Triptta Neb is the director of Qiyada, a new leadership consultancy based in Dubai. She speaks about the results of a survey in which the Middle East scored the lowest in terms of leadership development.
The US leadership consultancy FranklinCovey, an affiliate of Qiyada, conducted a survey of 463 companies across three regions - Europe, the Middle East and Africa. What did it reveal about the Middle East?
What we found was that there was a shocking difference between the West and the Middle East. The Middle East came out the lowest in terms of scoring when it came to team planning, when it came to team motivation, when it came to people aligning themselves to the measurement factors of their jobs. In some cases the Middle East was down to 46 per cent in terms of job understanding or team planning and the top 10 companies would be in the range of 73 to 80 per cent, so it's a huge gap.
Why do you think that is?
Two factors: if you look at the type of people in workplaces over here, you've got the old stalwarts who have been around for the past 15, 20 and in some cases even 30 years with an organisation, who have been promoted for their technical ability or (because of their) loyalty to the organisation. But when you get to a managerial level you need more in terms of managing people and you need more in terms of communicating.
What was the second factor?
There was such a dearth during the boom in the market that they were recruiting any and everybody without really checking the competencies and skills. They didn't either have the time (to train their people) because there was so much that people had to do to keep up with the market or they didn't have the inclination in any case because they were doing well, riding the wave.
When did these problems come to light?
When the downturn happened companies started looking at productivity of people. We did some surveys at that time for organisations. Productivity per individual was as low as 20 per cent in some cases. They started trimming the fat after the downturn. They then started looking at who was producing, so that's when the competencies came into play. That's when companies started focusing on training.
You help fix these problems, but you also have a programme that assists organisations in developing the potential of their employees. How does it work?
We ask the organisations if the high potentials that they're putting on to the programme have been measured in any way and why have they been selected. If they don't have (a way to measure them) we provide that. We will set up the assessment for them and we measure them so we can see where we need to take them to. If organisations already have that in place we take the competency information and on the basis of that we start structuring different modules and different programmes that then get rolled out in an organisation anywhere from six to 18 months.
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Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
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How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
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Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
THREE POSSIBLE REPLACEMENTS
Khalfan Mubarak
The Al Jazira playmaker has for some time been tipped for stardom within UAE football, with Quique Sanchez Flores, his former manager at Al Ahli, once labelling him a “genius”. He was only 17. Now 23, Mubarak has developed into a crafty supplier of chances, evidenced by his seven assists in six league matches this season. Still to display his class at international level, though.
Rayan Yaslam
The Al Ain attacking midfielder has become a regular starter for his club in the past 15 months. Yaslam, 23, is a tidy and intelligent player, technically proficient with an eye for opening up defences. Developed while alongside Abdulrahman in the Al Ain first-team and has progressed well since manager Zoran Mamic’s arrival. However, made his UAE debut only last December.
Ismail Matar
The Al Wahda forward is revered by teammates and a key contributor to the squad. At 35, his best days are behind him, but Matar is incredibly experienced and an example to his colleagues. His ability to cope with tournament football is a concern, though, despite Matar beginning the season well. Not a like-for-like replacement, although the system could be adjusted to suit.
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The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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Notable cricketers and political careers
- India: Kirti Azad, Navjot Sidhu and Gautam Gambhir (rumoured)
- Pakistan: Imran Khan and Shahid Afridi (rumoured)
- Sri Lanka: Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan (rumoured)
- Bangladesh (Mashrafe Mortaza)
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5