Boldwin School ’ s Leadership Style
Solaima Tarabay , MBA student at MUBS , interviewing Mr . Naja Faysal about Boldwin School ‘ s Leadership style .
May 2014
1 . As the CEO of BoldWin School , what is your main role in the organization ?
I consider my role simply as “ supporting teachers and staff , and being of service to the school ’ s stakeholders .” The “ stakeholders ” are our customers ( students and their parents ,( our suppliers ( publishers and others ,( our partners ( companies and other schools that we signed partnership agreements with ) and the civil society ( municipalities , NGOs and others .(
2 . What are the skills needed to reach a manager position ?
There is a major difference between being a manager , and being a SUCCESSFUL manager . While I won ’ t make that distinction on myself , since I leave it to the people and time to decide , I however , can say that it didn ’ t happen to me by mere luck or coincidence . I made the difficult yet conscious decision to leave a stable career and life in Dubai , and come back to Lebanon to start BoldWin School . The skills I needed were simple : 1 . a sense of purpose ; and 2 . a deep desire to make it happen . Other skills needed were considered “ minor ” to me , since I believe that if someone finds a definite purpose for his / her life and a deep desire to make it happen , other skills will be merely operational and learn-able . For those who work at BoldWin School and aspire to reach higher positions within the organization , the skills don ’ t differ much , they need 1 . to believe in the purpose and vision of the school and be totally committed to its realization ; 2 . to go the extra-mile in this direction , this means taking initiatives , working harder , defending the reputation of the school , keeping its secrets and most importantly being indispensable ; 3 . to be teachable , that is the ability and motivation to learn new things .
3 . How Boldwin School is designed to achieve effective outcomes ?
Boldwin School is a relatively small to medium-size organization , we are around 300 students and 50 employees , the first thing I chose for my leadership style , is to use an open-door policy , which means any member of our team is always welcome at anytime to talk about anything , and not only my door is open , but also my mind is open for understanding and consideration of whatever being said . The second matter is to remove any form of hierarchy or bureaucracy ; I believe that sharp hierarchy is the enemy of initiative , self motivation , and creativity . To me , it is an industrial age leadership style , also called “ the carrot and stick ” leadership , carrot in the front and stick from behind . The problem with this leadership is that it treats people as machines , in contrast however , leadership in the information age we are living in , regards people within the organization are the most valuable asset , and thus , we at BoldWin School try to engage people in decisions , ask for opinions , recommend tasks , and promote the sense of family and teamwork .
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