Rational Leadership for the Middle East: A Multiple Competencies Model

Abstract

This study aims to address the prevailing skepticism that conventional leadership models are not effective in the Middle East. With the same logic, selecting leaders is a confusing task in the Middle East due to the haphazardness surrounding this task and the lack of clarity of appropriate selection criteria. This study employs samples of leadership theories and frameworks that were scrutinized to classify specific leadership dimensions. The triangular model stemmed from the previous studies that addressed Leadership in general and the Leadership model for the Middle East. With the use of the literature review methodologies and historical analysis, the leadership model's description will be demonstrated. The results revealed that there are various dimensions of Leadership, especially concerning the Middle East's organizational environment. The findings of this study suggested a new model which assists in clarifying the issue by setting a group of 10 personality traits with eight behavioral skills and social status. Implications of this study enable making Leadership easier in practice. Furthermore, this will enable recognition of Leadership according to specific criteria, which will help make greater equality and empowerment at all levels of the system. This research localizes Leadership and paves the way to automate leaders' selection process with a guarantee of fairness among candidates.

1. Introduction

Leadership is almost the biggest thorny issue in the Middle East because of its importance and the level of the competition for the majority of the people. On the one hand, the criteria for selecting the best to take over the Leadership are questionable, and on the other, holding power is very tempting. Becoming a leader is not as easy as it sounds, it may be easy just to be delegated as a leader, but to actually have the qualities and the characteristics of a leader needs process and time. Therefore, choosing the right person should guarantee a safe hand for people and businesses alike. And as Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “A leader is a dealer in hope.” Leadership is arguably one of the most vital themes that attract sociologists, psychologists, and management because of the critical importance it has on the success of entrepreneurs. Great leaders help people grow. They willingly share what they know and look out for learning opportunities for the people they work with (or the people who work for them). They build up the team and foster strong relationships, rapport, and cooperation within that team.

Therefore, scholars are continually raising further questions about the validity of leadership styles as global and effective in all circumstances (Avolio & Bass, 1995) Furthermore, Burns (1978) remarked that leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on Earth. Leadership is the ability to inspire confidence and support among the people needed to achieve organizational goals. People have needs for specific results or outcomes, and they are driven to behave in ways that will satisfy these needs (Alderfer, 1969). Expectancy theory proposes that an individual will behave or act in a certain way because they are motivated to select a specific behavior over others due to what they expect the result of that selected behavior will be (Vroom, 1964). Great leaders have something unique that creates a feeling for the institution’s owners that real leaders’ absence makes a great dilemma. By leaders understanding people’s values, can impact actions resulting in desired outcomes (Homer, 1997). Similarly, good leadership matters for organizations’ survival and prosperity (Day & Antonakis, 2012).

Admittedly, the leaders are different in their characteristics. Even those who had imprinted on the institutions that led them did not agree on a comprehensive description of all these qualities. Each of them seems to have a dominant characteristic that distinguishes him/her and makes him/her a dominant person of others and even feels the desire to follow him/her and feels that he/she should also be at the forefront. There is a quiet and sober leader, a dependable revolutionary, a thinker, an analyst, and a creator, and there are those who dare to make decisive decisions. Some have socially pleasant, smiling, and playful personality. Humankind has always believed that whoever leads is the one who possesses the power, so the command centers are given to those who can influence and attract the power of influence and the imposition of obedience. Therefore, these positions were limited to religious leaders or leaders of the tribe.

Nevertheless, most developing countries suffer from a lack of effective and efficient leaders that enable organizations to sustain development. Considerable research is needed to bridge this lack of knowledge and identify constructs attributing to leadership’s specific aspects. Practically, adopting an utterly Western mode of leadership in Arab nations is impossible. Besides, disregarding the exclusive features of Arabic culture that contribute to the design of leadership practices is difficult (Aldulaimi, 2018a). House (1995) asserted that there is an increasing awareness of the need for an improved understanding of how leadership is enacted in various cultures.

2. Significance and Objectives

To select a leader who could be the best guide to succeed continues to be the most excessive dilemma in management. Researchers need to explain certain standards to find the applicable scientific approach to do this, which is not an easy task. All leadership definitions do not agree on a single methodology of selection. However, the easy way is to determine the process of choosing leaders based on a realistic and pragmatic definition. There is a need to unify what is understood about Leadership to reach a common meaning that society could utilize today (Homer, 1997). Leadership is a multifaceted, interactive process with behaviors, attributes, social, relational, and situational elements.

This study’s motivation is the prevailing skepticism that conventional leadership models are not effective in the Middle East. Kakabadse and Kakabadse (2007) asked a question as to why there are so few leaders, and only a handful of people in leadership positions led while the vast majority acted reactively. Therefore, this research aims to address this problem by suggesting a new model that clarifies the issue by setting ten personality traits with eight behavioral skills and social status.

The justification of a new leadership model is that conventional leadership approaches lack inquiry into the personal and sociological factors that shape their leadership. Also, conventional leadership approaches believe their doctrine on leadership is universally applicable. And on top of this, conventional Leadership approaches lack inquiry into the personal and sociological factors that shape their Leadership (O’Hagan, 2009). If leadership as behavior and entity is imperative for human nature, then logically, each nation must find its leadership model. Thus, based on the above, the study attempts to answer the main two research questions:

(1) Are there particular specifications and criteria for the selection of a leader in organizations?

(2) Why are conventional leadership models mostly ineffective in selecting the right person to be on top of organizations in the Middle East?

3. Literature Review

Historically, the scientific study of Leadership originated in Max Weber’s studies (1864-1920). After that, theories of leadership emerged and had gone through several stages. The first stage is the personality era which included the first formal leadership theories and represented a beginning in understanding the leadership process. This era is divided into the Great Man Period and the Trait Period (King, 1990). The ‘great man’ theory exemplifies the former view and is interested in the personality traits which leaders intrinsically possess (Kakabadse & Kakabadse, 1999). This approach assumes that a ‘great man’ naturally holds the essential skills to perform as a leader. By identifying these essential traits, others can emulate them through simulated leadership versions (Kenny & Zaccaro, 1983; Lawler, 2008). The trait approach assumes that certain physical, social, and personal characteristics are inherent in leaders (Allen, 1998). Charismatic leadership is a trait-based leadership theory where the leaders act as visionary driven by their convictions and motivate their followers to work towards a common vision using their charm and persuasiveness (Conger & Kanungo, 1987). The second stage is the Behavior Era that took a completely new direction by emphasizing what leaders do and behave in diverse situations. Leadership was thus defined as a subset of human behavior (Hunt & Larson, 1977).

Behavioral theorists identified leadership determinants so that people could be trained to be leaders (Allen, 1998). The most well-known is the “Managerial Grid Model”, which uses a 9 × 9 grid with consideration behavior marked along one axis and initiating structure behavior along with the other. It suggests that “the most effective leader will be rated 9 on both of these behaviors” (Mouton & Blake, 1964). McGregor (1966) also developed theories of X and Y, which received considerable attention. The third stage is the situation era which acknowledges the importance of factors beyond the leader and the subordinate. Examples include the type of task, the leader and subordinates’ social status, the relative position power of the leader and subordinates, and the nature of the external environment (King, 1990). These leader’s traits, skills, influence, and behaviors are likely to make effective leadership (Tran et al., 2020). The fourth stage is the contingency era which represents advanced evolution in the leadership theory. Contingency theory (Fiedler, 1964), the Path-Goal theory (Evans, 1974). Fiedler’s Contingency Theory emphasized the need to place leaders in situations most suited to them (Fiedler, 1967) or train them to change the situation to match their style (Fiedler et al., 1976). The fifth stage is the transactional era and leadership involves dealings between the leader and followers that affect their relationship. Exchange period examples from the exchange period include Vertical Dyad Linkage theory and Leader-Member Exchange theory (Siron et al., 2015). The sixth stage is Culture Era which asserted that “formal leadership is only needed when the existing culture is changed and a new culture must be created” (Schein, 1985). Culture can be created by emergent leadership at lower organization levels and then directed to the organization’s top levels. The seventh stage is the transformational era which depending on leadership values and ethics. That is how an individual practicing leadership can help an organization to affect adaptive change (Kotter, 1990). These, in turn, influence the development of future perspectives (Alvesson & Svenningson, 2003). Scholars argue that leaders should exhibit some needed personal qualities (Goleman, 1998; Kotter, 1990).

To discuss the previous theories, we use Table 1, summarizing the evolutionary stages of leadership made by King (1990). Nonetheless, the question that needs to be answered is the proper interpretation and model that is compatible with the Middle East culture. Muslims believe that Islam is a comprehensive approach to life and that Islam is a valid way of living for all human beings from all times and from all places (Aldulaimi, 2019). Muslim scholars highlighted some of the salient philosophies of Leadership and this vision must then be projected for Muhammad’s character was virtue centric and is consistent with the Qur’an’ (Aldulaimi, 2019). From this realization comes a call for holistic leadership that integrates the four fundamental arenas that define the essence of human existence the body (physical), mind (logical/rational thought), heart (emotions, feelings), and spirit (Moxley, 2000). Spiritual Leadership in Islam is effective because considerable evidence stimulates subordinates to obey leaders (Imam). The Quran states, ‘O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority’ [4:59].

Table 1: Evolutionary Stages of Leadership Theory

Source: King (1990).

Moreover, Muhammad states that every Muslim has his responsibilities. Prophet Muhammad says, ‘everyone is a guardian and each guardian responsible for those under his guardianship’ [Bukhari: 2419]. This passage indicates that everyone has responsibilities in achieving the goals of life and the afterlife. Hofstede (1993) argued that organizations are culture-bound and that managers are not separable from their indigenous cultures. Accordingly, research on Arab organizations (Al-Hegelan & Palmer, 1985; Aldulaimi & Sailan, 2012; Aldulaimi, 2018b) implied that Arab managers are reluctant to delegate authority, avoid responsibility and risk-taking, prefer a stable lifestyle over rewarding but challenging work, and give priority to friendships and personal considerations over organizational goals and performance. Face-saving and status-consciousness are also commonly said to be important values in traditional Arab culture, especially within tribal cultures (Gregg, 2005: Aldulaimi, 2019).

The GLOBE study conducted by House et al. (2004), for instance, found that effective Arab managers were reported to score significantly higher on ‘self- protective’ traits than managers from elsewhere. Arab cluster was found to score significantly lower than those from elsewhere on charismatic, team-oriented, or participative qualities. However, as mentioned, effective Arab managers were reported to score significantly high on ‘self-protective’ traits, namely, self-centeredness, status-consciousness, face-saving, conflict induction, and reliance on the procedure. Men of tribes are in control of situations, and individualism has no place among them. Tribal affiliation affects the sense of identity and loyalty of the individual. Arabs were also affirmed to have a high degree of expectation and acceptance of a great man as a leader. Hofstede (2010), asserted that “the two dimensions of power distance and uncertainty avoidance combined create a situation where leaders have virtually ultimate power and authority”. Elders and men are given priority in social meetings, invitations, and other social activities. Consequently, social science, in general, and the process of Leadership (Baker, 2007), in particular, are looking for dynamic theories.

4. Methodology and Design

With the use of the literature review methods and historical analysis, the descriptions of the Rational Leadership Model (RLM) in the Middle East will be demonstrated. A compelling and well-conducted study as a research method creates a firm foundation for advancing knowledge and facilitating theory development (Webster & Watson, 2002). Combining views and perspectives from many sources, a literature review can tackle problems and find answers to research questions rigorously. A literature review is an excellent way of synthesizing research findings to show evidence on a meta-level and uncover areas where more research is needed, which is a critical component of creating theoretical frameworks and building conceptual models (Snyder, 2019). Therefore, we believe this methodology provides a dynamic process for creating proper leadership based on interpretation, analogical reasoning, culture, and social preference.

5. Leadership Definition and Model

Leadership is the foundation of every achievement. According to Peter Drucker (2005) “The fundamental flaw of modern leadership theory is that a leader is an indispensable man”. Leadership is a journey, not a destination, Leadership process, not an outcome. A leader is the one who is able to hit the target the first time without making a mistake. Leadership is the ability of an individual or a group of individuals to influence and guide followers or other members of an organization. Leadership involves making sound – and sometimes difficult – decisions, creating and articulating a clear vision, establishing achievable goals, and providing followers with the knowledge and tools necessary to achieve those goals.

Leadership is a process by which an executive can direct, guide, and influence the behavior and work of others towards the accomplishment of specific goals in a given situation. Leadership is the ability of a manager to induce the subordinates to work with confidence and zeal. Leadership is the potential to influence the behavior of others. It is also defined as the capacity to influence a group towards the realization of a goal. Leaders are required to develop future visions, and to motivate the organizational members to want to achieve the visions. Drucker advocate that “Great Leaders are neither, born or made, they are self-made. Drucker suggested “Leadership cannot be promoted, cannot be taught or learned, and that management cannot create leaders. “The leader is not just a seller of hopes”, as Napoleon Bonaparte says. Leadership is the impact on people to get them to work more enthusiastically. He’s the one you don’t find with many people around, and if they have followers, they are happy and proud to be associated with him. An effective leader possesses the following characteristics: self-confidence, strong communication and management skills, creative and innovative thinking, perseverance in the face of failure, willingness to take risks, openness to change, and levelheadedness and reactiveness in times of crisis.

Accordingly, this study reaches a consistent definition of leadership. We define Leadership as a set of personality traits that a person possesses and are followed by behavioral skills that develop in an active environment with empowering social status to create a mechanical effect that drives others’ achievement. A successful leader does not guarantee the impact and inspiration of followers without integrating the leader’s presence with the basic specifications and skills with the synergy of a healthy environment that enables the leader to show his professionalism. According to Max Weber charismatic leadership a type of leadership in which authority derives from the charisma of the leader. Charismatic leadership, according to Weber, is found in a leader with extraordinary characteristics of the individual, whose mission and vision inspire others. This stands in contrast to two other types of authority: legal authority and traditional authority. Drucker defined leadership characteristics as consisting of credibility, integrity, trust, ethics, and character. Based on the leadership definition mentioned previously we came up with the number of characteristics as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Drawing the Landscape of Rational Leadership Model in the Middle East

This study proposes the model of Leadership which consists of three components like the following:

5.1. Personality Traits

The classic theories of leadership such as trait, great man, and the theory of charisma have clarified that the leader’s characters are the main doubt errand in the ability and effectiveness of the leader in performing the task of leadership to the fullest. Weber set the questions of authority in the context of charisma. Charismatic personality has been described as a personality with the ability to lead others and influence them abnormally like magnets. It is worth noting that the effect of charisma is on emotion, not on the mind (Burns, 1987). Therefore, Weber’s charismatic Leadership has to be “democratically manufactured. Because to be democratic, it needs to be rich with a strong personality (Burns, 1987). Traits theory confirmed that a leader with a set of traits achieves higher productivity than a leader who does not have these attributes (Allen, 1998). Based on previous theories, a set of personality traits can be suggested to become a successful leader.

Braveness: it means boldness and intensity in the time of difficulties and a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear. A person who displays courage will never hesitate to stand up for others or voice their beliefs even if they have an unpopular opinion. Bravery doesn’t just mean physically coming to the aid of others; it means using your voice to speak up about wrongdoings. A brave person always takes tough decisions, without thinking much about the results because they are not afraid of failures. One of a courageous leader’s qualities is to follow his intuition no matter what others warn him and call him crazy. He is ready to endure all the consequences and face all external and psychological difficulties and obstacles, in addition to being open to listening to his critics and prepared for any challenge to reach his goal.

Initiative: Initiative distinguishes a leader because it’s not just about doing what is told, but rather finding new ways to do more. If a leader’s job is to build progress, then the initiative is how that progress can be built. Leaders put their first foot forward so that others can follow by example. Leaders understand that you have to find new paths and creative modes to accomplish something. It is not enough just to have mere thoughts about your goal. Thoughts and words are nothing until they culminate into actions.

Intelligence: Intelligence allows leaders to evaluate others’ opinions and hypothetically place them into the plan and see if they fit in. Using valuable inputs that work out for the better often boosts employee morale and allows for better efficiency. It is thought by some people that intelligence is the number one priority among qualities that successful leaders need. This opinion implies that choosing the manager of a company or facility employers should pay attention only to the level of intelligence of a possible leader. Freud (1948) concluded that “the subconscious determines personal preferences rather than the consciously pursued intellectual efforts”. Freud’s challenge also laid the foundation for a wider debate within intellectual circles of personal development’s psychological origins (Lesser, 1957). Therefore, it is important to know the leaders’ cultural backgrounds, early education, the course of education, and the abilities of relationships with others so that the leader does not fall victim to his psychological complexes that happened in his/her early life.

Determination and Persistence: The key to successful leadership is determination. Without determination, nothing will come to fruition. The plans, ideas, and goals will be stagnant without the perseverance to make them come to life. Often, traits such as determination are what separates effective leaders from those that are ineffective. The drive and persistence to get things done especially when others give up displays a person’s determination. The drive and persistence to get things done especially when others give up displays a person’s determination. Persistence in leadership helps to keep up the work. It is a trait a good leader should always remember and never give up on anything. Additionally, persistence makes it much easier to face challenges and improves work.

Honesty: A leader can motivate followers and inspire them to rise above in life. If they want to achieve respect and trust from the followers, they need to be honest and must value integrity. Honesty is how we build trust, and trust is necessary if we hope to work successfully with others. Within a team, people need to trust that the information they receive from others is accurate to do their jobs correctly and that others are doing what is expected of them to complete the work (Kouzes & Posner, 1993). Integrity in leaders refers to being honest, trustworthy, and reliable. Leaders with integrity act in accordance with their words and own up to their mistakes, as opposed to hiding them, blaming their team, or making excuses. Effective leaders are generally viewed as honest by employees. They keep everyone abreast of what is going on within the organization - good and bad. Leaders who cover all sides are much more appreciated than leaders who conceal information that could easily be communicated.

Dominance: Leaders high in dominance go to great lengths to safeguard their power, even at the cost of the group. They want to coerce others through reward and punishment. They often view talented group members as threats (Maner & Case, 2016). Leaders who obtain this status on the top of the structure through dominance are very assertive and forceful-minded people and do not hesitate in getting their opinions known and do not flinch when they have to influence other people through intimidation or coercive tactics (Peterson & Jacobs, 2002). Dominant people lead others not in their official capacity, but by being in a prominent place in subordinates’ minds and hearts and their ability to influence and socialize.

Trust: In a leadership context, trust means that employees expect their leaders to treat them well, and, as a consequence, are comfortable being open with their leaders (Cook & Wall, 1980). The leader who does not establish trust will have no followers. Trust is the primary attribute associated with leadership, and trust that is broken can have an adverse effect on a group’s performance. People are unlikely to follow someone they think is dishonest or someone they think will take advantage of them (Whitener et al., 1998). A trustworthy person is positive in mind (Drucker, 1995).

Justice: Justice Perceptions involve one’s perceptions of the fairness of the organizational processes, how outcomes are distributed and the quality of interpersonal treatment employees receive. As some individuals will feel that certain outcomes are unfair, leaders are encouraged to devote more attention to procedural justice (Aldulaimi, 2019). Moorman (1991 stated that the term Justice is used to describe the role of fairness as it directly relates to the workplace. Justice has been conceptualized in literature based on three dimensions, namely procedural, distributive, and interactional justice (Ahmadi et al., 2012).

Generosity: In the context of leadership, there are other gifts that do not have a monetary value, but whose value is beyond price. A leader who is generous with information, power, and well-deserved compliments empowers workers. The atmosphere created helps motivate them to do more for the organization and each other. Generous leadership inspires generosity in your team, so everyone gives their personal best. People want leaders to be generous with knowledge, time, credit, power, information, and faith; it’s really hard to trust and fully support a leader who’s stingy, who seems to compete with you, or who doesn’t believe in your potential. The most powerful force in business isn’t greed, fear, or even the raw energy of unbridled competition. The most powerful force in business is generosity. It’s what will help the people grow and become stronger. It’s what will give you a sense of meaning and satisfaction in your work, which will help you do your best work.

Authenticity: According to Drucker (1995), the most important qualification of Leadership is authenticity and he cited ways to develop or maintain this accordingly by not trying to be something you are not, not trying to become a clone of a leader you admire because copies are never as good as the original and simply, be yourself. When people work alongside a truly authentic leader, they’ll often give their whole hearts and minds to the cause. In these situations, a spirit of teamwork and loyalty can spread throughout an organization, resulting in high morale and producing extraordinary results. Authentic leaders inspire trust in their teams (Suong et al., 2019).

5.2. Behavioral Skills

Analyzing: It refers to the ability to interpret the information and use it to make decisions related to people, organizations, and situations. Regularly, analyzing needs a creative eye to spot trends in the data that others may not find. Leaders with strong analytical skills will think outside of the box to develop effective solutions to big problems. Leaders analyze people by having a deep understanding of them and influencing themselves and analyzing them and not accepting ready-made assumptions about them. The best leadership style is the one in which subordinates and tasks, as well as the leader and environment, are cohesive. By analyzing past performances, such as subordinates’ abilities and motivation, the present situation and future possibilities become clearer (Hutabarat et al., 2021). Situation analysis is an art that an effective leader masters to see beyond situations and analyze facts in a more profound way than others, namely analyzing data, read positions, and knowing the facts in the least detail.

Organizing: Organization skills are those related to creating structure and order, boosting productivity, and prioritizing tasks that must be completed immediately, versus those that can be postponed, delegated to another person, or eliminated altogether. The organization process involves the leader being skilled in coordinating ideas, selecting objectives, and coordinating activities that achieve the goals. The organization of ideas is a purely mental skill that can lead to the skill of organizing things and an anarchist mind that produces nothing neat. Organizational skills include practices like time management, scheduling, prioritizing through to-do and to-don’t lists, project management skills, consistent communication, multi-tasking, and flexibility as well as adaptability. So, an organized leader knows what he/she wants and has a vision of the ultimate goals, and organizes his/her potential to reach them at the lowest costs and efforts. Being organized is an important skill for any project manager. To be organized, they must be able to rid their minds of any distractions, including those of their personal lives. To become a project manager, you need to start with small things, such as keeping your office clutter-free and having the right tools to manage the project for each task. A highly organized project manager can increase the efficiency of all team members and ultimately improve productivity. To complete all tasks efficiently and effectively, a leader cannot befriend procrastination. Time management through scheduling projects, meetings, and other tasks by creating time blocks in calendars and keeping a list of tasks will help organizational skills. By using scheduling, prioritizing, and focusing on certain tasks becomes simple, and allows the increased opportunity for multitasking.

Decision-making: Refers to the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several alternative possibilities. Impressive decision-making skills of leaders inspire confidence in the members of the workforce. It is always welcoming to have a strong front for a company. It instills in the subordinates a greater sense of faith. With this motivating force, they strive harder towards the attainment of goals. (Janis & Mann, 1977). Decision making is a critical skill for effective management and leadership. Some people are just not suited to leadership roles because of their lack of ability to make decisions. Decision-making is a moving process and one has to monitor and follow up on the results of one’s decisions to adjust them when and how it is needed. The decision-making process also stems from the collection, analysis, and processing of information in a scientific manner, which leads to the identification of possible alternatives to the solution, and the adoption of one of the alternatives, which often requires taking a human sense into account when examining the preference of the results of an alternative. However, the successful decision depends on the sound assessment as well as reliable information.

Communication: This is at the core of effective leadership. If you want to influence and inspire your team, you need to practice empathy and transparency and understand how others perceive you, through your verbal and non-verbal cues. Strong leaders are transparent in their communications. They want their team to trust not only what they say, but what they mean. There shouldn’t be any hidden agendas or reading between the lines. When leaders can’t share certain information, they need to come right out and say it, because half-truth answers breed distrust and anxiety. In good times and bad, honesty builds trust. Effective communication and effective leadership are closely intertwined. Leaders need to be skilled communicators in countless relationships at the organizational level, in communities and groups, and sometimes on a global scale (Barrett, 2006). Throughout history, the greatest leaders have also been motivators, able to encourage others to work toward a common goal. This ability to motivate has largely been a result of solid communication skills. Poor communication leads to misunderstandings that often cause conflict between team members. Communication is a two-way road and to communicate effectively, the listener must express his or her observations. This is necessary because only listening leaders can make sure that the message has been received accurately and check that all requests have been followed correctly.

Knowledge: Knowledge leadership is defined as a process whereby an individual supports other group members in learning processes needed to attain group or organizational goals. The first role is knowledge as a valuable resource and value driver for organizations, regions, and nations. As to the second role of knowledge as a basis for decision-making, leaders should be able to execute well-informed and well-considerate decisions from multiple perspectives. Leadership is a learning process characterized by continuous practices with increased knowledge to deal with dynamically occurring changes in an organization. Project managers must have a high level of competence or at least have practical knowledge of each member’s important tasks to enable them to make better observations and determine whether team members are performing their tasks properly. For example, a project manager working on an IT project should have a background in the IT field. A leader has to be an expert and have to have the right amount of practical knowledge to understand what at least each member is working on.

Innovation: It is a process for creating direction, alignment, and commitment needed to create and implement something new that adds value (Horth &Vehar, 2012). Innovation leadership is a philosophy and technique that combines different leadership styles to influence employees to produce creative ideas, products, and services. As an approach to organizational development, innovative leadership can support achievement of the mission and the vision of an organization or group. Solid leadership is the key to a fruitful innovation output and must be carefully considered in order to maximize successes. It is the job of a leader to promote and support innovation within a company and in this post, we will discuss the ways in which effective leadership can establish an innovation culture throughout your organization. (Drucker, 2005).

Human skills: This means the ability to deal with others, whether they are subordinates, colleagues or presidents, understand their behavior, and be able to motivate them to work, achieve cooperation between working groups and lead them and guide their efforts towards achieving the desired goals. This means that the director must be humane in his dealings with his subordinates and colleagues. He/she senses their problems and understands the reality of their behavior to gain their trust and ensure that they cooperate with him/ her to carry out his orders and instructions regarding work.

Teamwork: Most studies define teamwork as the climate that allows for working collectively and effectively to achieve common goals. Indeed, strong leaders build strong teams instead of depending on their odd capabilities. Aldulaimi (2019) affirmed that “consultation (shura) means ‘conducting affairs through mutual consultation”. Consultations seem to be superficial because the manager seeks to obtain the agreement of organizational members on decisions that have already been made. (Aldulaimi & Sailan, 2012).

5.3. Social Status

It is the rank a person occupies in the social structure and determines the individual’s evaluation by society. People believe that some jobs have a higher social status than others. Social status refers to the honor or prestige attached to one’s position in society. It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group. One’s social status is determined in different ways. One can earn his or her social status by his or her own achievements; this is known as achieved status. Alternatively, one can inherit his or her position on the social hierarchy; this is known as ascribed status (Festinger, 1954).

In cultures that give great importance to social polarization, it is evidence of success in life. Social status is necessary for leaders because it polarizes their personality and shines their presence and impacts people. However, this rank should not negatively influence the leader’s personality and make him/her see himself/herself higher than other people. Controversially, he/she should be close to people and humble. The humble do not care about titles, do not care about ranks and positions, and see posts as responsibilities and not a reason to show off, nor do they glorify their achievements, when one thinks that one has reached the moon, it begins to fall. The humble often succeed as leaders. Although humbleness is a gentle force, it resonates significantly with both the board and the team. The humble also attributes the success of the team not to themselves, which enhances their team’s confidence in them and their desire to continue giving and creativity, and a sense of loyalty towards their leader.

The social status makes the leader a role model to others and the desire to imitate his behaviors and values. Beekun (2012) suggested a virtue-centric and a moral approach to leadership, explaining the Quranic emphasis on Muhammad’s character (khula in Azeem). Practical wisdom and virtues ensure behavioral ethicality based on the ‘qualities’ of truthfulness, integrity, trustworthiness, justice, benevolence, humility, kindness, and patience. According to them, the real focus of leadership is doing good deeds and working towards establishing Allah’s ordained order, which is an ethical one’. According to Stone et al. (2004), “leaders who demonstrate integrity in ethical conduct become role models that followers admire, respect, and emulate”.

In Arabic culture, people respect the person’s status, and preferably the leader has a remarkable social rank because it gives him prestige and a good reputation. Arab societies are divided into several classes and every class has certain norms and characteristics. Sociologists study social classes differently, as they address the subject of class with its psychological and social dimensions for individuals, and its functions for society in general, and the same classes. Social hierarchy is a fundamental manifestation of modern society, and class inequality is a means that confirms that the most challenging social situations are those occupied by the most competent people. Many factors show the importance of hierarchy from a functional perspective as higher social conditions require special qualifications, competencies, and in-depth training available to only a few individuals, and relative scarcity becomes a cause of class inequality.

6. Conclusion and Implications

This study’s motivation was the lack of standards of leaders’ selection as acknowledged by scholars in the Middle East. Therefore, this research aims to construct a framework of leadership competencies consisting of a group of 10 personality traits with 8 behavioral skills and social status. The justification of the need for a new leadership model is that conventional leadership approaches lack inquiry into the personal and sociological factors that shape their leadership. We attempt to develop a logic model that contributes to helping organizations choose the best fit leader and don’t get into personal and subjective choices. Also, conventional leadership approaches believe their creed of Leadership is universally applicable. Moreover, leadership approaches lack inquiry into the personal and sociological factors that shape their leadership (O’Hagan, 2009). Furthermore, the study addressed two research questions: first, are there particular specifications and criteria for selecting a leader in organizations? And second, why conventional leadership models are mostly not useful in choosing the right person to be on the top of organizations in the Middle East?

The methodology used to implement the study was the literature review and historical analysis to analyze and describe the Rational Leadership Model’s descriptions in the Middle East (RLM). A few frameworks and theories were scrutinized to classify specific leadership dimensions. This model consists of three main dimensions, as shown in Figure 2, first is personal traits with ten traits (Braveness, Initiative, Intelligence, Determination and Insistence, Honesty, Dominance, Trust, Justice, Generosity, and Authenticity), The second is the behavioral skills which have 8 behavior (Analyzing, Organizing, Decision-making, Communication, Knowledge, Innovation, Human skills, and Teamwork) and third is social status.

Figure 2: Rational Leadership Model in the Middle East (RLM)

Implications of the study for leadership in practice address the need to develop an explicit leadership model considering the specificity of culture in the Middle East. This will enable recognition of the central liabilities needed for choosing leadership. Moreover, further attention to be given to its development whether mental leaders are to reflect on the relevance of the leadership model to greater empowerment at all levels of the leadership or the practical aspect to reinforce the appearance and influence of the leader on followers. We ultimately expect that this study serves as a foundation for a new theory and motivates additional research to examine the validity of the model’s constructs in the management field.