WHITE PAPER

Developing Leaders in the

Public Sector of the Kingdom
Data and Perspectives from the Center for Creative Leadership

By: David Altman, Clemson Turregano, and Emily Hoole

Contents
Executive Summary 1
Overview 2
Leadership Challenges 3
Leadership Strengths and Gaps 4
Career-Derailment Factors 8
Closing the Gaps 10
Notes on Methodology 12
Endnotes 15
About the Authors 17
Executive Summary
Across the globe, public sector leaders share many of The data suggest that leaders pay attention to the low
the same leadership challenges. This paper addresses ranking on importance and effectiveness of various
questions about leadership challenges, gaps, career- competencies including resiliency, risk-taking, work-
derailment factors, and opportunities within the life integration, and managing globally dispersed
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) with a focus towards teams. The two most important risks that are related
leaders of public service. The research reported in to the possible career derailment of KSA leaders are
this paper is from three samples of Saudi leaders who not meeting business objectives and maintaining too
participated in programs at the Center for Creative narrow a functional focus. Following a summary of the
Leadership (CCL®).1 The data illustrate KSA leaders analyses of these data, this paper offers leadership
share many of the same challenges and opportunities solutions that may be taken by institutions to help
as government leaders with whom CCL has worked KSA leaders address these challenges, bridge their
around the world. Our data further suggest that even gaps in leadership development, and prevent career
though KSA leaders are facing a rapidly changing derailment. Solutions could include:
world, they are reasonably well prepared to manage 1. Understanding leadership as a collaborative
these changes with a strategic skillset, knowledge of effort versus an activity based solely on exerting
doing what it takes to achieve key results, and the positional authority.
ability to influence the thinking and actions taken by
leaders at higher levels in the hierarchy. Similar to 2. Creating teams that consistently achieve high
leaders in other countries, Saudi public sector leaders performance despite challenging internal and
face challenges related to leading themselves, leading external conditions.
their teams, and leading organizations. Further, the 3. Building interdependent organizational cultures
study reveals important gaps in leader development. to improve innovation and creativity. Focusing on
These gaps could have an impact on leadership these areas could create results that matter across
capability in the future. The gaps include selecting and the Kingdom.
developing others, self-awareness, and negotiation.

©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved. 1

Overview
Saudi government leaders, like their public sector To help leaders identify the best way forward for
colleagues worldwide, operate in a volatile, leader development, this report explores the skills
uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world.2 government leaders need to be successful in a
Our data reveal that Saudi leaders face many of the VUCA environment. We analyzed data from two
same challenges that other government leaders face different databases. First, we examined data about
at similar levels around the world. To be successful, leadership challenges from over 166 surveys of KSA
government leaders must possess the skills to government leaders who participated in leadership
survive in this uncertain world and to perform courses offered by CCL.3 We identified the different
their jobs while under constant observation from challenges faced by these leaders. Second, we
a range of sources—from their own colleagues to analyzed 360-degree feedback reports of over
the media and the private sector. Understanding 192 KSA leaders, of which 20% were from leaders
the challenges facing these leaders, in addition to working in government.4 In reviewing these data
the gaps in their leadership development, will help sets, we focused on three key questions:
Ministry officials develop initiatives that will help
• What are the major challenges Saudi public
leaders cope with these changing needs and create
sector leaders are facing?
world-class government leaders in the KSA.
• What competencies do raters believe are most
important to the success of a Saudi leader?
• How well do government-sector leaders perform
in the competency areas most critical to
success?

2 ©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.

Leadership Challenges
To better understand the leadership
development challenges faced by leaders
across Saudi Arabia, CCL analyzed the
leadership challenges data from Saudi
public sector leaders who had attended
CCL’s various leadership programs. Prior
to attending the program, attendees
described four leadership challenges they
were currently facing. We then analyzed
these data for overarching trends.

Specific Leadership Challenges:

• 18.5% report challenges with leading self • 31.9% report challenges leading the
(individual awareness and style, balancing organization (e.g., talent management,
multiple priorities, time management) strategic issues, and business operations)
• 45.9% report challenges leading others (e.g., • 3.7% report challenges with the external
leading a team or group, influence, leading environment (e.g., regulatory, economic
across multiple groups, and leading people) challenges, technology)

These challenges are similar to challenges facing public sector leaders around the world. The nature of
being a leader in the public sector illustrates key transition points among leaders who honed their skills
as technicians and eventually then moved into management often based on their excellent technical
skills. Moving away from the technical and managerial areas and into leadership, particularly executive
leadership, can create challenges around self-awareness, teamwork, and organizational understanding.

©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved. 3

Leadership Strengths and Gaps
We found that Saudi leaders have key skillsets Next we examined what competencies raters
that can be applied to addressing their challenges. believe are key to success and how effective Saudi
The data demonstrate that Saudi leaders are leaders are in these competencies. For this analysis,
perceived as being effective at influencing higher we turned to a set of CCL data from 192 public
management, having a broad organizational and private sector managers. These managers
perspective, possessing learning agility, completed the 15-competency Leading Managers
communicating effectively, and acting systemically 360 assessment used in the CCL Leadership
within their organization. Our experience working Development Program (LDP®)(data are from 2010–
with leaders at this level helps us to understand 2014).
that many of these strengths are internalized during
The following tables present the raw data for the
initial training and ongoing organizational reviews.
rank order priority of 15 competencies for success
These strengths reflect a community of leaders that
and ratings of the effectiveness of leaders for these
is effective at running itself and making sure the
competencies. Competency effectiveness ratings are
boss is informed and pleased with results being
on a one-to-five scale with five being the highest
accomplished.
level of effectiveness.

Saudi Leader Data: Leading Managers 360 (N=192)

What Competencies Are Important for Success in the Rater’s Organization?

Rank5
Communication 1
Influencing Higher Management 2
Influencing Across the Organization 3
Implementing Change 4
Selecting and Developing Others 5
Learning Agility 6
Self-Awareness 7
Negotiation 8
Broad Organizational Perspective 9
Responding to Complexity 10
Acting Systemically 11
Resiliency 12
Taking Risks 13
Balance between Personal Life and Work 14
Managing Globally Dispersed Teams 15

4 ©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.

The following chart reflects leader effectiveness in the same competencies:

Saudi Leader Data: Leading Managers 360 (N=192)

Average Effectiveness by Competency Compared to the CCL Global Norm

Mean LM360
Rank SA Average Global
Order Competency Norm
for SA Rating6 Competency
Leaders Rating7
Communication 4 3.99 3.91
Influencing Higher Management 1 4.17 4.18
Influencing Across the Organization 7 3.95 3.90
Implementing Change 6 3.98 3.89
Selecting and Developing Others 11 3.91 3.82
Learning Agility 3 4.07 3.99
Self-Awareness 10 3.91 3.83
Negotiation 13 3.87 3.74
Broad Organizational Perspective 2 4.16 4.21
Responding to Complexity 8 3.94 3.99
Acting Systemically 5 3.99 3.89
Resiliency 14 3.81 3.80
Taking Risks 12 3.88 3.96
Balance between Personal Life and Work 15 3.79 4.01
Managing Globally Dispersed Teams 9 3.92 3.89

©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved. 5

 The reader can readily see the difference in importance and effectiveness
across the competencies. To further illustrate the gaps, the tables below
illustrate the relationship between perceived importance of the competency
and the leader effectiveness average for each competency. We used a
green light, yellow light, red light, and gray light categorization scheme to
examine the relationship between competency importance and competency
effectiveness. If ratings fell within the top seven, we considered them higher
ratings. If they fell within the bottom seven, we considered them lower
ratings. The four categories in the table can help leaders identify where they
are spending appropriate time and energy, and where they might need to
invest more in building the capability of their leaders. The red area (high
importance, low effectiveness) should be a focus of considerable attention.

Mean
Importance Effectiveness
Rank Order Rank Order

Green (Higher Importance, Higher Effectiveness)8

1 Communication 4
2 Influencing Higher Management 1
6 Learning Agility 3
3 Influence Across Organizations 7
4 Implementing Change 6
Yellow (Lower Importance, Higher Effectiveness)
11 Acting Systemically 5
9 Broad Organizational Perspective 2
10 Respond to Complexity 8
Red (Higher Importance, Lower Effectiveness)
5 Selecting/Developing Others 11
7 Self-Awareness 10
8 Negotiation 13
Gray (Lower Importance, Lower Effectiveness)
12 Resiliency 14
13 Taking Risks 12
14 Balance between Life and Work 15
15 Managing Globally Dispersed Teams 9

6 ©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.

A quick review of this coding reveals:
• The green category reflects a consistency between what leaders
deem to be important competencies for success and commensurate
ratings of competency effectiveness by raters of the leaders. These
are competencies that deserve continued attention by KSA leaders.
• The yellow category includes competencies in which leaders are
rated as being effective even though the competencies are not
the most important for success. Leaders should evaluate whether
they are spending too much time focusing on these competencies.
This disconnect could represent a need for more of an “outside-in”
orientation among leaders (i.e., paying attention to the needs of
external stakeholders).
• The red category includes competencies in which leaders are rated
as being less effective even though the competencies are rated as
important for success. This disconnect could represent a need for
more of an “inside-out” orientation among leaders (i.e., focusing on
the development of individual skills that increase self-awareness and
ability to work effectively with others within an organization).
• The gray category includes competencies in which leaders are
rated as being less effective for competencies that are rated as less
important for success. Even so, we know that leaders who are able to
sustain themselves over time are resilient, have good work and life
integration, and are comfortable taking risks.

©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved. 7

 Career-Derailment Factors
CCL asked another key question: What are the risks that a leader will derail? Using a 360
Benchmarks database (N=124), CCL also identified factors that increase the risk that a leader
will derail.9 In addition to leader effectiveness, this 360 asks respondents to rate leaders on five
derailment factors that decades of CCL research demonstrate can stall or break a manager’s
career. These factors were identified by a series of studies comparing successful managers with
those who are fired, demoted, or plateaued early.
The five derailment factors are:

Problems with Interpersonal Relationships Failure to Meet Business Objectives

Difficulties in developing good working Difficulties in following up on promises and
relationships with others. completing a goal.
Difficulty Building and Leading a Team Too Narrow a Functional Orientation
Inability to select, develop, and motivate an Lacking the depth needed to manage outside
effective team. one’s current function.
Difficulty Changing and Adapting
Shows resistance to change and resistance to
learning and developing in response to mistakes.

Each of the five factors noted above have been shown to limit a leader’s effectiveness and
long-term success. Our research demonstrates that the most salient derailment factor for
Saudi leaders in our database is the failure to meet business objectives (2.10 mean rating). The
other derailment risks have ratings that are close together except for difficulty changing and
adapting, which is the lowest-rated derailment factor (1.88). The ratings are on a five-point scale
with lower ratings reflecting a lower derailment risk. For an individual, ratings above 2.5 pose a
significant derailment risk. For a group of leaders (as reflected in the data below), ratings at or
near 2.0 deserve reflection and consideration.

8 ©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.

 Likelihood-to-Derail Rankings and Ratings (All Observers)
Failure to Meet Business Objectives 2.10
Too Narrow a Functional Orientation 1.96
Difficulty Building and Leading a Team 1.92
Problems with Interpersonal Relationships 1.92
Difficulty Changing and Adapting 1.88

These findings are rather consistent with a similar analysis on leaders working for
data from other government leaders the US government, we found that this
who have attended CCL programs. was the number one reason for derailment.
Failure to meet business objectives Leaders join a government agency that
reflects a government that demands and reflects their technical specialty. They are
expects high performance. When there then promoted based upon their technical
is insufficient evidence of sustained high ability until they become managers. When
performance, the risk of a leader being that occurs, they can be ill-prepared for
reassigned or removed increases. The the wide range of responsibilities they
second highest-ranked derailment factor are called on to perform outside of their
has also been seen in CCL’s other studies of technical specialty.
government leaders. When CCL performed

©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved. 9

Closing the Gaps
To close the leadership gaps identified in this short report, it is important to understand the specific skills and
behaviors required for future leadership success, how these skills are developed, and how they can be applied
in the workplace. Below we offer four starting points for the development of leadership skills most critical for
the Saudi leader.

1. Understanding Leadership as a Collaborative 3. Risk-Taking: Although at first glance this

Activity: Effective leadership creates three competency seems counterintuitive to good
important outcomes: Direction, Alignment, and governance, it is actually a key to effective service.
Commitment. Each of these outcomes demands Risk-taking is the first step towards innovation
agreement from the leader and the led. Using the and creating new ideas for service to the country.
strength of communication clearly demonstrated Although frowned upon by many, rewarding risks
in the data, a strong team orientation, and a through simple efforts can increase productivity
feedback-rich environment will support the and employee engagement.
culture needed for adapting rapidly to the
4. Resiliency and Work Life Integration:
changing VUCA world.
Resilience, not more authority, is the key for
2. Creating High-Performance Teams: Developing greater productivity. Resilient workers are able to
people, understanding complexity, and having the work longer, harder, and with greater engagement
resilience to sustain productivity are all important than those leaders who do not utilize the tools of
to success in a rapidly changing, increasingly personal resilience.
interconnected world that requires group
cohesiveness and performance versus individual
leader heroism. Creating teams that are dedicated
to the success of each person on the team and the
team overall is clearly important.

The data summarized in this report should be used as a promoter of dialogue about the future needs of
leaders in Saudi rather than as a definitive prescription for next steps. More research on Saudi leaders and the
leadership needs in Saudi society is needed. We hope that the data from CCL will help stimulate deeper and
more thoughtful discussions about next steps in the development of the KSA as a world leader.

10 ©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.

©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved. 11
Notes on Methodology
This paper provided information about the current organizations and 200,000 leaders. Benchmarks is a
challenges of government leaders and the strengths, comprehensive 360-degree assessment for middle- to
gaps, and derailment factors for the general mid- and upper-level managers that measures 16 competencies
executive leaders in KSA. The paper utilizes three critical for success as well as five possible career-
data sets. One data sample is based on pre-program derailment factors. This in-depth analysis of
questionnaires concerning challenges facing Saudi observable behaviors provides managers with a
government leaders (N=166). The second sample solid assessment of their leadership competencies.
is from a Leading Managers 360, the primary Benchmarks also helps managers identify what
assessment used in our Leadership Development lessons may still need to be learned, establishes what
Program (N=192). The third sample (concerning specific work experiences need to be sought out in
derailment) comes from our 360 Benchmarks data order to develop critical competencies for success,
(N=124). and identifies possible problems that may stall their
career. Feedback reports are sent to a CCL-certified
Pre-program questionnaires are key to the learning
facilitator who debriefs the results with the manager
integration and program learning transfer. We
in a confidential session. For this report, we used
send these out during the preparatory stage of our
Benchmarks to identify derailment factors and
program to raise the conscious awareness of the
the data set included only those leaders who self-
leaders’ behaviors with others and to provide an
identified as government workers. This produced a
anchor for conversations about their leadership. In
data set of 124 leaders.
addition to questions concerning their challenges, we
also ask about leadership strengths, developmental The Leading Managers 360 is a refinement of 360
needs, and background issues that may be playing a Benchmarks and uses 15 competencies and is focused
role in their leadership development and perception towards those who must lead from the middle. The
by others. We have found this tool to be invaluable to Leading Managers category covers people who are
our faculty and coaches in developing and delivering managing other managers or senior professional
effective leadership programs. Because of how this staff. Examples of some of the competencies covered
questionnaire was administered, we were able to at this level include: managing organizational
isolate 166 government leaders for study. complexity, negotiating adeptly, implementing
change, managing globally dispersed teams, taking
360 Benchmarks is a tried-and-tested assessment
risks, and selecting and developing others. For this
for development tool. Since its introduction by CCL
report, we used a data set of 192 Saudi leaders,
in 1987, Benchmarks has been used by over 16,000
including many government leaders.

12 ©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.

The competencies included in the Leading Managers 360 are:

Encourages and models effective communication. Expresses ideas

Communication
fluently.
Understands and persuades people at higher levels of the
Influencing Higher Management
organization.

Influencing across the Organization Uses effective influence strategies to gain cooperation and
get things done.

Implementing Change Effectively leads others and maintains authenticity during

times of transition. Accepts change as positive.

Selecting and Developing Others Finds talented employees and develops them.

Seeks opportunities to learn and can learn quickly. Learns a

Learning Agility new skill quickly.
Has an accurate picture of strengths and weaknesses and is
Self-Awareness willing to improve.
Negotiates effectively with individuals and groups in the
Negotiation organization. Is effective at managing conflict.
Has a “big picture” understanding of the organization. Has
Broad Organizational Perspective solid understanding of our products and services.
Recognizes and effectively manages organizational dilemmas and
Responding to Complexity trade-offs. Recognizes the ethical dilemmas when they occur.
Takes a system perspective on his/her work. Considers the
Acting Systemically
impact of his/her action on the entire system.
Handles stress, uncertainty, and setbacks well. Has activities
Resiliency
outside of work.

Taking Risks Sees possibilities, seizes opportunities, and perseveres in the

face of obstacles.

Balance between Personal Life and Work Balances work priorities with personal life so neither is
neglected.

Managing Globally Dispersed Teams Effectively motivates, develops, and monitors globally dispersed
teams. Can motivate multicultural teams effectively.

©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved. 13

14 ©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.
Endnotes
1
Please see the Notes on Methodology on page 12 for more information about the data sets.
2
The VUCA perspective was originally developed for the government strategic planner. It has
been popularized and applied to business by Bob Johansen, CEO of the Institute of the Future.
3
A CCL standard practice is to ask program participants to list three key leadership challenges
they are currently facing. The data for the challenges come from a review of 166 Saudi
public sector leaders between 2006 and 2014. These data include all sectors and all levels of
government. This data set includes the years 2006–2014.
4
This N=192 sample is taken from our database of the Leading Managers 360. Forty-five of the
raters (22%) self-described as being employed in a government state. These data encompass
the years 2010–2014. Further definitions of the competencies are found on page 13.
5
On the Leading Managers 360, raters are asked to identify the top five competencies of
importance for the raters’ organization.
6
This is the average rating of effectiveness on a one-to-five Likert scale (five being best) by
competency for Saudi leaders (labeled as SA).
7
The standard deviation (SD) varies by competency but ranges between .33 and .45.
8
Higher Importance reflects a position in the top seven for perceived importance. Higher
Effectiveness reflects a rating in the top seven for mean average for effectiveness.
9
360 Benchmarks is a variant of the same methodology used on the Leading Managers 360. For
these data we studied 124 leaders who participated in CCL programs between 2006 and 2014.
For more on 360 Benchmarks, please see the Notes on Methodology on page 12.

©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved. 15

16 ©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved.
About the Authors
David Altman, PhD, is executive vice president and strategic leadership to senior government and corporate
managing director of the Center for Creative Leadership officials. He has published extensively on leadership in
(CCL®) in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). He an international context, including his CCL guidebook,
previously served for over nine years as executive vice Delegating Effectively. Clemson’s undergraduate degree is
president of CCL’s Research, Innovation, and Product from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina.
Development group. He serves as codirector of the He earned a master’s in political science and a doctorate
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation–funded Executive from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs,
Nurse Fellows program (www.executivenursefellows. Syracuse University. He also has a master’s in security
org). David has long supplemented his work in the and strategy from the US Army War College, Carlisle, PA.
public health field with a keen interest in leadership.
He currently is a faculty member for CCL’s Leadership Emily Hoole, PhD, is group director of Global Research
at the Peak program. Prior to CCL, David was a tenured and Evaluation at CCL. In this role, she leads the Center
professor of Public Health Sciences and Pediatrics at in setting strategy for global research and evaluation
Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston to align with and anticipate clients’ needs regarding
Salem, NC, (10 years) and a senior research scientist at leadership and leadership development to address critical
the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention challenges and issues; identifies priorities for CCL’s
at Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, portfolio and aligns resources and projects to accomplish
CA (10 years). David earned his MA and PhD degrees in those priorities; and ensures that results of CCL’s research
social ecology from the University of California, Irvine, and evaluation are disseminated widely to inform leaders
where he was selected as 2007 alumni of the year. and organizations worldwide. Emily combines evaluating
He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford thinking with organizational learning with faculty and
University. clients to improve the effectiveness of organizational
interventions. Emily also serves as a researcher,
Clemson Turregano, PhD, is leadership portfolio director consultant, speaker, author, and program designer.
of CCL’s EMEA region, responsible for the full spectrum Prior to CCL, She was the director of Evaluation at The
of leadership solutions across the region, including Rapides Foundation, a healthcare foundation, managing
design, delivery, coaching, and senior-level organizational multiple large multi-year evaluation projects focused on
solutions. Clemson’s global clients consist of numerous healthcare, education, and economic development. She
commercial, public, and nongovernment agencies, also was the CEO of a nonprofit organization and worked
including major automotive, defense, and pharmaceutical in the media and healthcare fields. Emily earned her MPA
manufacturers, broadcast networks, school boards, and a PhD in assessment and measurement from James
and universities. He also has worked with national Madison University.
and international public agencies in foreign relations,
defense, education, intelligence, and humanitarian aid. A
practicing scholar, Clemson has won awards for teaching

The authors would like to acknowledge Alexander Eckardt for his invaluable contributions to this paper. 
Alexander played a pivotal role, providing insight and analysis of the different databases and also informing
the authors on accurate use of the information.

©2015 Center for Creative Leadership. All rights reserved. 17

 The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®) is a top-ranked,
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the power of leadership to drive results that matter most
to clients, CCL transforms individual leaders, teams,
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and in the Top 10 by Bloomberg Businessweek, CCL has
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