05D2-00-Make a discussion of the implications of cultural diversity for leadership approaches to managing complex public systems.

Exploring the Implicit Leadership Theory in the Arabian Gulf States Ikhlas A. Abdalla* The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development Moudi A. Al-Homoud Kuwait University A partir de donne es GLOBE Gre es de questionnaires administre saÁ des cadres moyens du Qatar (N= 101) et du Koweit (N= 78) et d'entretiens approfondis aupreÁ s de onze cadres moyens du Qatar et dix du Koweit, cette e tude analyse les traits du leadership efficace dans les Etats du Golfe. On s'inte resse aussi aÁ la the orie du leadership implicite dans une approche culturelle. Les re sultats montrent que le Qatar et le Koweit sont treÁ s proches pour ce qui est des profils globaux des leaders efficaces ou exceptionnels. Le leader efficace est compe tent sur le plan administratif, diplomate, visionnaire, inteÁ gre, centre sur la perform- ance et il suscite des ide es. Une analyse factorielle de second ordre confirme la proximite des deux pays pour ce qui est des caracte ristiques du leadership efficace. Les variables de mographiques ont un impact treÁ s faible sur la rep- re sentation que les re pondants se font du leadership efficace. Cette recherche de crit la double se rie de valeurs que repre sentent la tradition et le modernisme dans les deux socie te s. INTRODUCTION Organisations are embedded in social/cultural environments and the latter exert their pervasive influence on the organisational actorsÐemployees and managers alikeÐin terms of what they bring with them to the work situationÐpatterns of values, beliefs, and social relationships, etc. (Hofstede, 1991). Previous research emphasised the impact of culture not only on organisational and individual behaviour but also on the development of ________________ * Address for correspondence: Ikhlas Abdalla, Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, P.O. Box 21923 SAFAT, 13080 Kuwait, State of Kuwait. Email: iabdalla@afesd.

qualitynet.net Preparation of this article was supported in part by a grant from Kuwait University. The authors are grateful to Dr Mahmood Al-Gamal for participating in the Kuwaiti data collection and to Dr Siham Al-Gabandi for helping with the literature collection. APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL REVIEW, 2001,50(4), 506±531 #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. Published by Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. theories and the way they are explained and practised. Hence, it is evident that strategies to increase the effective functioning of organisations cannot be based on management and practices imported wholesale from abroad but on indigenous practices that emerge from the specific cultural context of the particular society.

A review of the literature revealed that Arab scholars have paid little attention to the study of leadership and organisational practices in their Arabian Gulf cultural context. This is perhaps partly due to the difficulty of studying cultural values and their linkages to organisational behaviour.

According to Ali (1990) the attempts of Arab scientists in this endeavour are modest and they can be classified into three groups: Westernised, Arabised and Islamicised. The Westernised scientists (e.g. Al-Kubaisy, 1985; Ayubi, 1988; Badawy, 1980; Muna, 1980) were successful in identifying some organisational and personal factors that influence managerial and organ- isational behaviour but fell short of assumptions necessary to build sound management theory. The Arabised scientists (Ali, 1988; Al-Kubaisy, 1985) attempted to advance the critical analysis of managerial practices and concepts in the Arab world. However, this group needs to be more critical and innovative so as to sensitise managers to the deficiencies in current systems. The Islamicised group (Nusair, 1983; Khadra, 1985; Hawi, 1982; Abu-Sin, 1981; Sharfuddin, 1987) advocated the use of Islamic principles and traditions in conducting business affairs. The Islamic approach has gained more popularity recently due to the dissatisfaction among a large part of the population with the results of the adopted Western management approach. Many of the present problems (e.g. corruption, abuse of power, weakening family ties, and increasing materialistic orientation) were attri- buted to the Westernisation process.

This paper presents part of the findings of the Project GLOBE, i.e. a long- term multi-method, multi-phase, cross-cultural research programme concerned with the differential effects of leadership and organisational practices and values in 61 cultures (House, Hanges, Ruiz-Quintanilla, Dorfman, Javidan, Dickson, & Gupta, 1999) concerning the Qatari and Kuwaiti leadership profiles. Using two samples of Kuwaiti and Qatari middle managers, the main objectives of this paper are: (1) to examine effective Qatari and Kuwaiti leadership traits/behaviours and implicit leadership theory from a culturally conscious perspective; (2) to assess the impact of the managers' demographic characteristics on their perception of the traits of outstanding leaders; and (3) to examine the internal consistency, construct, and external validities of the measures of the Culturally Endorsed Implicit Leadership Theory (Hanges, House, Dickson, Dorfman, & GLOBE, 2001) in the Arabian Gulf region.

Since there is a great lack of locally valid Arab theories of management, leadership, and organisation, the present findings may provide information LE ADERSHIP THEORY IN THE GULF STATES 507 #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. that helps the assessment of imported theories and the development of new theories that are sensitive to the local culture. Examining the leadership dimensions in relation to the Arabian Gulf culture will give greater insight into how valued each leadership dimension is to the Arab individual and to provide better explanation for their effectiveness or ineffectiveness. Another contribution of this study is that it provides the opportunity to compare the results of two similar cultures, i.e. the cultures of Qatar and Kuwait, and thus present evidence that may help in assessing the level of consistency of the results. Also, among the expected practical implications of these findings are that they may provide information for individuals who are responsible for policy-making, managerial procurement, and development programmes in the states of Qatar and Kuwait.

A PRE VIEW OF RELEVANT HISTORICAL AND CURRENT QATAR AND KUWAIT SOCIO-POLITICAL ENVIRONMENTS The start of oil production in the 1940s triggered abrupt economic and social changes in Kuwait and Qatar. In their attempt to modernise and develop their states and establish the basis of advanced civil societies, the Arabian Gulf countries from the 1950s on, bought a version of modernityÐhospitals, schools, and roadsÐby pouring concrete and recruiting expatriates. In terms of developmental opportunities the oil wealth has solved many problems but it also contributed to the creation of new, unique, and often unexpected problems. Now the region is facing yet a new set of problems triggered this time by acute fluctuations in oil prices and financial and psychological burdens of the Gulf War. The present socio-economic situation along with several historical factors has influenced the Kuwait and Qatar work environments and leadership thought and behaviour. Among the most significant factors are: Islamic values, tribal and Bedouin traditions, the oil wealth, and related factors such as the influences of education, a huge influx of expatriate workers, and sudden international exposure.

Earlier Islamic Era The Islamic definition of leadership is that, ``leadership is the behaviour of the occupant(s) of the position of leadership in political, economic or social fields. Leadership position is vital to the welfare of the group and hence should be occupied only by competent people.'' The leader, i.e. the person responsible for the people (followers), was called Caliph or Amir of Believers or Ruler (El-Wali). The Caliph is totally responsible for the welfare of his people before God. The followers should obey the orders of their leaders.

The Koran attests, ``O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you.'' (Surat An-Nisa, section 5 (59) 508 ABDALL A AND AL-HOMOUD #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. Holy Quran, 1981). However, people are expected to obey their leader's orders only if they are in line with God's orders. Leadership skills are believed to be mainly natural aptitudes.

The Islamic leader has the following qualities: charismatic: a ``great man'', a man with some sort of ``miracle'' to lead his followers to their ideals.

People under a prophetic leader would strive to perform their duties to their best because their love and free submission to the leader motivate them. The leader has a message: the loftiest of his duties is to develop leaders from among his people. He must be religious because he is the role model (Islamic Principles suggest that the righteousness of the nation depends on the righteousness of its Caliph and the corruption of the nation is in his cor- ruption). He must be responsible, in this respect Prophet Mohammed attests:

``Everyone of you is a custodian and is responsible for his people''. The leader should ensure justice among his people, applies the rule of Islamic law, preaches the good, dissuades from evil, and provides a decent liveli- hood for his people. He must be moderate, consultative, forgiving, honour- able, abiding by his promises, honest, humble, respectable in appearance, patient, and hold non-materialistic and ascetic values (Hawi, 1982; Khadra, 1985; Mostafa, 1986; Al-Obiedi, 1987).

The Islamic administrative theory is based on the social philosophy of the Islamic system, which suggests that individuals' physiological needs must be satisfied to achieve organisational goals and that a balance should be achieved between spiritual and psychological needs. The theory is based on the principles of hierarchical organisational structure, chain and unity of command, obedience and compliance to formal authority, planning of work, consultation among members of the organisation, clarification of roles training, and development of employees (Abu-Sin, 1981; Mostafa, 1986; Nusair, 1983; Sharfuddin, 1987).

The Current Era (the Start of Oil Production to the Present) The Economy.There were fast transformations in the political and economic structures of these states after oil production in 1940 in Kuwait and 1947 in Qatar. Before the oil production the entire economy of the small monarchies of the Arabian Gulf depended on big merchants who own the commercial, fishing, and pearling ships. At the present, the Middle East region is the site of 65 per cent of the proven oil reserves, natural gases, and other important resources such as iron ore, zinc, sulphur, and others. In Qatar and Kuwait the public sector is the leading sector of the economy and it is much bigger than the other sectors. The private sector consists mainly of small and a few medium size organisations most of which are owned by well- established families. The main activities are trade, small business activities, and bureaucratic jobs. The two states lack well-established stock and capital LE ADERSHIP THEORY IN THE GULF STATES 509 #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. markets. The businesses enjoy excessive government protection, lack separation between ownership and management control, lack a competitive environ- ment, and are dependent on imported technologies. All these factors may have contributed to the poor state of research and development activities and the relative lack of competitive spirit and innovation. Most business rules and regulations are tilted towards empowering the native community and widening the natives' opportunities for advancement. The business laws allow non-natives to own up to 49 per cent of any business established in Kuwait or Qatar. That is, they have to have native business partners willing to own 51 per cent of the business. An expatriate cannot work in Kuwait or Qatar without being sponsored by a public or private business or native individuals. This gives the native organisation the edge over the compen- sation package. Hence, the expatriates generally settle for less pay. The non- indigenous workforce is also believed to be more skilful, hardworking, and more experienced than the native workforce and hence more cost effective.

The majority of the two countries' native elite work in the public sector.

Natives are generally reluctant to work in the private sector; they are usually lured by the lucrative offers of the government sector. The government sector is lenient and provides high job security for the native workforce, thus some natives developed a tendency to exert nothing more than the minimum effort (Government Work Programme, 1985). The expatriates (who are mostly Egyptians, Jordanians, Palestinians, and Indo-Pakistanis) have introduced their own traditional, bureaucratic, and power stratified practices to the Arabian Gulf region. However, lately the work environments have probably become more native than they were before. The fast and sometimes hasty nationalisation of jobs and the influence of increasing education, interna- tional exposure, and the Gulf War, etc. have contributed to the continuously changing texture of the Kuwaiti and Qatari organisational environment.

Compared to the public sector, the private sector is dominated by a work- force that is highly skilled but often not familiar with the Arabian Gulf work environment (Abdalla and Al-Homoud, 1995; Al-Romaihi, 1970; Al-Mosa, 1984). Managers in the private sector are employed on the bases of their technical and functional abilities (most likely a man with a business degree or engineering background and managerial experience). The business owner may select one of his own in-group to manage his business; however, if none is available he may employ an expatriate who is more cost effective than a native. In contrast, the public sector is committed to the government full- employment policies and at present it is suffering from over-employment in most jobs.

Background Information about Leadership Profiles in the Arabian Gulf Culture.The Gulf societies endorse typical collective values and practices such as preference for personalised relationships, broad and profound 510 ABDALL A AND AL-HOMOUD #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. influence of in-group on its members, and limited cooperation with other groups. Tribal traditions and their collectivistic culture profoundly influence Arab managerial styles and hence managers tend to play the role of tribe leaders (Sheiks). Tribe leaders generally shoulder all the responsibility and centralise authority. They have intense loyalty to their ``in-groups'' and they consider themselves the protectors, caregivers, and fathers of their employees.

They tend to consult with their in-groups (the equivalent of kin) and they might be relatively aggressive and authoritarian with members of other groups (rival tribes) (Mahjoub, Ghonaim, & Shareef, 1997). In addition to the influence of tribalistic norms of behaviour, the Arab expatriate bureau- crats have significantly influenced work methods and native managerial styles. Hence, the present native managerial style is a mixture of bureau- cratic and traditional tribal methods.

Due to the collectivist values, teamwork skills and values outside the in- groups are not well developed, people tend to subordinate their goals to those of the in-group, and favouritism and nepotism are quite common.

These values have a serious impact on organisational practices and produc- tivity particularly selection and reward systems. In order to ensure that their needs are well (sometimes unduly) served, people of all social status develop network systems in various Ministries and other significant organisations.

They invest part of their work time nourishing their social network and it is very common to see people chatting over a cup of tea, or visiting the sick, or paying condolences during working hours (Ali & Wahabi, 1995). Also, it is frequently observed that newly appointed managers remove, distance, or freeze the in-group of their predecessors and appoint their own people.

Thus, it is not uncommon to find in a specific Ministry a considerable number of people who carry the same surname or tribe name as that of the senior manager/administrator.

Arab societies, being power-stratified, normally work through hierarchical relations (Al-Romaihi, 1977; Barakat, 1991). Power flows smoothly when the subordinates defer to the superiors' orders and seek their guidance and the superiors in return protect and give patronage and affection to their subordinates. Such behaviours are consistent with some passages of the Koran that autocratic managers/leaders (religious, political, and business) may use to justify their actions. The Koran attests, ``Obey God, and obey the apostle and those charged with authority among you''. Juniors yield to seniors and they are expected to speak to their seniors in a modest and unassuming way. Juniors do not strongly oppose their superiors and if the situation is likely to result in confrontation they may choose to withdraw.

While these types of behaviour are more expected from junior staff, how- ever, even professionals are often not allowed to voice their concerns and suggestions within the established channels. Hence the relationships between the superiors and subordinates are based on either fear or admiration. LE ADERSHIP THEORY IN THE GULF STATES 511 #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. However, not all those who are willing to submit to the orders of the leader are given the opportunity to benefit from the paternal relationship. In general, those who are allowed to establish stronger relationships with the boss are chosen according to the boss's whims rather than for their willingness to cooperate, their competence, or relevance to the work tasks. On the face of it these practices seem to be accepted by the employees; however, in reality this environment is suffocating to most of them, particularly the educated groups.

This environment has a negative effect on job involvement, organisation commitment, and has encouraged immigration of many Arab intellectuals to other countries.

The traditional work environment could have been improved if the leaders were willing to use consultative leadership styles according to the spirit of Islam. Through consultation many of the present organisational malfunctioning could have been fixed. The concept of consultation, a counterpoise of autocratic rule, has a special value in Islamic tribal societies as it is strongly recommended by the Koran and emphasised by Bedouin traditions (Muna, 1980). A tribal sheikh in the classical nomadic system could not rule for long without the consensus of the tribe. However, due to historical factors (e.g. the influence of the Mameluke dynasty and the Ottoman Empire) more centralised systems were developed in the Arab world. When consultation is used the purpose is often to satisfy the egos of the parties involved rather than to improve the quality of the decision. It is worth noting that while the concept of consultation is very much valued the position of a consultant/adviser has some negative connotation to it. This is because the position of an adviser is often used for freezing the activities of unfavourable high-ranking employees. Such a practice may shed light on how serious are Arabs with their consultation activities. ME T HOD Following the GLOBE methodology data were collected from Qatar and Kuwait using multiple sources. Some of the results of the questionnaires and interviews are presented in this paper.

Questionnaire Samples.The CLT questionnaire (Hanges et al., 2001) was administered to 101 native Qatari middle managers who work in five banks, the only telecommunications organisation operating in Qatar and the Mail Depart- ment of the Ministry of Transportation of which 62 were from the financial sector. It was also administered to 78 Kuwaiti middle managers (of whom 76% were natives) who work in three banks and the Ministry of Transpor- tation of whom 35 were from the financial sector. Two of the Qatari banks 512 ABDALL A AND AL-HOMOUD #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. are Islamic banks and thus they do not employ the concept of interest rates.

The range and mean (in parentheses) of the Qatari sample's age and years of education, general work experience, years of work in the present organ- isation, and present job are 24 to 50 (mean = 35), 10±22 (15), 3±25 (13), 1±25 (8), 1±18 (6). For the Kuwaiti sample the range and mean (in paren- theses) of age and years of education, general work experience, years of work in the present organisation, and present job are 22 to 64 (mean = 38), 5±22 (16), 2±44 (15), 1±32 (8), 1±30 (6). Since the native Qatari financial and telecommunication workforce is very small, all native Qatari middle managers in these organisations were initially targeted and they were asked to fill both Forms A and B of the GLOBE Phase 2 questionnaire.

Items.The CLT questionnaire, which consists of 112 questions intended to measure leadership traits/behaviours, was used. The total data provided by the questionnaire are expected to give adequate information about the implicit leadership theory in a specific culture. Each question presents a leadership trait/behaviour, its definition (e.g. Sensitive: Aware of slight changes in moods of others), followed by a response alternative consisting of a seven-point scale. The response alternative states the following: ``This attribute/ characteristic impedes or facilitates unusually effective leader- ship: 1. Substantially impedes, 2. Moderately impedes, 3. Slightly impedes, 4. Neither impedes nor facilitates, 5. Slightly facilitates, 6. Moderately facilitates, 7. Substantially facilitates.'' The Inter views Ethnographic Interviews.Eleven Qatari and 10 Kuwaiti higher-middle managers from several government departments and private businesses were interviewed separately. They all held a university degree (BSc or higher degrees). All interviewees were men and they were either educated in American or European universities, or they had at least brief training or attended a conference/meeting in the UK or USA. They speak Arabic and English. The interviews lasted between half an hour and over an hour depending on the interest of the interviewee in the topic. The interviews started with a short description of the project and the interviewees were asked to describe, in as much detail as possible, their perception and under- standing of the leadership phenomenon. The main questions were: ``What is a leader? We want you to recall an outstanding leader you know of; and without mentioning his name, can you describe the traits/behaviours that facilitated his success? What are the traits/ behaviours that hindered his success? Now we want you to recall a leader that you think was not successful. Without mentioning his name, can you describe the trait/ behaviours that contributed to his failure? Now we want you to speak in L E A DE R SHIP T HE ORY IN T HE GUL F S TAT E S 513 #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. general and from your experience in this country, what are the traits/ behaviour that you believe contribute to leaders' success and those that contribute to leaders' failures?'' ANALYSIS First-order factor analyses were not performed on the Qatari and Kuwaiti data. In fact the questionnaire items were grouped according to the results of the first-order factor analyses of the aggregate GLOBE data (House et al., 1999). However, second-order factor analyses were used on the leadership dimensions of Qatar and Kuwait separately. Means, standard deviations, correlation coefficients,T-Tests, multiple regression, and Cronbach alpha reliability scores were examined. RE SULT S The following section reports the Qatari and Kuwaiti leadership profiles as indicated by the results of the questionnaire and the interviews.

The Qatari and Kuwaiti Leadership Profiles This section presents Qatari and Kuwaiti leadership profiles using the ques- tionnaire and the interviews data. Based on questionnaire data the section presents the mean values and position ranking of 21 leadership dimensions that represent leaders' traits/behaviours (Table 1). Then the second-order factor analysis results are presented (Table 2). Table 3 presents the means, SD, Cronbach alpha reliability scores, and within-country rank-order positions for the leadership dimensions created as a result of the second- order factor analysis. The correlation coefficients scores of the new dimen- sions are presented in Table 4. The findings of the interviews are presented in Tables 5 and 6. The results of the interviews are used to elaborate and give more insight to the meaning of the questionnaire results. The data of Qatar and Kuwait will be examined separately, followed by a comparison between the results of the two societies. The direct effect of the respondents' demo- graphic characteristics on the desirable leadership profile is presented in this section.

Middle Managers' Implicit Leadership Models in Qatar and Kuwait Two different analyses are presented in Table 1 namely, within-country analyses and between-country analyses. Within-country analyses reveal the 514 ABDALL A AND AL-HOMOUD #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. implicit models of outstanding leadership in Qatar and Kuwait and the comparative analyses help in distinguishing the components in these models that are typical for Qatar and Kuwait in relation to each other. Table 2 provides the main components of the Arabian Gulf implicit leadership theory.

The Findings of the Que s tionnaire Data The results presented in Table 1 show a high degree of similarity between Qatar and Kuwait with regard to the general profiles of outstanding leaders.

The relative values assigned to the 21 leadership dimensions in terms of rating and ranking were similar. The six most important contributing dimensions for Kuwaiti and Qatari outstanding leadership behaviour are Administratively Competent, Diplomatic, Visionary, Integrity, Performance Oriented, and Inspirational. On the other hand, the leadership traits believed to inhibit leaders' success are Non-Participative, Autocratic, Autonomous, Malevolent, Face-saver, and Self-centred. Based on these results an out- standing leader in Kuwaiti and Qatari cultures must have Integrity, which was ranked first by the two samples. He is Administratively Competent (ranks 2nd and 4th in Qatar and Kuwait respectively), Diplomatic (3rd and 5th), Visionary (4th and 1st), Inspirational (5th and 1st), Performance Oriented (6th in Qatar and Kuwait), Status Conscious (7th and 7th), Col- laborative (8th and 8th), Integrator (9th and 9th), and Decisive (9th and 8th). On the other hand, the leader should avoid behaviours that may impede his/her success such as attempting to serve his/her own interest, Malevolent, Autocratic, and Face-saver. That is, he should be unselfish, benevolent, and democratic (Table 1).

Second-Order Factor Analysis.Table 2 presents items loading of the second-order factor analysis results of Qatar and Kuwait, and the results of the two countries are similar in four out of the five factors. The findings show that the Charismatic, Value based, and team oriented traits form the first factor; Humane and Performance Orientation form the second factor; Autocratic, Autonomous, Self-centred, and Malevolent form the third factor; Conflict-inducer and Status-conscious form the fourth factor. For the first four factors the results of both countries are almost identical, but they differ in the fifth factor where the Qatari results show high loading of the traits of Face-saver and Non-participative and the Kuwaiti results show high loading of only Self-sacrificial. For the most part these results are consistent with the aggregate results of the GLOBE Project, which are based on responses of middle mangers from 61 countries to 17,000 questionnaires (Den Hartog, House, Hanges, Ruiz-Quintanilla, & Dorfman, 1999). The aggregate GLOBE results, however, revealed six factors. Factor names similar to those of the LE ADERSHIP THEORY IN THE GULF STATES 515 #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. GLOBE are used in this paper. Factor 1 is referred to as ``Charismatic-Value based leadership'', Factor 2 ``Considerate leadership'', Factor 3 ``Autocratic leadership'', and Factor 4 ``Self-protective leadership''. Since the content of Factor 5 differs in Qatar and Kuwait, it is referred to as ``Traditional- Tribalistic leadership'' for Qatar and ``Self-sacrificial'' for Kuwait. The Alpha scores indicate relatively high reliabilities for all the factors except ``Self- protective'' and ``Self-sacrificial'' for which the reliability scores are low.

These values range from 0.92 to 0.45 for Qatar and from 0.90 to 0.42 for Kuwait (Table 3).

Leadership Profile as Indicated by the Second-order Factor Analysis.Table 3 shows that the most valued leadership traits are, in decreasing order, Charismatic-Value based traits, Self-protective leadership traits, and Consider- ate leadership traits. These traits are believed to be important for leadership TA BL E 1 LeadershipProfilesinQatarandKuwait QQ K K Leadership scale (GLOBE) Country MeanCountry RankingCountry MeanCountry Ranking Administratively competent 6.07 2 6.26 4 Diplomatic 6.03 3 6.2 5 Humane orientation 5.35 12 5.2 12 Modest 5.40 11 5.2 12 Procedural 4.40 15 4.3 15 Status conscious 5.74 7 6.0 7 Conflict inducer 4.94 14 5.0 14 Non-participative 3.00 17 2.9 19 Autocratic 2.82 19 3.0 18 Autonomous 3.20 16 3.6 16 Charismatic I: Visionary 6.02 4 6.3 1 Charismatic III: Self-sacrificial 5.00 13 5.4 11 Decisive 5.47 10 5.8 9 Integrity 6.20 1 6.3 1 Malevolent 2.30 20 2.3 20 Team: Collaborative 5.63 8 5.9 8 Team II: Team integrator 5.53 9 5.8 9 Charismatic I: Inspirational 6.00 5 6.3 1 Face-saver 2.89 18 3.0 17 Self-centred 1.90 21 2.0 21 Performance oriented 5.85 6 6.1 6 Note: I = (AD, DIP, VIS, INT, INS) II = (HU, MOD, PROC, STAT, CONF, SAC, DEC, COL, INTG, PERF) III = (NON, AUTC, AUTN, MAL, FAC, SELF) 516 ABDALL A AND AL-HOMOUD #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. TA BL E 2 Second-order factor Analysis results of Q & K Qatar Kuwait Leadership scale (GLOBE) Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5 Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5 Administratively competent 0.536 0.893 Diplomatic 0.633 0.690 Humane orientation 0.824 0.607 Modest 0.636 0.681 Procedural 0.525 0.666 Status conscious 0.647 0.715 Conflict inducer 0.683 0.551 Non-participative 0.850 0.738 Autocratic 0.712 0.652 Autonomous 0.732 0.665 Charismatic I: Visionary 0.680 0.894 Charismatic III: Self-sacrificial 0.7820.849 Decisive 0.668 0.538 Integrity 0.517 0.799 Malevolent 0.535 0.726 Team: Collaborative 0.748 0.560 0.582 Team II: Team integrator 0.784 0.788 Charismatic I: Inspirational 0.793 0.779 Face-saver 0.821 0.551 Self-centred 0.667 0.673 Performance oriented 0.626 0.611 Eigenvalue 7.8 2.5 1.4 1.3 1.2 7.7 3.2 1.5 1.3 1.12 Pct of variance 37.2 11.8 6.9 6.2 5.6 36.8 15.4 7.0 6.3 5.4 Cum pct 37.2 49.0 55.9 62.0 67.7 36.8 52.3 59.3 65.5 70.9 Note: Factor 1: Charismatic-Value based leadership style; Factor 2: Considerate leadership style; Factor 3: Autocratic leadership style; Factor 4: Self- protective leadership style, and Factor 5: Bedouin leadership style for the Qatari sample, and Self-sacrificial leadership style for the Kuwaiti sample. LE ADERSHIP THEORY IN THE GULF STATES 517 #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. success. On the other hand the leadership trait ``Autocratic'' is believed to inhibit leadership success in Qatar and Kuwait. ``Traditional-Tribalistic'' traits in Qatar and ``Self-Sacrificial'' traits in Kuwait are believed to have neutral effects. The correlation coefficient scores suggest high positive associ- ation between the Charismatic-Value based, Considerate, and Self-protective leadership dimensions in both Qatar and Kuwait. Autocratic leadership styles are negatively related to the Charismatic-Value based dimension in Qatar and they are positively related to the Self-sacrificial dimension in Kuwait. The high reliability scores of Charismatic-Value based traits, Self- protective leadership traits and Considerate leadership traits, and the strength and direction of the correlation coefficient scores (Table 4) are consistent with previous research findings, e.g. the coefficient alpha reliability scores for the aggregate GLOBE data were over 0.80 (Hanges et al., 2001). Thus the results provide strong support for the construct and concurrent validities of the scales. The positive relationships between the ``Self-protective'' dimen- sion and Charismatic-Value based and Considerate dimensions show that the respondents endorse ``Self-protective styles'' such as Status-Conscious and at the same time they endorse ``Considerate styles'' such as Modesty.

Thus, the results support previous research contentions that Arabs hold dual sets of values that represent traditionalism and modernity (Ali, 1990; El-Tayeb, 1986; Abdalla, 1997). Also, it is interesting to note that the leader- ship trait of Autonomy is associated with Autocratic and Self-centred traits.

The Impact of the Managers' Demographic Characteristics on their Social Values and Preferred Leadership Styles.Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the impact of the respondents' demographics (i.e. nation- ality, age, education, general/managerial work experiences) on their percep- tions of the traits/behaviours of successful leaders. The results show that the TA BL E 3 Culturally Endorsed Implicit Leadership (CLT) Dimensions and Cronbach Alpha Reliabilities QQQQ K KK K Means SD Rank Alpha Mean SD Rank Alpha Charismatic-Value based 5.8 0.63 1 0.92 6.0 0.54 1 0.90 Considerate 4.9 0.63 3 0.63 4.8 0.71 3 0.73 Autocratic 2.5 0.64 5 0.66 2.7 0.64 5 0.69 Self-protective 5.4 0.65 2 0.45 5.5 0.65 2 0.59 Traditional-Tribalistic for Qatar, and Self-sacrificial for Kuwait2.9 0.97 4 0.71 3.0 0.82 4 0.42 518 ABDALL A AND AL-HOMOUD #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. demographic characteristics have minimal effect on the respondents' percep- tions of the leadership traits/behaviours that facilitate or hinder leadership success. Specifically, the multiple regression results indicate that there are no significant main effects of all demographic characteristics with the exception of one relationship. That is, the results indicated that after controlling for all other demographics, age has a significant direct negative impact on the value assigned to Traditional-Tribalistic leadership as a determinant of leadership success (R square = 0.082,P= 0.015; age: Beta =70.48,P= 0.01). The Traditional-Tribalistic leadership style mainly consists of Non-participative and Face-saver. That is, the older the respondent the more he sees Traditional-Tribalistic styles as inhibitors of leaders' success. These results suggest that as far as the demographic characteristics under study are con- cerned, the respondents represent a homogeneous group.

The Findings of the Inter views Data Leadership Definition in the Ethnographic Interviews.A sample of the definitions offered by Qatari and Kuwaiti senior managers and professionals are presented in Table 5. These definitions suggest that the respondents seem to believe that the concepts of ``leader'' and ``manager'' are basically the same; however, they feel that there are differences too. They indicated that leaders are more future oriented, long-term planners, and deal with major and uncommon problems. Their main sources of power are derived from their personality, aptitude, and the acceptance of their subordinates. In addition, they can influence a larger number of people, have extraordinary character- istics, are more creative, inspirational, visionary, integrators, persuasive, decisive, charismatic, and have integrity. On the other hand, the respondents believe that some managers may occupy their office on the basis of seniority TA BL E 4 Correlation Coefficients of the Five Leadership Styles and Cronbach Alpha Reliabilitie s fo r Q and K Factor Leadership styles F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F1 Charismatic/Value based ± 0.67**70.08 0.47**70.07 F2 Considerate 0.51** ± 0.02 0.49**70.08 F3 Autocratic70.38**70.07 ± 0.25 0.57** F4 Self-protective 0.43** 0.37**70.13 ± 0.05 F5 Traditional-Tribalistic (Q) Self-sacrificial (K)70.17 0.00 0.35**70.03 ± Note: Values above the diagonal are for the Kuwaiti sample, and values below the diagonal are for the Qatari sample. LE ADERSHIP THEORY IN THE GULF STATES 519 #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. and not merit. To succeed they must be good integrators and coordinators, and they must have good administrative skills. In contrast to leaders, man- agers deal with routine problems and they are more concerned about short- term planning and work details. Most respondents suggest that managers can combine both leadership and managerial skills. That is because they believe that the sources of influence of leaders and managers are different; leaders draw their influence from personal resources while managers draw their influence from rules, regulations, and their knowledge and position. As one respondent puts it, ``. . . If he succeeds in combining both, it means that he has the leader's personality and the managerial knowledge and experi- ence''. Thus, the definitions offered by the respondents in this study agree with the definition adopted by the GLOBE study (Hanges et al., 2001), which states that, ``leadership is the ability to influence, motivate and enable others to contribute to success of their organisations''. TA BL E 5 A Sample of Leader/Leadership and Manager/Management Definitions According to the Ethnographic Interviews The manager is the person who executes work plans or programmes . . . according to specific time schedule and budget.

The leader differs completely from the manager, the leader is the man who has vision, who makes policies, and the manager is the man for whom within his responsibilities lies the making of a strategic plan, the execution possibilities, and the execution programme, and the selection of the executives of those plans of managers, responsible persons, and heads of departments.

A manager is the person who supervises a workgroup, a team, or an organisation. Therefore, selecting an individual for a managerial position should be based on technical, administrative, and personal criteria. That is, he should be capable of understanding the technical procedures, directing the organisation according to formal work procedures.

A leader differs from a manger. A leader can be both a leader and a manager but not every manager can be a leader. The leader has special personal characteristics that help the organisation to advance and move forward. He has the ability to deal with abnormal circumstances, and to change the work orientation. That is, he can change the company's managerial or strategic orientation, alter its direction into new markets, new products, new nature of work or new people to deal with.

The manager is the person who makes the work plan within the specified budget and time period. He is the person capable of executing the plan with the lowest cost, shortest time, and maximum results.

Leaders share common characteristics with administrators or managers. No doubt the manager could be the leader himself. A leader and a manager at the same time. But leaders do not occupy themselves with the direct application of routine work.

The manager is the person at the top of the pyramid . . . He is the person who supervises a work group that has specific goals and defined authorities. He must have the right personality.

520 ABDALL A AND AL-HOMOUD #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. Traits/Behaviours of Outstanding Leaders.The traits/behaviours listed by the interviewees were grouped in a form consistent with the grouping of the questionnaire data in Project GLOBE (House et al., 1999). The results in Table 6 present the most important 10 dimensions for outstanding leadership in Qatar and Kuwait as indicated by the interviewees. Among these traits the five most important facilitators of success of Qatari leaders, in descend- ing order, are (1) Inspirational (influential, motivational, strong personality, role model, and utilises abilities), (2) Knowledgeable/experienced, (3) Inte- grity (credible, open, principled, and honest), (4) Rapport (human orien- tation and good social relations), (5-a) Vision (strategic planning, future orientation), and (5-b) Performance orientation. The Kuwaitis perceived that successful leaders have (1) Vision (strategic thinking and entrepreneurial skills), (2) Inspirational (strong personality and role model), (2) Knowledge/ experience, (4) Integrity, (5-a) Rapport (social skills), and (5-b) Charismatic, strong personality and role model (Table 6). In general, the results of the two countries greatly agree; however, the Kuwaitis more than the Qataris emphasise Vision and Law Orientation (e.g. control and accountability) as Leadership skills are inherited and not acquired. Combining leadership with management requires having information, knowledge, experience, and education as well as the leadership personality.

The manager manages by the skills and capabilities that God has given him (i.e. by instinct).

Since the manager is the one who ``manages people'', he directs people on the bases of the work systems and regulations. He also inspires and motivates them to perform their task without fear of sanctions. He should have the administrative skills and competence in order to utilise the human and material resources to achieve the group goals efficiently.

The leader indeed differs from the manager. The leader is the person who leads a group without the restrictions of the administrative systems and operations. . . The leader has high values; he has the ability to attract people and to influence them without being in an official position. He has the ability to make you work and work hard without giving orders, and thus the group follows him due to the distinct characteristics he possesses over the manager.

The leader should have special characteristics not available in the people he leads or administers. In theory, the manager is the leader. But in practice this may not be the case as some managers occupy their offices on the basis of seniority and not necessarily because they possess leadership characteristics.

The manager has to be knowledgeable of his work and his subordinates' work, he must be able to give advice and direction, he must have vision and clear perception of his organisation's goals . . . all these things make a successful manager.

The leader differs from the manager in that people who work with a leader agree with him, and they perform extra tasks and go out of their way to do what he expects of them. They believe in him and admire and respect him. Generally, any leader should have some kind of charisma to magnetise people, in addition to his charisma the leader must have other abnormal aptitudes and skills. He should have technical skills and ability to convince people and make them follow him. LE ADERSHIP THEORY IN THE GULF STATES 521 #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. important characteristics of outstanding leaders. Social background appears to be a relatively important trait for leaders' success in both countries, but it was not among the top ten traits. The interviewees who endorsed ``social background'' as an important leadership attribute, explained that good social background was necessary to ensure integrity, credibility, and a balanced personality.

In general, the results of the Qatari and Kuwaiti interviews are similar and they largely agree with the questionnaire results. However, the Qatari inter- viewees indicated that the most important inhibitors of leadership success are autocracy, irresponsibility, weak personality, inexperience and poor know- ledge, social skills and rapport with subordinates. The Kuwaitis attributed leaders' failures to indecisiveness and lack of vision.

The most significant differences between the results of the questionnaires and interview data is that Status Conscious was ranked 7th according to the questionnaire results and it has no significant value according to the inter- views. However, there was limited emphasis in the interviews on the im- portance of the leader's dignified appearance and this trait is indirectly related to Status Conscious. Self-sacrificial appears to be more important in the interview data than the questionnaire data. There was relatively more emphasis in the interviews on the importance of the leadership traits ``bold'' and ``courageous'' as tools to overcome resistance to change, to hold people accountable for their action, and to fight nepotism. TA BL E 6 The Ranking of the Top 10 Most Salient Traits of Outstanding Leaders/Managers in Q and K Q ualitati ve Dat a (a s indicate d in inte r views) Country Qatar Kuwait Leader Leader Vision, strategic planning, future orientation 5 1 Development, change and performance orientation 5 6 Knowledge, education and competence 2 2 Inspirational, motivational and direction skill 1 2 Self-sacrificial, risk taker, bold and courageous 10 7 Integrity/credibility 3 4 Decisive 9 ± Consultative 8 9 Law orientation ± 10 Negotiator, maneuver and flexible ± 8 Responsible, hard worker 7 ± Rapport, social skills 4 5 Note: A dash indicates that the dimension's rank is not within the top 10 most salient traits of outstanding leaders.

522 ABDALL A AND AL-HOMOUD #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. DISCUS SION One of the major contributions of this study is that its findings generally support the internal consistency, construct, and external validities of the GLOBE questionnaire measures. The coefficient alpha reliability estimates are high for four out of the five dimensions of the implicit leadership theory, which indicates high internal consistency of these dimensions. Along with the good reliability scores, the clear-cut findings of the factor analysis are consistent with the aggregate results of the 61 countries participating in the GLOBE Project (House et al., 1999) and hence, they extend the external validity of the GLOBE measures to the Arabian Gulf region. The minimal effects of the demographic characteristics and the negligible influence of culture (Qatar vs Kuwait) on the desired leadership profiles suggest the generalizability of the results to different geographical and demographics groups in the Arabian Gulf region. Also, the overall pattern of the ques- tionnaire results is in harmony with those of the interviews and they are in accordance with the theoretical and empirical work on the leadership concept. Thus, they support the construct validity of the questionnaire measures.

The results of the questionnaires suggest an Arabian Gulf culturally endorsed implicit leadership theory, which indicates that the most desirable leadership dimensions are the Charismatic-Value based, Self-protective, and Considerate leadership dimensions. Specifically, the respondents believe that Integrity, Administrative Competence, Diplomacy, Inspiration skills, and Future and Performance Orientations have relatively more positive contri- bution to leaders' success. The findings of the interviews and the question- naires seem to agree mostly about the importance of Vision, Knowledge/ Education, and Inspirational skills. On the other hand, the implicit leader- ship theory suggests that Autocratic leadership styles are perceived to be among the inhibitors of leaders' success. It is interesting to note that the dominant actual leadership profiles reported by previous research (Abdel- Rahman, 1985, 1994; Badawy, 1980; El-Tayeb, 1986; Hawi, 1982) are differ- ent from the desirable profiles indicated above. Previous research suggested that the Arab leaders are paternalistic, centralised, have a strong tendency to base their decisions on intuition/hunch, and to subordinate efficiency and accountability to human/personal relations. The findings of previous research are consistent with the local social values and organisational practices, however; the desirable profiles reported by this research are not. Previous findings suggest that Arabian Gulf societal cultures are characterised by weak future orientations, moderate performance orientations, moderate reliance on social norms and bureaucratic practices to alleviate unpredict- able future events, and high centralisation of authority. In contrast, the desirable leadership profile requires the leader to strongly endorse future/ L E A DE R SHIP T HE ORY IN T HE GUL F S TAT E S 523 #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. performance orientations and to weakly endorse autocratic/bureaucratic values suggesting that what is desirable is largely different from what is practiced and what fits the local culture. However, it is worth noting that the desirable leadership profiles are consistent in many ways with the Islamic leader profile in terms of its emphasis on charisma, integrity, team, future and performance orientations.

One of the reasons that might explain the partial inconsistencies between the desirable leadership traits/behaviours and the actual societal cultural dimensions may be related to the present widespread awareness in this region, particularly among the educated population, of the damage inflicted on the economy due to the traditional cultural values that lead to poor administrative and managerial practices. The oil wealth has provided excep- tional opportunities for these societies to make major economic transforma- tions that would have benefited several future generations. However, the Arabs' fatalistic/externalist orientations diminished the value they assign to time, deadline, goal setting, long-term planning, and performance evaluation (Abdalla, 1997; Abdel-Rahman, 1994). Also when goals are set, deviations are expected and penalties for failing to reach goals are likely to be minimal on the basis of compassion. Because Arabs are subjugated to their environ- ment and they are proud of their history and cherish it more than their present, it is relatively hard to gain their commitment to long-term plans.

Hence, future and performance oriented leaders who succeed in designing good long-term plans and manage to gain the subordinates' devotion to them are likely to thrive much more than the others.

The incongruence between the desirable leadership traits/behaviours and both the actual leadership styles and societal values may also be partly related to the dual values endorsed by a large part of the Arabian Gulf societies, particularly the educated ones. Due to the transitional stage of development of this region, its historical and present realities, and mostly those related to the sudden oil wealth and the unmatched cultural change, members of these societies endorse dual yet contradictory sets of personal and organisational values, some of which are indigenous while others are foreign (El-Tayeb, 1986). For example, most individuals endorse both old and new work/social values; they endorse the values of humble/simple lives and materialistic ones, collectivism and individualism, humane and power orientation, modesty and status consciousness. The dual sets of values of the Gulf culture are readily observable in the organisational practices.

Managers often proudly boast their imported modern technology and work design but in practice they put it to the service of socio-political expec- tations. They hire, motivate, organise, and direct in ways that are more consistent with their traditional tribal culture than with the modern system they have proudly introduced. They are still very proud of their tradition and they want modern systems, often for the sake of looking modern. 524 ABDALL A AND AL-HOMOUD #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. Hence, the managers find themselves juggling two sets of work systems; on the one hand they encourage division of work, efficiency, punctuality, clarification of authority, and responsibility; on the other they endorse personal relations, preferential treatment for in-group members, etc. (El- Tayeb, 1986; Abdel-Rahman, 1994). Hence, organisations provide fertile ground for the interaction of tribal/familial forces, interest groups, band, regional, expatriate, political, and religious forces, etc. As a result a soft work culture has developed particularly in the public sector where work goals were diluted and compromised due to social habits and values. How- ever, not all organisations fall into this pattern, and a few have succeeded in carefully merging local values with modern work methods and remained viable and successful.

It follows that successful leaders may need exceptional abilities so that they can endorse non-traditional work values without being rejected by their traditional societies. The findings imply that perhaps their diplomatic and teamwork skills enabled them to overcome potential resistance from significant others. They also indicate that for leaders to succeed, diplomacy and team orientation go in tandem with administrative competence, charisma, and integrity. Thus, the results suggest that successful leaders seem to play dual roles as work and social leaders. Their social leadership role is manifested in their adoption of leadership styles and values that do not fit the local culture but transcend it to ``desirable'' ones, and at the same time they are able to sell these new values to traditional parties. Also, these leaders are able to overcome what appear to be excessive challenges initiated by the duality of values in their societies. For example, high endorsement of Performance Orientation requires objectivity, precision, accountability, non-discrimination and impartiality; however, leaders who stick to these ideals often alienate their subordinates, even their in-group members, and provoke resistance. The leaders are also faced with another challenge related to the fact that they are trying to change while they belong to the present traditional culture. For example, they live in a highly socially oriented culture where ``getting along'' is a more important value than ``getting ahead'' and hence, it is hard for these leaders to choose to support com- petent more than loyal people, as their most valuable source of support comes from the latter.

The values of team orientation, collaboration, and integration needed for leaders' success require the leaders to go beyond the traditional ``in-group out-group'' practices that are common in this region. However, not abiding with the tribalistic ``in-group out-group'' values is a major challenge as lack of the in-group support makes the leader more vulnerable to external pressures and failure. Furthermore, the tribalistic values, which are deeply rooted in economic, social, and political lives, were behind the poorly developed teamwork skills and values outside in-groups, the tendency to L E A DE R SHIP T HE ORY IN T HE GUL F S TAT E S 525 #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. subordinate organisational goals to in-group goals, the common practices of favouritism and nepotism, and the personal rather than contractual relationships of the employee to their organisation. Hence, high endorse- ment of Performance Orientation and impartiality and low endorsement of tribalistic attitudes on the part of the leaders are more likely to encourage subordinates, including members of the in-groups, to defy rather than cooperate with task-oriented leaders. Hence, in order to fit in the culture of Arabian Gulf organisations successful leaders round up (or balance) their skills by being diplomatic. Diplomacy may help leaders manoeuvre their way with the least resistance from other parties. The interview results provide more explanation of this point through their emphasis on the posi- tive role of the Self-Sacrificial (Bold and Courageous) leadership dimension in helping the leader to overcome resistance to change, hold people account- able for their actions, and fight nepotism. However, in order to succeed leaders may need to supplement Courage and Diplomacy with strong connections to influential social networks. These networks give the leaders the necessary power to overcome resistance to their ``different'' leadership style.

Performance-oriented superiors are often forced to compromise their direction in order to accommodate cultural values. The concessions these leaders may have to make depend on their diplomatic and conflict resolu- tion skills. Among the salient social values that have significant negative effect on the worth of Performance Orientation, especially in terms of planning and performance evaluation, for the Arabs strong affiliate motive and externalist orientation. Arabs have a high assurance form of affiliate motivation, which would interfere with their work behaviour in formal organisations (Boyatzis, 1979; Hijazi, 1976). Peers and superiors equate the employee's happiness with acceptance of them as persons and would not feel comfortable confronting the other employees with negative performance feedback. They might even ignore this type of information to avoid the interpersonal situation of telling the employee. The rules of behaviour in Arabs' relationships would include much concern but little openness. The hypersensitivity of the Arabs to negative feedback may, partly, be attributed to their low perceived self-determination and low feeling of responsibility (Hijazi, 1976). Hence, negative feedback may not be utilised to improve performance; on the contrary, the individual might assume that the other party did not like him/her as a person. If this information comes from the superior the individual might begin to withdraw from the job.

The concerns about the administrative malfunctioning that led to the present stagnant economic situation are emphasised in the interviews. The malfunctioning is attributed to poor accountability and poor work experi- ence in organisations. According to the interviews, knowledgeable and accountability-oriented leaders are the ones that can salvage the country 526 ABDALL A AND AL-HOMOUD #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. from its present problems. Due to the personalised managerial styles of Arab organisations laws are adjusted to fit people. It is not what one has done that is wrong, it is who he is and whom he knows that determines whether or not he is wrong. It is very common among government officials to be lenient on law infringements that involve people of good connections.

Such values do not inhibit corruption although they do not create it, hence they may account for the non-committing attitudes and the occasional irresponsible behaviour of employees especially in the government sector.

On the other hand, the employment and promotion policies adopted by local organisations may explain the high importance assigned to education and knowledge as determinants of success. Until recently natives with in- adequate skills and experience may assume leadership positions, due to the nationalisation of administrative positions. On the other hand, new expatri- ates may assume their job responsibilities with limited knowledge about the local work environment. These employment and promotion practices have, in some cases, proven to be costly in terms of the countries' development.

For example, in the seventies the percentage of Kuwaiti employees in the public sector was 48 per cent of which 38 per cent were illiterate and 43 per cent could only read and write. These indicators suggest lack of required competencies among natives for running a modern society and hence the consequent dependence on expatriates. While the results show the high salience of knowledge and education for outstanding leadership, some leaders, particularly the uneducated, are suspicious of professional judgment and they condemn original thinking and creativity (Jasim, 1987).

The interview and questionnaire data showed that leadership traits of Face-saver, Autocratic and Non-Participative were believed to be among the main inhibitors of leaders' success. The present results seem to suggest that leaders should be diplomatic and not face-savers if they want to succeed. These suggestions seem logical given the negative results of face- saving. However, due to the big egos of the Arabs ``face-saving'' is con- sidered an important value that leaders may need to handle carefully and endorse despite its negative implications, that is because the ramifications of not endorsing this value may be even worse (Hijazi, 1976). In this regard the diplomatic skills of the leader may play an important role. The results suggest that successful managers adopt less autocratic leadership styles.

Since Arab executives are not oriented toward participative approaches (Badawy, 1980) those who endorse participative values usually use con- sultative styles in the manner described earlier in this paper. These expla- nations are consistent with the findings and suggestions of Al-Jafary and Hollingsworth (1983) and Muna (1980).

It is interesting to note the association of Autonomous with Autocratic and Self-centred. Also it is worth noting that Autonomy is seen as a hindrance rather than a facilitator of leaders' success. While the low LE ADERSHIP THEORY IN THE GULF STATES 527 #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. significance of Autonomy may be consistent with the local values of high Power Distance and previous research (Abdalla, 1997), it may be partly in conflict with the highly preferred leadership dimensions of vision, decisive- ness, administrative competence, and inspiration. Self-reliance, a concept related to work performance in Western cultures, often has a negative connotation in the Arab culture where it may mean ``deserting the group''.

The counterpoise of self-reliance, namely interdependence, is seen as a duty and a moral obligation. Also, the concept of competition, which is central to that of self-reliance in the Western culture, is practised mostly between in-groups and rarely among members of the same in-group. The low endorsement of self-reliance and individualistic competitive attitudes is expected to have negative influence on the values of achievement and performance orientation. Perhaps the respondents, being part of the Arabian Gulf society, may have associated Autonomy with anti-team orientations and consequently assigned it a low value.

The within-country analyses revealed that relative to the other 20 leader- ship characteristics Status-conscious was ranked seventh by both countries.

The results are consistent with the societal cultural dimension of Power Distance in which both countries have high scores. However, the endorse- ment of such a trait is inconsistent with the lower Power Distance value the present samples have desired. Status-conscious values may enhance higher rather than lower Power Distance practices. The respondents also believe that outstanding leaders are Modest, which contradicts with the Status- conscious dimension. Thus the questionnaire results are consistent with previous research findings that assert that Arabian Gulf individuals, particularly the educated among them, seem to hold dual sets of values.

However, it is important to note that the interviews did not suggest that Status-conscious is among the important characteristics of outstanding leaders. The inconsistency between the results of the questionnaires and interview data suggests that the relative importance of Status-conscious as a facilitator of outstanding leadership is not clear. CONCLUSION The paradoxes of the Arabian Gulf culture reflected by the findings of this study expose the dilemma of the Arabs that is echoed in their need for both change and stability. Obviously the dual sets of values held by the Arabs make it difficult to develop reliable management theories. In this respect Al-Saigh (1986) suggested that the divided loyalty of the Arab managers between the old and the new has made it difficult to set certain traditions of management professionalism and has contributed to a lack of basic institutions necessary for sound management theory and practice. Also, Ali (1990) indicated that it is within the context of the forces of change and the 528 ABDALL A AND AL-HOMOUD #International Association for Applied Psychology, 2001. forces of stability as well as the continuing rivalry among various interest groups that one can comprehend the culture of management in the Arab world. Thus, the task of the pragmatic elite is formidable; they face the resistance of the conservative segments.

Applying the implicit leadership theory revealed by this study may enhance the developmental opportunities of Qatar and Kuwait. However, in socially oriented societies what is right for better work performance and for the larger society takes lower priority than what appeases significant social groups. Also the ability of Arabs to initiate change is generally limited as a result of their traditional upbringing that bred dependency and conformity to social norms (Ali & Wahabi, 1995). On the other hand, improved edu- cation, communication, mobility, and exposure to the outside world have instigated a slow but steady acceptance of modern work methods and values such as flexibility, future orientation, accountability, consultation, and egalitarian approaches. To support the leaders who attempt to implement the implicit leadership theory, major governmental intervention strategies are needed such as legislative systems that emphasise accountability and performance oriented behaviour. Due to the small population sizes of the Arabian Gulf states and their extensive financial resources social reform attempts in this region may take place faster than in other Arab countries that are economically less fortunate or with larger and/or less homogenous populations.

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