The Father Leadership with Special Reference to Negara Brunei Darussalam
Chinese American Scholars Association: Casa E-Leader Conference, Krakow, Poland, 9-11, June 2008
10 Pages Posted: 28 Feb 2010 Last revised: 26 Mar 2010
Date Written: June 11, 2008
Abstract
Several countries in Asia such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, their leaders and governments practise a benevolent type of leadership, the father leadership style. Paternal or maternal authority captures the expectations of concern and nurtures the belief that people or staff should be treated like the leader’s family members, and that the “all-in-the-family” feeling and the leader-followers’ bonding/ relationship matters.
Desirable qualities in a leader are to be expert and knowledgeable - knowing what to do in a wide range of situations for the people’s good. The leader cares and shows concern for the well-being and welfare of his people. In this paper, it is this author’s conviction that leading, the father leadership way, can create a competitive advantage for growing transitional economies. Here in Negara Brunei Darussalam, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah’s leadership based on the national philosophy of Melayu Islam Beraja (Malay, Muslim and Monarchy) can, in some ways, be seen as father leadership in action. Father leadership examples are then shown and illustrated in Brunei context.
Keywords: Father Leader, Parental Leadership, Brunei Darussalam, High-relationship, Malay, Islam, Monarchy
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