Positive Leadership in Qatar
A qualitative study by Roberta Saffels, founder of the Positive Impact Hub, conducted in Doha for the Master of Applied Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. One of the foundations Dive is built on.
“I wanted to understand leadership here before deciding what leadership here should become.” Roberta Saffels
What was asked, and why
When the study began, little published evidence on leadership in Qatar existed. Most of what was written about leading here had been written somewhere else and carried in. The aim was to learn what leaders in Qatar actually do, in their own words, before anyone decided what they should do.
Qatari leaders from nine industries, from team leaders to chief executives, were asked three things: how they make difficult decisions, how they seize opportunity, and how they understand loyalty. The interviews were long, the questions were open, and the researcher went in as a learner rather than with a model to confirm.
Decisions
How they make difficult decisions.
Opportunity
How they seize opportunity.
Loyalty
How they understand loyalty.
Long conversations, read twice
Each conversation was a semi-structured interview, recorded with consent, and a linguistic expert reviewed every transcript so that accent, jargon or language did not stand between what a leader said and what they meant. The transcripts were then read twice: first letting themes emerge without a preexisting set of codes, then through positive leadership, its five practices of positive climate, relationships, communication, meaning and energy (Cameron, 2008), and through mattering (Prilleltensky, 2020) and optimism (Seligman, 2006).
The evidence scale
Each leader was scored from 0 to 5 on every theme, and the scores were added across the group, so a theme can reach 60.
- 0No evidence
- 1Implicit but inconsistent
- 2Explicit but inconsistent
- 3Implicit but consistent
- 4Explicit and consistent
- 5Explicit, consistent and deliberate
What emerged from the leaders' own stories
Dealing with difficult decisions
Leaders described a decision-making style built on consultation, strategic thinking, clear communication, and a strong sense of responsibility and accountability. Most said they consult others and value different perspectives before a difficult decision.
Strength of evidenceOut of 60
| Consultation | 45 | |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic | 40 | |
| Communication | 35 | |
| Responsibility and accountability | 35 | |
| Relationship focused | 25 |
03060
Seizing opportunities
Leaders showed a proactive mindset in finding and acting on opportunity: anticipating trends, innovating, taking calculated risks and starting new initiatives. Their optimism was balanced by realism and strategic foresight.
Strength of evidenceOut of 60
| Initiative and proactivity | 51 | |
|---|---|---|
| Continuous learning and development | 51 | |
| Strategic thinking and risk management | 47 | |
| Resilience and perseverance | 47 | |
| Alignment with core values | 41 | |
| Service and community impact | 32 | |
| Team development and empowerment | 32 |
03060
Loyalty
These leaders hold a profound sense of loyalty that joins their professional roles to their national identity, and to a duty to contribute to the development and prosperity of their country.
Strength of evidenceOut of 60
| National pride and contribution | 51 | |
|---|---|---|
| Service orientation | 51 | |
| Strategic vision for national growth | 47 | |
| Retention of Qatari talent | 35 | |
| Cultural heritage | 32 |
03060
People need to matter twice
Valued, and able to add value. Mattering carried the strongest evidence in the study, and the leaders found it in what their work gives to their country. Optimism ran just as high.
Service seems to hold greater significance than recognition for these leaders' sense of mattering.
For leadership, for the world, and for working here
Build from the purpose that is already there
- Start from what is already strong. Purpose, optimism and a sense of mattering carried the strongest evidence. Development can use that energy instead of trying to create it.
- Bring the national purpose into the team. Help leaders name how each person's work serves the larger goal, so the mattering they feel toward Qatar reaches their own people.
- Extend consultation inward. Consultation is already a strength. The next step is consulting the team the way leaders consult trusted peers.
- Say the values out loud. In teams drawn from many countries, values that stay unspoken do not travel.
What these leaders offer beyond Qatar
- Mattering that reaches a nation. These leaders drew meaning from what their work gives their country, and valued service over recognition.
- Optimism with a plan. High optimism sat beside strategic thinking and careful management of risk.
- Leadership that serves beyond the organization. A commitment not only to individual and organizational success, but to the wellbeing of the wider society.
- Heritage and speed together. Tradition and rapid change held at once, without one giving way to the other.
Working here, with Qataris
- Connect your work to what it gives the country. Contribution to the nation and service were among the strongest themes in the study.
- Earn trust over time, and stay. Where people come and go, continuity and kept commitments carry real weight.
- Honor the consultation. Decisions pass through trusted advisors before they are made. Allow the time, and learn who is asked.
- Lead with possibility. Bold ambition with a realistic plan is heard before a diagnosis of what is broken.
Principles drawn from these leaders, to be tested in every room. Understand before you prescribe.
The full story, in eleven pages.
- Why the study was needed, and the positive leadership lens it used.
- How the leaders were heard, and the evidence scale behind every figure.
- The three themes, mattering and optimism, and where each strength can travel next.
- What it means for leadership development, for the world, and for anyone working in Qatar.
- It is one study, read carefully: what it can and cannot tell us.
Bring the study into your organization
The study is the base of the keynote Positive Leadership in Qatar and of programs designed through the Positive Impact Hub. If you want the talk for your institution, or the thinking behind it for your organization, the first step is the same.