Allah’s blessings, parents’ prayers, humility, love for people and continuous learning are some of the key ingredients of a leader’s success,” said Dr. Mustafa Al-Sayed before an audience of 70+ Bahraini future banking leaders who were invited as participants of various Waqf Fund grooming programs. Dr. Al-Sayed delivered a presentation on modern management systems. He drew from his vast and diverse experience of managing leadership positions in multiple government organizations and quoted examples to emphasize the key lessons. He was speaking at the “Distinguished Leader” session organized by the Waqf Fund at the Ritz Carlton hotel. Under this initiative the Waqf Fund invites accomplished leaders to share their journey to professional success.

Earlier, Mr. Khalid Hamad Al-Hamad, Chairman of the Waqf Fund welcomed Dr. Al-Sayed. He introduced him as a shining example of an accomplished Bahraini who started from scratch and worked hard to climb up from the bottom of the ladder to the very top. He called him a visionary and a successful leader who achieved great things working for several government organizations. He praised Dr. Al-Sayed for his love of continuous learning and research. Dr. Mustafa Al-Sayed thanked the Waqf Fund for the invitation and delivered his presentation covering his career, accomplishments and leadership lessons. At the end of his speech he answered a number of questions from the audience.

Dr. Al-Sayed currently holds the position of Secretary General of the Royal Humanitarian Foundation. Previous leadership positions include CEO of Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), General Manager of Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC), CEO of Midal Cables and Chief Engineer with Ministry of Works, Power and Water. Dr. Al-Sayed did his PhD in Industrial Management from the UK. He has been recognized nationally and internationally and is a recipient of various prestigious awards including the Bahrain First Class Order by H.M. the King of Bahrain, the Crown Prince Award for Best Research in Social Science and State of Somalia national award for humanitarian support, among others.

The key takeaways from the session are as follows:

1. Modern management is a mixture of art and science. It requires good people management skills and scientific precision in evaluating business opportunities and making strategic decisions
2. The planning and implementation cycle consists of mission/vision, objectives, strategy, implementation and feedback
3. Creativity, the right organizational culture and motivated workforce are necessary for success
4. A society needs base level financial support for all its people; then education and economic development resulting in job and entrepreneurship opportunities complete the virtuous cycle for long term growth and stability
5. Management is usually task oriented, transactional and relies on authority; leadership is people-oriented, transformational and relies on others to follow the role model of the leader. Managers simply follow the rules; leaders think out of the box and take calculated risks to achieve their objectives
6. A successful team comprises of people that are creative, emotionally intelligent, cooperative, committed, have high ethical values, and have a development mindset
7. A team member’s mistakes may be forgiven but a deliberate disregard for laws and regulations must not be tolerated
8. Spending quality time with family and friends is key to achieving a balance between professional and personal lives

The Waqf Fund has been operating in Bahrain since 2006, serving the Islamic banking industry. Over the years it has launched several ground-breaking initiatives for its member institutions, their employees and the broader Islamic finance industry with the aim to develop the human resources engaged in Islamic finance.