Explained: The @HHShkMohd management style

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His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai.- Wam
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai.- Wam

Sheikh Mohammed makes it a point to visit the nerve-centres for news and deliver the message from the ground.

By Vicky Kapur (From the Executive Editor's desk)

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Published: Thu 7 Mar 2019, 6:22 PM

Last updated: Thu 7 Mar 2019, 6:33 PM

"Through field tours, we are able to practise our proactive and practical administrative style; a tradition we learned from the late Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid. It is a tradition I will not stop," His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, yesterday tweeted out after completing a site tour in Umm Al Quwain. While HH announced a host of measures on March 6, including the establishment of a federal water network linking the Northern Emirates with Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and the allocation of Dh5.8 billion for water and energy projects in the Northern Emirates, the announcements from the venue showcase HH's pragmatic, prudent and practical management style.
Management gurus have written several tomes about what is popularly known as MBWA - Management by Wandering Around (or Management by Walking Around), a style personified by the UAE VP. It's fascinating to note that whether it is the announcement of next-gen hi-tech schools, the approval of housing grants for Emiratis, or other strategic decisions, HH makes it a point to visit the nerve-centres for such news and deliver the message from the ground, unlike some other international leaders who prefer issuing laws from the comfort of their offices.
MBWA is defined as an "unstructured approach to hands-on, direct participation by the managers in the work-related affairs of their subordinates, in contrast to rigid and distant management". This is exactly what HH does - he takes a personal interest in the strategic projects his ministers handle and spends a significant amount of time making formal and informal visits to the actual sphere of work, whichever emirate it may lie in.
The Japanese call it genba (loosely translated as 'the actual place'), or what is now commonly referred to as ground zero. HH visits the 'genba' and listens earnestly to the suggestions and opinion of those who will be directly impacted by such decisions. This obviously helps him not only keep a finger on the pulse of the nation, but also improve the morale of citizens, ministers and residents. Not just political but corporate leaders have much to learn from the Sheikh Mohammed style of management.


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