, justice, benevolence, humility, kindness and patience as the core virtues of
Islamic leadership. Furthermore, Abu-Rida (1998) stated that according to Islam, the most
salient values related to moral beings are justice, generosity, respect of the individual
(privacy), fairness and humility. Some of those Islamic values are closely connected to
humanistic leadership and also coincide with the humanistic practices in the UAE.
The institution
Considering the size and the population of the UAE, there is an intense rivalry in the higher
education sector. A national public education system was established from scratch in a few
decades, a system like the ones developed by those western countries in a 100 years’ time
(Sowmya et al., 2018). As per the Ministry of Education (2020), currently, there are over 75
accredited higher education institutions in the UAE, competing both locally and
internationally. Back to the 1990s, the UAE, especially Dubai, was at the initial stages of
its tremendous growth. Most of the government workers were only high school graduates,
and there was a significant demand for people at a level that is employable and can function
effectively on their jobs. As an initiative of the Dubai Chamber, the University of Dubai was
founded in 1997 as a private higher education institution to address and fill the skill and
qualification gaps in the workforce. In 2009, the University was internationally accredited
and recognized by the Ministry of Higher Education as the “first private university,”
acquiring global accreditations in Dubai. Considering the relatively short existence of the
county, the University of Dubai is considered as one of the oldest and well-established
universities in the country with its LEED-certified “green” campus, with approximately 50
faculties and 60 staff, providing higher education to around 850 students as of 2020.
In 2013, Dr. Eesa Mohammed Bastaki (Dr. Eesa) was appointed as the President of the
University by the Dubai Chamber. Since then, everyone in the entire University feels his
humility, genuine care and concern about the well-being of people, his pleasant and inclusive
attitude toward all stakeholders and his determination to create a happy and healthy
environment.
Under the leadership of Dr. Eesa, the University of Dubai set the mission “to be a
world-class institution in education, research, and innovation for the betterment and
prosperity of the people in the region.” Eesa sets the targets high for the institution reflecting
the competitiveness of the country and yet drives everyone toward the same direction by
leading them in a humanistic way. Dr. Eesa aimed to create a positive working environment
in the organization, where people would feel happy and respected to realize their full potential,
to work and to carry the University on its continuing path to provide the highest quality
education in the Middle East.

The leader
Dr. Eesa is a UAE national, a scientist, a researcher and a leader. He is known as one of the
most influential figures in the technology sector in the UAE. With indigenous roots in the
region, Dr. Eesa is the chief of the Bastaki family and a descendant of the original families in
the UAE. He is strongly connected to the cultural values of the UAE and carries the flagship
of the local heritage, yet he is the pioneer of the latest technologies in the UAE. In one of his
public interviews, he stated, “. . . I study technology, but heritage is something dear to me. My
passions are technology, the preservation of the Arabic language, and heritage conservation”
(Paradkar, 2007).
When asked about the source of his humanistic approach, Dr. Eesa stated that “. . . my
power comes from my father and then from my leaders [The rulers of the country], so they
were the ones helped me to make sure I can achieve.” Dr. Eesa praised his father and his Humanistic
grandfather with their benevolence, kindness and associated himself with them. Dr. Eesa leadership in
admires Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), not only in virtue of religiosity but also for his
character and traits. In his words: “[. . .] thinking of him gives me the energy to make sure I go
the UAE
straight”. The moral virtues of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) are defined as truthfulness and
integrity, justice, benevolence, humility, kindness and patience (Bekuun, 2012).
Dr. Eesa also praised the leaders of the UAE for their characters and accomplishments.
Along with Sheikh Zayed, the founder of UAE, Dr. Eesa extensively revealed his admiration
for the leadership of the Ruler of Dubai HH Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum
(Sheikh Mohammed) based on his connection and experience. He said:
Sheikh Zayed did so many good things, I have not seen them in person, but I knew them. But if you
look at Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid, [. . .] what I discovered about this person was amazing. I have
lived it; I have seen it, in front of me [. . .] all these traits (humanistic) apply to him [. . .] Sheikh
Mohammad bin Rashid is looking for the happiness of people, he wants to make sure that whatever
services are given to them makes them happy. He is trying to make people happy.
Consequently, his cultural identity is connected with his parental education, Islamic
principles, tribal traditions and the value system of the UAE leaders. It is essential to
recognize these associations to be able to link humanistic behaviors and practices to the
cultural roots.
His professional career started after completing his engineering degree in the United
States. After completing his doctorate at the University of California, Irvine, he returned to the
UAE, aiming to improve education and technology sectors in the country. Before joining the
University of Dubai, he worked as a faculty member specializing in Communications
Engineering and the Director of Information Technology Center in the United Arab Emirates
University. In 2009, Dr. Eesa became the recipient of the highest award in the UAE, “Emirates
Excellence Awards for Sciences, Literature, and Arts,” in the field of Sciences. He devoted his
energy and time to human development in the country by holding various senior positions.
Some of them are CEO of ICT Fund, Founder and Director of education, training, research and
development for Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), Chairman of Emirates Science Club. He also
worked as a member of several academic boards (University of Dubai website, 2020).

Methodology
A qualitative method is used to understand the humanistic behaviors and practices of a
leader in a higher education institution in connection to the UAE culture. The leader of a
prominent private higher education institution and his seven employees are interviewed
face-to-face, using semi-structured open-ended questions. A purposive sampling method is
used as one of the most effective techniques, which does not require a certain number of
observations (Etikan et al., 2016). The participants were the ones who have the ability and
willingness to participate in the study. The attributes upon which the authors selected the
participants are: living in the UAE for at least five years, working directly with the leader,
having knowledge and experience about the UAE and Arab culture, as well as the willingness
to participate. The demographic characteristics of our sample are: the leader was a UAE
national. The other seven participants consisted of two UAE nationals, two Arabs, two
Asians and one African. Three of them were female and four were male, aged between 30 and
60 years old, with a minimum of two years working experience in the institution and a
minimum of ten years living experience in the UAE.
We first interviewed Dr. Eesa to understand the humanistic leadership concept from his
point of view and the traits and application of the humanistic leadership in the country from
the leader’s perspective. Two participants’ inputs were noted on the interview sheets directly
and formatted accordingly. The remaining five interviews were conducted by using in-depth
CCSM semi-structured interviews with probing questions. The meetings were voice recorded and
transcribed by a professional. Participants’ understanding of humanistic leadership and their
experiences with the leader’s humanistic behaviors, practices and their connection to the
UAE culture were elicited by asking the questions such as: What kind of leadership qualities
or characteristic he carries as a humanistic leader? Do you think the leader is humanistic?
Why do you think he is? Can you please provide some examples of humanistic practices that
the leader showed in or outside of your organization? How are these practices related to the
UAE culture? Do you think humanism can be taught? How is it possible? Please identify the
critical values in your organization. The anonymity and confidentiality of the participant are
provided at the beginning, and the digitally recorded face-to-face interviews lasted, on
average, 1 h at the participant’s office. The data collection took place in January 2020.
An inductive conventional content analysis was applied, where the data concurrently
collected and analyzed (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005). The collected data were classified into the
categories, explaining similar themes and representing the same meanings. During the
inductive content analysis process, researchers immersed themselves in the raw data,
whereby the stories, behaviors and practices related to themes were coded, categorized and
recorded to use further. The researchers took three steps, including open coding, creating
categories and abstraction. Each transcription was read, and each answer was coded
according to the related question’s theme. Similar codes between the respondents were
identified for the specific topic and abstracted to explain the humanistic leadership
practices—analysis of the story, leadership behaviors and attributes of the leader.

Results
The result section is organized by using the data gathered through the interviews. The flow
includes behaviors of the leader that are illuminated through leadership practices in the
organization; humanistic leadership attributes that a humanistic leader should have as per
the participant’s view and the leader’s humanistic attributes concerning cultural roots of
the UAE.

Humanistic leadership practices in the organization

Happiness is a reflection of a common good. Dubai Happiness Agenda is one of the initiatives
of the Dubai Government that was put forward in 2016 to enhance the well-being of the UAE
community. Under the leadership of Dr. Eesa, the Happiness plan was introduced in the
University by unveiling a Happiness and Positivity Program as a unique practice, aiming to
spread happiness and positivity within the community. A “Happiness and Positivity Council”
was established where the representatives were from faculty, students, staff and alumni to
organize special activities, seminars, workshops, events to increase happiness in the
community. Several “Happiness Meter” kiosks were installed in various locations on the
campus to capture the happiness levels of all the stakeholders, i.e. students, faculty, staff,
external trainees, conference attendees, suppliers. These happiness meters were linked to the
Dubai Government’s executive office, merged with the other institutions’ happiness data, and
they were made available for Dubai Ruler’s office. During the opening ceremony,
Dr. Eesa said:
We believe that education, innovation, hard work, good ethics, charity, community service,
positivity, and other good deeds create happiness.
As a contribution to the well-being of the university community, Dr. Eesa came up with a
healthy living initiative called “Walk at Work.” He started to walk in the campus building
every day for half an hour between 1:00–1:30 pm day and asked all the staff and faculty at the
University to join him. Each employee who was walking during this time did not need to be in Humanistic
the office or work. As a policy, each department was advised not to set any meeting during leadership in
this period to allow everyone time to walk, if they like to. The time allocated for this activity
was counted as regular working time, instead is used to walk to improve the well-being of the
the UAE
staff and faculty. This initiative suddenly becomes a socializing event; people started to walk
together, chat and talk with each other during the walk. It created a positive, healthy and fun
environment throughout the campus. In busy days, if people needed to discuss an issue, this
practice created an opportunity to meet with each other, and it sometimes becomes a “work at
walk” activity. “Walk at work” broke the ice between the management and employees,
removed silos, create fun and a positive working environment in the entire University. This
initiative is a reflection of humanistic leadership, where the leader “concerns and acts on the
well-being of people,” mentally and also physically. As a cultural connection, this is strongly
associated with the happiness initiative of the government. Dr. Eesa once said, “. . . happiness
is a goal. Why am I working? To have a better life to become happy [So as everyone] the goal
is to make everyone happy”. He believes the happiness and joy of employees create a positive
working environment to achieve goals. About humanistic leadership, satisfaction is
associated with the “common good.” The leader by keeping “happiness” as the common
goal and also uses it as a means to achieve the purpose or mission of the organization.
Respecting and caring people with humility. Dr. Eesa believes that being humanistic is “the
essential part” of successful leadership. According to him, being humanistic means being
humble, respecting everyone and caring about his people and the humanity as a whole. Dr.
Eesa shows humility, respect and care to all the stakeholders, regardless of their status or
position. He shows humility toward all stakeholders in various ways, i.e. if a student goes to
him with a problem, he walks with the student to the concerned department to understand
what is going on, empowers the employees and kindly delegates the issue to the relevant
people, allowing them to make the decision. Sometimes instead of calling the manager or
sending an office assistant, he brings papers or documents himself to the manager. He is
recognized as a kind, polite, appreciative person and approachable by all the stakeholders,
including faculty, staff and students. He respects his employees holistically. “He cares about
their needs and motives,” as he pays attention not only to employees’ issues but also their
families’ well-being. If he notices any employee is not happy, frowning, concerned, or worried,
he always asks if everything is alright with the person. These attitudes create a positive vibe
in the environment and make people feel cared for and strengthen their bond with the leader.
If someone asks his help or advice, he indicates empathy, listens genuinely and offers advice
or a solution.
Dr. Eesa also respects cultures and backgrounds of his followers and cares about their
multiple needs and motives. During academic holidays, he grants the administrative staff
reduced working hours allowing them to spend more time with their families. In respect to
cultural diversity, he requests salaries to be paid earlier before all the main religious holidays,
allowing the employees to be able to buy their gifts earlier and get ready for their celebrations.
This is in line with the humanistic view of “caring for other persons” motives and interests.’
Similarly, sometimes if there is an unfortunate event like the demise of any close relatives of
any employees or board members of the University, he visits and organizes all the employees,
especially male staff and faculty, to a visit to the family house for condolences. Showing care
and supporting people in their bad days is a part of local tradition that is considered as a
humanistic example. The UAE’s cultural diversity is reflected in the University with the
multi-nationalization of the faculty and staff. Dr. Eesa endorses tolerance and promotes
absolute respect in the organization. Tolerance is seen as part of the UAE plan, culture and a
key driver to create a synergetic, connected and a positive working environment. Time to
time, if there is a conflict between the employees, he gets involved and invites the parties to
resolve their issues directly, somewhat, with mutual respect.
CCSM The humanistic leader creates leaders. Dr. Eesa endorses the mutual development of the
leader and the followers. He believes that knowledge is an essential element in leadership
development, and leaders need to gain understanding through learning, education and
experience to steer the organization in the right direction. He also believes that the leaders
need to create leaders by being a role model as one of the primary responsibilities of a
successful leader is the ability to develop new ones:
We have to create leaders; if your followers are not leaders, there is no use of that; you need to create
leaders [. . .] like bringing up children, you will have to set examples. [. . .] Once the people see the
impact, they realize they need to change, you have to show them what the impact is to be realistic.
Once you show them, they will change, so that’s how you educate them, you have to [. . .] show them
why it is better to be humanistic.
Dr. Eesa, as a role model, sets an example in the institution and encourages his followers to
follow similar positive attitudes.

Attributes of the leader

The initial analysis of Dr. Eesa’s interpretation of humanistic leadership indicates a
straightforward approach in keeping humanistic principles at the foundation of successful

Humility

Leading by
Respect
example

Will with
humanisc Care
determinaon

Humanisc
leadership

Family focus Fairness

Generosity Transparency

Hapiness and
Figure 1. posivity
Summary of orientadon
humanistic leadership
attributes of the leader
Themes Description of a humanistic leader/leadership attributes
Humanistic
leadership in
caring “a person that [. . .] humble, [. . .] cares about human being, [. . .] cares about the staff, the UAE
being humble [. . .] cares about his followers, [. . .] cares about people, [. . .] wants to make sure that
make others happy everybody is happy, everybody loves to do what they are doing because their environment
making them very happy.” (LEADER)
caring others “a leader that cares about people more than [. . .] always positive, [. . .] and respecting
positive people no matter what their color, background, nationality, religion, does not matter [. . .]
respectful leading the business wherever he or she is, and respecting people with compassion [. . .]
transparent Humanistic leader will be very transparent and [. . .] very fair with all employees. If there
fair are any economic issues, what a humanistic leader will look at the human aspect, [take
precautions] to sustain the business and to sustain more people. (P3)
being humble “is to be humble, kind, fair person, for me the most important he is fair, no matter what
kind happens [. . .] fair, that’s how I define humanistic leadership [. . .] is based on ethics,
fair without ethics no humanistic leadership” (P2)
ethical
respectful “treating people like all the same, with respect, with compassion, and keeping in mind
compassion that the most important aspect is dignity” (P3)
protecting dignity
Conscious about “a leader who [. . .] is conscious about humans [. . .], here I talk about the people, [. . .]
people and the leadership exercise [. . .] make an environment [. . .] that make you happy to
work” (P4)
empathetic “is a leadership which has empathy, [. . .] understand employees’ needs and try to
accommodate them as much as possible, while at the same time attempting to reach [. . .]
goals and objectives” (P5)
protecting dignity “is one who leads but at the same time considering other people in terms of their thoughts
and behavior. Freedom of speech and freedom of expressing oneself without any
constrains” (P6) Table 1.
having human angle “Someone who is able to give a human outlook to issues, who does not forget the human Description of a
flexible angle when applying policy and rules and one who is able to disseminate and apply flexible humanistic leader/
leadership style” (P7) leadership attributes

leadership. Similar to Collin’s (2001) Level 5 leadership, as “the secret behind some
corporations’ greatness”, he endorsed humility as a core component of the humanistic
approach along with care and respect, blended with a common good, which is happiness
toward the mission. What distinguishes Dr. Eesa’s approach from the others is that he is not
only prioritizing human factors in the organization but also integrating the humanistic
approach into the DNA of the leadership.

Describing humanistic leadership characteristic through the interviews

Normative humanistic leader characteristics are described through the interviews of the
leader and his followers. The participants used the terms humanistic leadership and
humanistic leader characteristics interchangeably. Humanistic leadership, according to
Dr. Eesa, is associated with the following themes: “being humble- humility,” “caring for
others,” “make people happy,” and respecting everyone. From the participants’ perspective,
these characteristics are also reemphasized with the extension of the following themes:
“respect to everyone without their background,” “being positive,” “being kind,” “being fair”
and “being empathetic. Table 1 indicates the direct quotations taken from the leader and
participants’ interviews to describe normative humanistic leader characteristics. The
participants (P1, P2,..P7) were asked to describe the characteristics of a humanistic leader.
These themes are demonstrated in Table 1, and some are found similar to ideas of humane
orientation of GLOBE dimensions in terms of being fair, caring and kind to others
(House, 2013).
CCSM Themes Participant’s comments regarding leader’s humanistic attributes and behaviors

Humility “He is very humble; a lot of time he brings paper himself to myself [. . .].
Sometimes if he needs something he can call me, I am here in my office, he can
call me “please [. . .] come”, he can send office boy, but sometimes he comes
himself, every new year, semester, he comes to visit us, happy new year, happy
semester. He is always doing like this” (P1)
“Some people would never do, but Dr. Eesa when he is mistaken he will go and
apologize to the person” (P2)
Respect “He treats every person no matter what his degree or background in the same
positivity respectable way, he does that to his most junior one in the institution as well to the
highest senior person, so he expresses his respect and deals with them in the same
positive attitude regardless of their position” (P5)
“he listens to students and gives them advice, but then sends them back to the
decision maker to make the true decision, [. . .] he also respects his junior
leaders.” (P5)
Care “caring for the people who work with him is one of his priorities. He wants the job
to be done but he is very understanding to people’s needs and concerns, and he
behaves accordingly.”
“he cares and respects the student, sometimes when there is an issue he will be
going downstairs with them, he will try to solve the issue with him [. . .] (P5) he is
accessible [. . .] he is accessible by students; they can reach him easily [. . .] like you
and me, [. . .] lot of students talk to him during the walk or in his office.”(P1)
“he is always saying my job is to solve other staff problems and facilitate even it is
personal or related to works” (P1)
Fairness “he is fair. . . even when he is taking a photo, we have to be all together, he like
group photos, also if he takes one for me, he will take with the other also. Even in
his selfie photo he treats us all the same.” (P1)
“if there is an incident, he will not judge on what he heard first, he has to go
through a lot to find out the truth [. . .] just not to hurt the other person” (P2)
Generosity “he’s given any kind of support, and you name it, money support, tangible things,
intangible things, advices, lessons for the life and changing people’s attitude and
behavior” (P3)
“he goes to a lot of activities or events that are related to handicapped people. He
volunteers.” (P2)
Transparency “he shares; he has nothing to hide [. . .] In times of difficulties [he] will be very
transparent, [. . .] he will call you and tell you this is happening but Insha’Allah
(with God’s will) we will go through it, working on it” (P2)
Family focus “he cares about people and he extend it, like just taking care about his people who
work with him, [. . .]. he extended that to taking care of their families, [. . .]. now
he is looking about the happiness of employees’ families, which is something
great.” (P3)
“he [. . .] reduced time of work to give more time to be with the family [. . .] if you
have any one in your family facing any medical issue and you have to travel with
him, [we] added this kind of leave” (P1)
“we gather all the staff and faculty who born on the same months and celebrate,
[. . .] and it brings positivity, family relationship to the employees”
“I do not see him as a manger or as a president, I see him as my father. And he is
one of the best I’ve ever seen” (P2)
“he gives you advice like you are his son, like you are his daughter, you are a
brother or sister, and he give it all the way from the deepest part of his heart which
make it a very different” (P3)
Will with humanistic “He wants the job to be done but he is very understanding to people’s needs and
Table 2. determination concerns, and he behaves accordingly. He behaves in a listening mood and he
Description of Dr. accepts to discuss things and this is why he takes care of other people’s
Eesa’s humanistic opinions. (P4)
leader/leadership
attributes (continued )
Themes Participant’s comments regarding leader’s humanistic attributes and behaviors
Humanistic
leadership in
Happiness and positivity “happiness, this is what he advocates for, if there is one person who does not like the UAE
to see people unhappy, even on his way, he makes sure that he leaves you
smiling” (P4)
“he always smiles and he makes people smile, and if he will see you sad, he will try
to create a joke or anything just to make you smile and he will tell you I just did
this to see you smile. He loves that. . .” (P4)
“I think Dr. Eesa is chief of happiness officer of our University. The role of
happiness officer is to make others happy” (P1)
Leadership development “He always remembers Sheikh Zayed, his speech when he said we are not building
factories, we build the man or men who will build the factories. [. . .] Dr. Eesa
[always] uses these words [. . .], and we learn from him. he asks us in 2 min just
what we learned from 2019 and what you need in 2020? I told him I already
learned a lot in 2019 [. . .] managerial skills, [..], I improved too much in 2019,
just I watched and learnt. He teaches us [his way], [. . .] like a father, [like] a role
model. (P1)
“he’s been my role model for a long time, even today when we left the meeting we
attended, somebody said to Dr. Eesa, in the introduction, he has been his role
model, so that means a lot” (P5)
“You can lead by example. This is the best way. When policies at workplace are set
well without bias and when leaders are humanistic, the people under them will
also emulate them.” (P7) Table 2.

Consequently, the participants were asked if Dr. Eesa can be considered as a humanistic
leader. All confirmed that he was. One participant added: “he is the best example of a
humanistic leader.” Further, they were asked about his leadership attributes and behaviors.
Based on the analysis, the themes that are linked to his humanistic leadership, are identified
and presented in Table 2, together with the direct quotes from interviews.
The comparison of the themes demonstrated in Table 1 and Table 2 indicates that
normative humanistic leadership attributes and Dr. Eesa’s leadership behaviors and
characteristics are congruent. This is considered as evidence that Dr. Eesa is a humanistic
leader, and the qualities he demonstrates are strongly connected to humanistic leadership.
These themes are described below with their connection to UAE cultural roots. We use
Table 1 and Table 2 to represent the direct quotation from the participants indicating a
leader’s humanistic behaviors and practices.
Humility. Humbleness and humility terms are used interchangeably for the research. The
theme appeared during the leader interview and proposed by th leader as one of the main
ingredients of humanistic leadership. This proposition is in line with the theory as humility is
accepted as one of the essential elements of being a great leader, according to the Level 5
leadership model (Collins, 2001). The participants also identified humility as one of the
significant characteristics of the leader which is congruent with his leadership behavior.
Humility has roots in Islam that suggest the complete sense of humbleness is total submission
to the will of God (SWT). Worship is submission to God (SWT); the essential part of the
submission is humility. “So glorify the praises of your Lord and be of those who prostrate
themselves (to Him)” (Quran 15:98). In Islamic culture, humility is one of the Prophet
Mohammed’s (PBUH) characteristics (Bekuun, 2012) as although he (PBUH) was a prophet,
he was doing his work regardless of his position. Dr. Eesa’s humbleness resembles to that of
Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) as he takes him as his role model.
Unconditional respect and dignity protection. Respect is a significantly vibrant concept and
is to be considered multidirectional. On the individual level, it is unconditional, as an extended
kindness and connected to the protection of dignity (Kimakolowitz et al., 2011; Pirson, 2017).
At the societal level, it is related to tolerance, which is the most primitive version which
CCSM supports the co-existence of cultures that is mandatory to handle the diversity of the
population. Participants’ expressions regarding “respect” and “consideration of others”
freedom of speech and self-expression’ are associate with dignity as a condition of humanism
and emerged as a leader’s characteristics. Dignity is mainly linked to respect and further,
normative and connected to human rights (Kimakolowitz, 2011; Pirson, 2010, 2017). It also
has Islamic roots. Islam values human dignity (Possumah et al., 2013). The concept of dignity
(karamah) traditionally is used as the idea that “God (SWT) created human beings to be in a
supreme position, endowed with divine blessing” (Cheraghi et al., 2014). Although in a religious
context, it is conditioned, in post-conventional societies, dignity is unconditional. From
another perspective, tolerance and respect are also connected as the main concepts to manage
cultural diversity in business. The roots of the UAE are linked to the National Agenda of the
UAE leadership.
Lozano and Escrich (2017) suggest that there is a need to improve the meaning of tolerance
in cultural diversity context. The concept of tolerance has many different purposes, with
some assumptions (power asymmetry, normative neutrality, etc.) that decrease the ability to
deal with the challenges of current cultural diversity. Utilization of tolerance includes
permission, co-existence, appreciation of the value of difference and respect. In a
cross-cultural setting, on the other hand, “respect” is a well-founded concept in
organizations when dealing with cultural diversity where ethical perspective is integrated
into the business that creates positive contributions to the companies and creates a fairer
society (Lazaro and Escrich, 2017). These two themes are well integrated into the leader’s
humanistic approach, where favorable treatments to everyone are equalized, where their
dignity is protected.
Caring for others with kindness. Caring is one of the humane-oriented characteristics of
CLT theory (House et al., 2013). Islam requires leaders to pay attention to followers’ needs
(Ahmed and Ogunsola, 2011, Sadat-Hoseini and Khosropanah, 2017). They are trusteeship of
God (SWT), and they are responsible to fulfill the needs, wants and poverty of the followers.
Caring behavior in Islam’s “other’s caring others” has a holistic and humanistic view that is
defined through divine commands, religious duty and is human nature, just like the way that
Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) was kindhearted to his followers: “And lower to them the wing of
humility out of mercy and say... (Qur’an: 17:24). Care means caring with employee’s health,
listening to them, understanding their problems, trying to solve them. The caring nature of
the leader is endorsed and disclosed by most of the participants. In this sense, the caring
behavior of the leader also connected to the Islamic cultural setting.
Fairness and justice. Fairness is considered two-fold. First, concerning the justice where
the leader finds himself in a judge position when making critical decisions, and the other is
related to situations where he treats everyone like the same. Fairness is fundamental and
linked to integrity, moral principles and ethics; if any of them is violated, it would negatively
affect trust and loyalty toward the leader and the system itself. Fairness is one of the qualities
of the human-oriented dimension of the GLOBE study (House et al. 2013). Mel
e defined justice
as “the perpetual and constant will to render to each his or her right” (2012). Fairness and
justice are mostly used interchangeably; however, they are different concepts in Islam. Justice
is related to equity and balance, i.e. “adl” and “qist” (Bekuun, 2012). “Be just! For justice is
nearest to piety” (Qur’an:5:8). It is about giving what the person deserves while observing the
rights—fairness (Ihsan) detachment of one’s self when giving a judgment to reach an
accurate conclusion. Justice and fairness are related to ethics and morality. In Islam, fair
treatment and fair payment promptly are promoted. There is also an emphasis on treating
fellow-beings in a just and equitable way (Possumah et al., 2013). The participants
commented on the leader’s fairness as a humanistic characteristic.
Transparency and ethics. To lead an organization in a humanistic manner, the employees
must be able to find meaning and vision at work. Transparency through information and
communication are considered necessary that leaders must engage in a constant dialog with Humanistic
employees (Peus and Frey, 2009). Transparency is one of the Islamic business principles that leadership in
guide ethical and moral foundations. (Ali and Owaihan, 2008). Especially for business ethics
underlies the significance of transparency in any business transaction and the necessity for
the UAE
enhancing trust and reducing problems in the marketplace (Patel et al., 2019). A question
emerges: what if economic outcomes can be a challenge, and humanistic leadership
implementation becomes a challenge for a humanistic leader to consider the need to reconcile
moral as well as financial logic in their decision-making? Three respondents stated that the
leader would be transparent in his leadership practices, even in difficult times. Islam
encourages transparency and honesty in business transactions, and it is believed that those who
cheat, conceal facts and tell lies shall lose the blessings of their operations (Ali and Al-Owaihan,
2008; Ahmed and Ogunsola, 2011). This is in line with the findings of the analysis that
supports the traits of the leader where the followers suggested transparency is the way that
the leader follows in terms of difficulties.
Well-being and positivity orientation. It is observed that happiness and positivity are highly
endorsed and considered as one of the distinctive characteristics of the leader. Delight is
regarded as subjective well-being in the literature and studied and measured (Deiner et al., 2000)
extensively. Well-being promotion is considered the highest level of approach toward
humanism (Kimakowitz et al. 2011; Pirson, 2017). Most of the participants appreciated the
happiness initiative of Dr. Eesa. They repeatedly made similar comments on the endorsement
of the happiness practices in the institution. Even though the ultimate goal of the leader could be
the maximization of happiness at the University, practically, it is not possible to make everyone
happy. An alternative approach is offered as a more realistic and practical way that is worth
considering. A new objective for providing a neo-utilitarian theory as a bounded humanism
model that is suggested to recognize that different circumstance may lead to utilizing different
moral principles to maximize social welfare (Jones and Felp, 2013). Happiness and positivity have
a powerful connection to the UAE culture as a national agenda. The leadership of the country
implements measures to ensure the well-being of the community and enhance happiness
through secure and effortless smart government services.
Generosity and altruism. Although they are considered as different themes, in this study,
we used them interchangeably as the meanings are much related. During the interview
“generosity” theme emerged as the leader’s characteristic. Generosity is a collection of
activities such as volunteering, donating to charities and informal helping (Glanville et al.,
2016). Generosity and altruism themes are also suggested in humane-oriented leaders (House,
2013). The participants praised Dr. Eesa with his generosity as his behavior related to the
humanistic view. The leader has disclosed the way of UAE leaders’ kindness, which is to
provide the resources to produce and improve the community rather than just giving a
charity. Generosity (Sakhawat), giving freely, is praised highly in Islam. “You will never attain
piety until you spend out of what you hold dear, and whatever you may spend of anything, Allah
indeed knows it” (3:92). It is part of Islamic culture and reflected on a leader’s
humanistic style.
Family focus. This theme is threefold. The first is the family orientation of the leader, as he
cares to the extent of his employees and family’s well-being. Second, he intends to create a
family-like organization that fits the Arab culture. Third, he is seen as a father figure by some
of his employees. In Islam, it is expected to respect the employees and treat them as family
members (Possumah et al., 2013). Especially in the Middle East, paternalistic leadership is
pervasive where the leader supports the employees in their work and private life in exchange
with loyalty and respect (Aycan, 2006; Mansur et al., 2017). Consistent with Arabic culture
(AlMazrouei and Pech, 2015), the leader’s approach is encouraging family-like relationships
blended with complete care; therefore, the family focus is linked to humanistic leadership as a
theme that may be exclusive to UAE context.
CCSM Reaching goals by following a humanistic approach
The leader’s focus on the organizational goal is recognized by the interviewees as similar to
“professional will” that was introduced as the level 5 leadership model (Collins 2001). In
Islamic teaching, the wealth must be earned through hard work and not by taking what belongs
to others. Working hard toward goals is essential (Ali and Al-Owaihan, 2008). To accomplish
the probably determined output anticipated out of a humanistic leader, it is vital to sustain
comprehensive compliance and authenticity in the fullest possible sense to the Sharia (Jamil,
2015). Also, a humanistic leader is continuously required to be able to perform in a way
following how God and His Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) would want him to behave. Trust,
responsibility and accountability (Amanah, Taklif and Mas’uliyyah) are qualities that guide a
humanistic leader in his quest. Most prominently, In the Islamic context, leadership means to
guide an organization toward realization and the attainment of the common goal and to create
a system where there is contentment, or alfalah, for everybody. In Islam, leadership
encompasses the procedure of inspirational and training volunteers to accomplish a vibrant
collective revelation. The leader expects followers to achieve the goal but with compassion
and understanding of the capability of the individual. The leader accepts if the follower
refuses to complete the work due to his/her capacity, but this needs to be disclosed early
enough. However, if the work is accepted, the leader expects the work to be delivered. This
position brings the humanistic approach in perspective. Similar to the method of the leader,
reaching the goals while keeping the human angle is essential. The essence here is to reach the
goals by prioritizing the humanistic principles that are recognized in the context. The goal
orientation is coordinated with the professional will themes and supported with the following
statement of a participant. The argument is called “will with humanistic determination.”

Leading by example
In the scope of the research, the participants were asked how to achieve humanistic
leadership development? The interviews indicated that humanistic leadership development
through “being a role model” is the standard practice in the organization. The respondents
repeatedly mentioned the best way to develop a humanistic approach is leading by example.
Although some of the participants believe humanistic leadership can be prepared for the
followers, some were against this notion and claimed that being humanistic cannot be taught:
in my point of view [. . .] you cannot teach a person to be humanistic, [. . .] it should be inside of him.
He should feel, have the sense. [. . .] it is imperative that you live in a very loving, caring family with
very positive vibes. If you teach your children how to be nice to people, to feel the people, when they
grow up they know what the meaning is. But as an adult, as a manager, [. . .] some people might
change, but they will go back to what they used to be
In the humanistic management literature, the analogy of the “Seed” is used as the essence a
person should have to be a great leader and is suggested that not everyone can be a Level 5
leader if they do not possess the “seed.” Further, if the right conditions, like childhood
nourishment, critical illness, etc. are provided, the people with seed can be transferred to Level
5 leaders (Collins, 2001). A participant’s comment was found useful to clarify this aspect by
the following statement:
it can be nurtured, definitely, but if someone is himself has a negative personality it becomes harder,
but examples can teach it, this is a value issue, much more than a lesson, but by showing examples, as
you believe in karma, if you do good you will get good, I do not know how you can nurture it, but
I think it is doable.
In line with the leader’s comments on “leaders need to create leaders”, leadership development
is seen essential. Similarly, in Islam, leadership is not a professional calling or assigned only
to a few selected individuals. Everyone is a leader on his own way. Everybody has leadership
Humanistic network components Leader’s attributes Cultural roots
Humanistic
leadership in
Wholeness respect people as holistic human beings by taking Respect and dignity Islam the UAE
care of himself/herself as well as the followers’ multiple needs Protection Bedouin
and motives traditions
UAE national
agenda
Humility Islam
Caring with kindness Islam
Bedouin
traditions
Family focus Islam
Bedouin
traditions
Generosity Islam
UAE national
agenda
Mutual development they constantly improve themselves Leadership development Islam
while developing the followers to unleash their full potential UAE national
agenda
Common good they recognize and try to take into account all Well-being orientation Islam
stakeholders’ interests while striving to pursue the common Bedouin
good traditions
UAE national
agenda
Fairness Islam Table 3.
Transparency and ethics Islam Connecting the leader’s
Will with humanistic Islam humanistic attributes
determination UAE national to cultural roots
agenda of UAE

responsibilities and accountable for their actions and results. In the UAE, a Youth Leaders
program is initiated to develop youth who are ambitious and driven. The University of Dubai,
under the leadership of Dr. Eesa, is contributing to the education of these future leaders and is
expected to carry the country forward. Leaders program is conspicuously essential for the
development of future humanistic leaders. The inclusion of humanistic values in leadership
programs can significantly affect the next human capital profile and the culture of the
country.
Based on the results Table 3 is created to map the leader’s humanistic attributes to the
cultural roots in the UAE. The themes are linked to the most apparent cultural sources that
are retrieved through the interviews and available published data.

Description of humanistic leadership in the UAE context

According to the study’s findings, humanistic leadership attributes are proposed to as
humility, unconditional respect and dignity protection, caring with kindness, fairness,
transparency, well-being orientation, generosity, family focus and will with humanistic
determination. Based on the analysis, we described humanistic leadership through a leader
from the UAE as per the following:
Humanistic Leadership is “leading people towards the mission with humility and care, while
protecting their dignity with unconditional respect and transparency, by creating a positive and
happy environment that is flourished by tolerance, fairness, and generosity, that allows the people to
work (disrupt, innovate, produce) and grow together as a family to reach the goal”
CCSM Discussions and future directions
The paper fulfills the aim of understanding the leadership characteristics applicable to an
eminent leader in the UAE. Contribution of this paper to the humanistic leadership literature
is multifold. The research highlights ten themes named as humility, respect, care, fairness,
transparency, well-being orientation, generosity, family focus, will with humanistic
determination and leading by examples. These themes coincide with various humanistic
literature (Avolio, 2009; Collins, 2001; Kimakowitz et al., 2011; Pirson, 2010, 2017; Aktouf and
Holford, 2009; Andersen, 2018; Russell and Stone, 2002) including well-being and dignity
protection model, authentic leadership, paternalistic leadership and servant leadership
models.
Considering the cultural roots, a humanistic leadership framework is provided through a
humanistic leader that is applicable to the UAE context, and those attributes were linked to
cultural settings, including Islam, Bedouin traditions and the national agenda, i.e. program.
Humanistic leadership component including “wholeness, mutual development and common
good” are supported and were enriched through the attributes of the leader.
The wholeness is achieved through taking care of the followers’ multiple needs and
motives. This may include their health and families, showing care and unconditional respect
to all. Also, through leading by example, the development of self and followers is intended.
Happiness is considered as an ultimate common good, and all stakeholders’ interests are
recognized not only mentally but also physically.
The proposed humanistic leadership description, including humility theme, supports also
humanistic management models (Collins, 2001), and the leader highly endorses the theme. In
the study, “the leader’s determination” is used in connection with the leading toward the
goals. Although the goals may be challenging, leading the followers toward these goals by
following humanistic leadership is essential. The UAE is considered one of the most
competitive countries in the world. It always strives “to be the number 1” in every business;
thus, the targets are also set higher. The leader identifies difficult yet, achievable goals that
will allow the followers to challenge themselves to the greatest extent and start thinking out
of the box to use their full potentials. It is also important to emphasize the nature of the “goals”
in this context. In our University, the goals are always directed toward maximizing the
community welfare, educating the younger generations and closing the knowledge gap in the
society. As a result, there is relatively more attention and need for humanistic leadership
endeavors, and this is contrary to profit-maximization oriented companies where the leader is
burdened heavily to increase the value for shareholders. Our proposed model is introduced
with an integration of the “goals” from a humanistic angle, and the theme is named “will with
humanistic determination.”
Further, the framework supports the CLT theory. The themes of fairness, care and
generosity are explicitly and charitableness and kindness to others are implicitly endorsed. The
leader naturally utilizes these themes. Being honest, generous and caring is also coinciding
with the Islamic values that are proposed by Abu-Rida (1998). Caring behavior is extended to
the family level that also connects and supports paternalistic leadership theory. A leader’s
approach to the family theme is not only an indication of the leaders’ caring level, but also a
result of the intention of creating a working environment that nourishes tolerance, positivity
and happiness. In Arabic culture, the family is essential and highly valued. In fact, in Islam
brotherhood concept is very common, which fuels the support and trust in relationships. In
such a diverse culture, the leader uses a “family concept” to create a cultural connection to
remove silos. A partial link to the paternalistic leadership model (Aycan, 2006), is also
recognized. In this model, the leader is seen as a father who shares his/her wisdom with
his/her followers. This could have been a subtheme of care; however, considering the context,
it is kept as a separate theme to allow modifications for further studies.
 Fairness is fundamental and linked to integrity, moral principles and ethics; if any of them Humanistic
is violated, it would negatively affect trust and loyalty toward the leader and the system itself. leadership in
Additionally, our description supports the Humanistic Management Network (Kimakowitz
et al. 2011; Pirson, 2017) insights to focus on well-being and dignity where both are protected
the UAE
officially in the UAE context. One of the Uniqueness of the UAE culture comes from the
promotion of these humanistic values as a national program. As one of the youngest countries
of the world, the UAE is still shaping its culture, promoting those benefits to establishing a
social infrastructure that would support the new generation to get ready to realize the vision
as being a global leader.
As theoretical research, humanistic leadership is still developing. As the values are very
diverse across cultures, providing such a model in a cross-cultural context like the UAE,
where 88% of the population are expatriates, may give an insight into what may work. This
paper’s intention is to contribute to this development in such sense.
The practical implication of the paper is to offer an alternative example for the leaders to
understand and implement humanistic leadership practices in the UAE. Through this study,
creating awareness in youth leadership programs to include humanistic leadership principles
may help to increase social welfare. Unlike the other countries, in the UAE, the public sector is
more effective and efficient than the private sector because of the leadership styles followed in
this sector (Sowmya, 2018). Similarly, government institutions are well aware and conscious
about the attempts to increase the welfare of the society, and private institutions are far
behind this consciousness. Therefore, it is important to promote the value of the humanistic
approach in institutions.
As a single case, the applicability of the findings to the entire UAE and diverse industries
is the main limitation of this research. However, through the leader, humanistic leadership
practices in the UAE in connection to UAE culture and Islamic principles can be observed.
There is always a possibility of creating more humanistic leaders that support the welfare of
the Global Community if there is a common humanistic culture which is created as a global
initiative and comprehensive policy. This definitely will nourish the business environment
and satisfy every stakeholder.
Considering the context of the study as an Islamic country, a leader’s humanistic
leadership characteristics fitted to mainstream Islamic values. This may present a future
research opportunity if some of these values can be integrated into humanistic leadership
literature. This study also can open up a venue to test and develop the suggested model in
different contexts.
A dilemma is emerged during interviews related to leadership development of the
followers: “Can anyone be a humanistic leader?” This question is yet to be answered. Here is
the formula:
Humanistic leader 5 Humanistic þ Leader
Humanistic leadership 5 Humanism þ Leadership
How to create a leader that carries both the qualities of humanism and leadership, who carries
essence of the both? These questions are yet to be answered and remain for the future research.

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Corresponding author
Yaprak Anadol can be contacted at: yanadol@ud.ac.ae, yaprak.anadol@gmail.com

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