Essay on Comparison of great leaders of the world Sheik zayed bin sultan and Barack Obama

        There are great lessons hidden in the biographies and autobiographies of the leaders. Every leader has made his way in this world differently and times have taught him different things by making him face different challenges. Great things can be learnt from the lives of the great leaders by studying their life stories wisely and keenly.  Learning right things from the right people also helps in building the character of the reader by infusing qualities of great leaders in themselves.

         Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan, known as the father of the nation of United Arab Emirates (UAE), was the president of UAE from 1971 to 2004.  UAE has acquired its present successful position in the modern world due to the driving force behind UAE who was Sheikh zayed, who is also the founding father of UAE. Barak Obama was the president of United States of America from 2009 to 2017. He was the first non-white, African president in the history of America. There are a great many similarities between the Sheikh Zayed of UAE and Barak Obama of USA and lives of both of these great leaders teach us many valuable lessons.

        Communication is the key to great and successful leadership. Barak Obama and Sheikh Zayed are considered great conversationalists. Being a charismatic leader Sheikh zayed had the ability to convince anyone with his speaking style and he has the ability to express his feelings easily through his humble speeches. Similarly, Barak Obama had the ability to communicate effectively. During his speeches he always used “we” instead of “I” which is a very smart approach to engage people. He has this power to engage people with his words and make place in their heart.

        Vision is the primary thing required to become a great leader. To direct a nation, visionary mind is compulsory. Brack obama had a vision that right things should never be underestimated no matter how much world tells you otherwise. He had the vision that if you want to do something; do it and do not care for the world. The world will accept it eventually. In the same way, Sheikh Zayed was a visionary leader. He has a vision for UAE to make it a modern state which can withstand the challenges of the present day and age. He funded UAE himself, with his own money to accomplish his vision. It is due his vision that UAE today stands a highest rank among the successful countries.

        Slogan of change is used by many people to be elected in election, but only a few prove it with their actions. Both Barak and Sheikh were agents of change. “Change as we believe in” was the slogan used by Obama in his first speech after becoming president. Later he proved it, he brough change in all aspects if his country and in almost all fields. He changed the face of politics, business and education. Similarly, Sheikh built schools, hospitals and colleges for the people. He cooperated with other Arab countries as well as the non-Arab countries. He funded not only his own country’s people but also outsiders who were in need. In addition, Obama and Sheikh believed in women empowerment and provided resources for women to be more confident and successful in future.

        There are many other similarities shared by both these charismatic leaders. They have made their mark in the world and their name will be remembered forever. However, there are various aspects in which both these leaders differ from each other.

        Brought up of both of these leaders was done in different environment which led to differences in their behavior somehow. For example, Sheikh Zayed was a silver spoon child born in a palace. However, the environment of desert taught him many things like patience and self respect. It also taught him the problems of needy and poor. He always had a soft corner for poor in his heart. Therefore, he always invested in his people. He believed in making people empowered. Whereas, Obama was born in a middle class family in Hawaii. He had to work hard to become president. In addition he was the first American president of African origin, so one can imagine how much struggle he must have done and how smart his choices and decisions of life must be. Therefore, he had a bit realistic approach towards all the matters. He used logics instead of emotions and all her decisions were logic-driven.

        Moreover, Barak was quite open minded person. He made same sex marriages legalized. In his opinion it’s the love and understanding between two people that matters and not the gender. He won the heart of all the same-sex lovers after this step and also became the most favorite president for many others. Sheikh Zayed was also a great leader with open mind. However, being the ruler of a Muslim country he had to keep in mind many things. He was a man of rules and regulations. He always admired and praised Muslim rules.

        To recapitulate, all the great leaders have some great leaders which make them great. There are different characteristics of leadership attributed to each leader. However, when lives of great leaders are studied and their stories are compared, they share a lot of same characteristics. Not only one or two, but all leaders mostly have some common characteristics which make them great. It also does not matter from which era, year or region the leaders belong to, on comparison they must have some common and some contrasting features making them unique and standout in the row of all the great leaders.  Same is the case with Barak Obama of USA and Sheikh Zayed of UAE. They have many similar characteristics and some unique ones. By studying their stories great many things can be learned which can help someone leading a better life which in turn will make his life successful.

 References on Comparison of great leaders of the world Sheik zayed bin sultan and Barack Obama

Brown, Cristopher B. 2011. "Barack Obama as the Great Man: Communicative Constructions of Racial Transcendence in White-Male Elite Discourses." Communication Monographs 535-556.

Greenstein, Fred I. 2011. "Barack Obama: The Man and His Presidency at the Midterm." Political time and politics 7-11.

Mabrouk, Dalia Mohamed Mostafa. 2018. "Between Management and Leadership—A Comparative Study with Reference to (Sheikh Zayed AL Nahyan and Nelson Mandela)." scientific research 35-47.