An award-winning bank with a focus on human resource development and leadership succession planning
A’syyida Wisam Al Said
Head Corporate Communication Bank Nizwa
WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF BEING A LEADER?
If I would have to focus on only one difficult part, it would have to be consensus management. When taking a decision as a team, it is important to acknowledge that consensus usually comes with compromises. Managing this aspect of decision-making means that a leader must look at all sides of an argument and take into account different ideas proposed by team members. The greatest challenge is to then consolidate these ideas and mutually agree on one solid course of action.
In addition, I think managing employee performance is also a significant challenge. As leaders, we must create a conducive, productive, and inspirational environment for the employees to thrive while continuously motivating them to achieve set targets. At the same time, it is also essential to ensure that each team member is treated with equality and is well-supported to achieve growth in their individual career paths.
WHAT DRIVES YOU IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE?
My constant driver has been goals. I believe in setting goals – daily, monthly, and yearly. I start with making a list of what I’d like to achieve on any given day and supplement these with monthly and yearly plans.
Short terms goals when combined with a long-term vision help in giving plans a purpose and direction. It also puts things into perspective. The next step is sharing the agenda with the team so as to ensure that everyone is aligned and committed to achieving the predetermined goals.
Apart from professional goal setting, this approach also works for personal targets. I have always believed that writing down goals brings you one step closer to achieving them.
WHAT IS YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE?
‘Practice what you preach’ is a quote I firmly stand by as I believe in leading by example. This inspires and empowers others to follow. This style of leadership goes beyond only providing encouragement to the team – it’s an active demonstration of how to walk the path, overcome challenges, and attain success. With that being said, it is also important that the vision of an organisation or project is shared with the team and they are continuously stimulated to strive beyond their capabilities to set new benchmarks. Teamwork, cooperation, and strong faith in the leader are key elements that determine the success of this leadership style.
YOU ARE AN ALUMNUS OF THE CAMBRIDGE ISLAMIC FINANCE LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME, HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE ATTENDING THE PROGRAMME?
The experience was undeniably very memorable. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the organisers for bringing together professionals from the Islamic finance industry and creating a powerful networking platform. While the speakers offered valuable insights, we also got a chance to meet key delegates from different parts of the world.
Through the programme, we not only learned how to better deal with potential leadership challenges at work but were also given invaluable lessons on improving our leadership abilities.
Arif Al Zaabi
AGM Retail Banking
Bank Nizwa
WHO DO YOU LOOK UP TO AS AN IDEAL LEADER AND WHY?
I’ve always idolised Jack Welch, who held the position of CEO at General Electric from 1981 to 2001. Welsch was a true leader – a genuine people person. As he progressed in his career and climbed the corporate ladder, he acquired several leadership traits through pure experience. With an inherent desire to help people grow in their individual capacities, he inculcated the same habits within his team. His leadership style and strategy helped in the transformation of General Electric. Under his guidance, the company, which was known simply for its appliances and lightbulbs, turned into a multinational corporation that branched out into financial services, media, and other industrial products.
Through his actions, Welsch proved how deploying the right leadership style can lead to radical changes that have a sustainable, long-term impact on society.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE QUOTE AND WHY?
There’s a quote by John C. Maxwell that has really stayed with me. It goes as follows – ‘A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.’
To put it in perspective, it means that a leader should have a strong vision for the future along with a well-defined path to achieve targets. It means much more than just being ambitious – it is also necessary for the leader to reserve knowledge to chart the path to progress. By passionately communicating their vision, leaders can motivate employees to act with purpose while inspiring them to follow in the leader’s footsteps. One of the most important aspects of leadership is providing the right guidance and support to ensure everyone is working toward a unified goal.
WHAT IS YOUR LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY?
In recent times, a transformational leadership style has been adopted by various managers and the results have been phenomenal. Personally, this is a style that also resonates with my ideologies.
Under this leadership philosophy, the focus is on continuously providing the needed encouragement to the team and facilitating a strong collaboration between members to drive the vision forward. By inculcating a creative mindset amongst the team, motivating employees to step outside their comfort zone, and constantly helping them overcome new challenges, I have been able to help my team attain new milestones while advancing their capabilities.
HOW DO YOU THINK THE CAMBRIDGE ISLAMIC FINANCE LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME WILL HELP YOU IN YOUR LEADERSHIP JOURNEY?
The Cambridge Islamic Finance Leadership Programme has helped me to enhance my leadership skills and techniques, and look at challenges from a different perspective. By inculcating the values of innovation, creativity, and authenticity, the programme has not only enabled me to become a better leader but has also taken me on a journey of self-discovery. It has given me an opportunity to introspect on my qualities and ways I can enhance my positive attributes.
Saif Al Rawahi
AGM Investment & Government Banking
Bank Nizwa
WHAT LEADERSHIP STYLE DO YOU USE? HOW HAS IT HELPED YOU BECOME THE PERSON YOU ARE TODAY?
I have adopted a strategic leadership style at the workplace. With a keen focus on establishing strong lines of communication, this style has helped me to act as a reliable bridge between the senior management team of the bank and the rest of the employees. I have been able to strike the balance between ensuring that the organisational directives are met while simultaneously creating a conducive work environment for the employees.
It has also helped me to further develop my communication skills and engage more meaningfully with people, whether I’m addressing a top executive or a new trainee.
HOW DO YOU MANAGE A CONFLICT SITUATION?
To manage any conflict, it is vital to understand the source of it. It starts with creating a safe environment for each party to openly communicate their side of the story. Active listening is the key . Following this comes the crucial part of verifying the facts and taking the time to carefully investigate the matter. While resolving the issue, the overall organisational objectives should take priority. However, it is also important to address the root of the problem and convey a viable solution to the team to avoid future conflicts.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST DIFFICULT DECISION THAT YOU HAD TO MAKE? WHAT HELPED YOU TO TAKE THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION?
One of the most difficult decisions to make as a leader is to choose who to promote, especially when the competition is between two strong candidates. In my previous job, I encountered a situation where I could promote only one team member amongst a group of equally deserving candidates. In the banking sector, however, the decisions are made based on productivity levels, and the employees who dutifully deliver their targets and exceed expectations qualify for promotions.
HOW DID THE CAMBRIDGE ISLAMIC FINANCE LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME ADD VALUE TO YOUR SKILL SET AND TO YOUR COMPANY?
First and foremost, being in Islamic banking, the course has helped me to further strengthen my knowledge of Islamic finance so I can better address various challenges in my sector. With experts from different fields sharing valuable insights and practical guidance from seasoned corporate leaders, the programme was instrumental in helping us gain a deeper understanding of various leadership styles and the impact they can have on the organisation. Through the programme, I was also able to widen my professional network, both locally and internationally. Apart from helping me enhance my communication skills, the course has also polished my leadership attributes. As part of the senior management team, this is in strong alignment with my career goals.
Mujahid Al Zadjali
GM IT & Ops Bank Nizwa
WHAT SUPPORTING SKILLS DO YOU THINK ARE MORE IMPORTANT FOR A LEADER?
There are many different skills required for true leadership, which include but are not limited to strategical thinking, creativity, the ability to inspire, convince, active listening, clear communication and so on.
One skill that I can say I am proud of is my ability to connect the dots between people and work as well as inspire them to deliver by thinking differently in complex scenarios. I truly believe that anyone’s ability can be stretched by trusting them and standing by their side to support them in case they stumble. A true leader leads by example, creating a congenital and harmonic work environment and this is my biggest competency.
HOW DO YOU ENSURE YOUR TEAM DELIVERS QUALITY WORK WITHIN THE SPECIFIED TIMEFRAME AND BUDGET?
Adhering to the budget, delivering a task within a timeframe and ensuring the highest acceptable quality are constant challenges for any project. For each task, I ensure to gather all information/data and communicate the requirements clearly. Furthermore, understanding everything to a tee during the planning phase helps in building the right expectations, which can be followed by conducting trials in the given duration.
The most important aspect is creating synergies between deliveries and creating persistent communication between all partners to confirm a healthy balance between expectation vs reality. The engagement of partners and actual users helps in creating a strong base for quality.
WHO HAS BEEN YOUR GREATEST MENTOR AND WHY?
Throughout my professional and academic journey, I have met many individuals whom I look upon as my role model. They all played an important role in building the fundamentals of my ideology for being successful in life. Their eventful corporate life journey inspired me largely. Each one I met had some unique quality, which was inspiring for me. This led me to create my own bucket of learning rather than being dependent upon them. Creating my own checklist helped me in handpicking the qualities of every individual and devising my own bouquet of inspiration. As a result of this, I have been able to extend the horizon of mentorship beyond the corporate world, to my academic teachers, and even to my mother, who taught me how to be tolerant in stressful circumstances. This enables me to think wisely in any situation.
WHAT IS YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE? WHAT WILL CHANGE AFTER ATTENDING THE CAMBRIDGE ISLAMIC FINANCE LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME?
My leadership style is my true characteristic behaviours of motivating people, guiding, directing towards the Bank’s vision and embalming them with my trust. I believe in encouraging, rewarding and inspiring people towards success. I do take a calculated risk and am ready to own responsibility for failure if any. This helps my team to trust me immensely.
Attending the Cambridge Islamic Finance Leadership Programme helped me to sharpen my believes and attributes, which were already my basic characteristics. Meeting people from different parts of the globe with different thoughts and approaches, helped me to understand different angles on how Islamic finance can play an important role in building a self-sustainable economy, by engaging different tangents of micro-financing, community approach and strong Islamic beliefs of ‘society for all.’
Khalid Al Barwani
DGM Wholesale Banking
Bank Nizwa
WHAT LEADERSHIP SKILLS DO YOU FIND MOST USEFUL?
The most useful skill I find as a leader is to listen. Effective listening gives you knowledge and perspectives that increase your leadership capacity. It provides clarity. I always try my best to listen and understand people and situations because it creates a work environment of trust. Listening to your team is the best way to understand the needs of your clients and business. This helps in planning effective strategies that are oriented to the demands of your business. Moreover, it helps me guide others, give feedback and take feedback, which in turn assists me in making balanced decisions.
HOW DO YOU MOTIVATE YOUR TEAM?
There is no one-size-fits-all motivational technique or trigger. Different things motivate different people – some people find motivation through a given challenge or task whilst others by additional responsibility or something unique and different. It is important to understand your team; what makes them tick and what excites them. This will help in understanding what motivates them and based on the evaluations, a motivating work environment can be created, which ultimately leads to a high-performing team.
It is also essential to build a positive, upbeat approach that can help to energise your team and encourage them to adopt a similar mindset. As a leader, the way you approach your role can also have an impact on your team members’ motivation; if you put in 100 percent, your team will be inspired to do the same.
WHAT IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGE THAT YOU BROUGHT TO THE ORGANISATION?
Throughout my career, either I have joined organisations that are at a start-up phase or going through a transformational period. This has allowed me to experience the various challenges that arise during the several phases of starting a business or evolving operations. This has effectively improved my problem-solving skills and I have been able to utilise this skill in many aspects of my personal growth and career development.
That said, Bank Nizwa is the largest independent and fastest-growing Islamic Bank in Oman. It has gone through many upgrades and positive changes, and I was part of those processes. My acquired experiences have allowed me to contribute to the Bank’s continued success.
WHAT NEW SKILLS DID YOU LEARN IN THE CAMBRIDGE ISLAMIC FINANCE LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME AND HOW WILL IT HELP YOU IN YOUR LEADERSHIP JOURNEY?
The most important takeaway from this leadership programme was that there is no such thing as a perfect leader. We all have our challenges, weaknesses and strengths. However, those who have the right balance between self-awareness and emotional intelligence rise above the rest and are regarded as influential leaders.
As a leader, I am objective in my decisions and unbarred from personal influences. This is something I am working on to apply in my everyday life.
