VISIONARY LEADERSHIP, CROSS-CULTURAL LEADERSHIP, FACILITATING CHANGE - Essay Example

Visionary Leadership, Cross-Cultural Leadership, Facilitating Change Visionary Leadership, Cross-Cultural Leadership, Facilitating Change Introduction Osama bin Laden was a Saudi-born terrorist, who led the terrorist network that instigated the 2001 attacks on New York City. Even though Osama was hated in most of the world’s nations for what he represented, to his followers he was a leader who helped to channel their feelings of animosity towards the destruction of their perceived enemies.

Osama bin Laden was killed more than 2 years ago by American Special Forces; however, Al-Qaeda, which is the terrorist organization he came to be identified with, still continues to perpetuate the values he stood for. Osama bin Laden as a Visionary Osama bin Laden was a visionary leader who inspired various Islamic fundamentalist groups with different agendas to join together for a common cause. He emerged as a leader at a strategic time when the Muslims in Afghanistan were facing invasion and colonization by Russian forces, The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was, at that time, one of the two existing superpowers.

Osama’s defiance in the face of a nation that was perceived as being both godless and corruptive, won him the affection of both moderate and fundamentalist adherents of Islam all over the world. According to ICSR (2014), many Muslims all over the world have an abhorrence for what they perceive as being the decadent culture of the West. Bin Laden was able to tap into this dread in order to convince fundamentalists and moderate Muslims all over the world to contribute towards the formation of a group that would work to safeguard Muslim civilization from such ungodly influences.

Another reason why Bin Laden was a visionary leader was because he became the change that he required other, true believing Muslims to make. Osama was born to an extremely rich father in Saudi Arabia. Even though his father was a polygamous man who had many wives and children, his billionaire status still mean that Osama could have lived in relative comfort if he chose to. However, Osama bin Laden turned on his father’s wealth, and went to live in the caves of Afghanistan to help the Mujahedeen to fight against the Soviet invaders.

This action alone endeared him to millions of Muslims who felt that he was leading by example. When he exhorted Muslim men to stand up against corrupt influences and give up their hedonistic lifestyles to return to true Islamic values, many heeded his call because they were inspired by his example. Osama bin Laden motivated and inspired fundamentalist Muslims all over the world through his personal sacrifice in giving up a more than comfortable lifestyle as well as personal safety to support what he perceived as being a holy war that was blessed by God.

Without trying to, he inspired the open expression of a faith that was perceived as being barbaric in many parts of the world. Many hopeless Muslim young men in many parts of the world who were disillusioned with life embraced his message and began to create affiliate terrorist organizations that would embrace the values of Al-Qaeda. The Al-Shabaab terrorist network in Somalia, for instance, was based on Al-Qaeda’s values (Mockaitis, 2010). The Boko-Haram group which is active in West African nations like Nigeria, is another organization which was formed by disillusioned Muslims who wanted to make an impact on the world as Al-Qaeda had done.

Osama bin Laden also provided an example of leadership that is rarely seen in the Middle East; or, indeed, in any other nations in the developed world. While he was at the fore-front, and often seen on media channels immediately after the terrorist attacks in 2001, he faded to the background soon after. Al Qaeda effectively became a decentralized organization which morphed into different international operations which were extremely hard to detect or contain (Mockaitis, 2010). Bin Laden was not concerned with holding onto the trappings of power, or amassing greater wealth than his father.

When the terrorist attacks took place in America in 2001, even moderate Muslims in nations such as Saudi Arabia celebrated that one of their own had finally dared to strike at a world superpower. Osama bin Laden could have chosen to ride this crest wave of success or proclaimed himself as the Caliph. However, he was not interested in such aspects. This deeply inspired moderate and fundamentalist Muslims who saw him as a ‘special’ messenger from God. His message was accepted as coming from a saint of Islam; and propagated through various means to Muslims all over the world.

The Value that Osama bin Laden brought to Al-Qaeda Visionary leaders are not needed in all organizations. However, they are a necessity in business settings that require fundamental change (Kumar & Whitefield, 2007). Visionary leaders understand the importance of making small but incremental changes that will positively affect the performance of an organization. In Osama bin Laden’s case, for instance, he understood that any organization that was going to realize real change could not be based on the wealthy members of the population.

He sought the cooperation of those whose very lives depended on the outcome of his cause. He arranged a loosely organized cell-network in which each cell could function independently from the main organization (Newman, 2011). Bin Laden trusted the smaller networks to make small new adjustments to improve the general efficiency of the group where necessary. Osama bin Laden also gave the ownership of the group to the people who worked the most to realize its causes. This is another thing that visionary leader do.

They make the workers identify with the causes of the organization, and feel as though they own it. This increases their commitment to its goals to heightened levels. Osama bin Laden made sure that his organization was not sponsored by any politicized organization like the PLO. Due to the fact that Al-Qaeda could not be defined by any wars, or political leanings, it was free to operate in relative freedom at the will of its fundamentalist followers. Today, it is even common for various Islamic factions in various nations to act in Al-Qaeda’s name so as to make a name for themselves in their own communities.

Visionary leaders inspire the creation of such an influential brand that other organizations are willing to use it in order to bolster their various reputations. This is how visionary leaders can inspire people to reach beyond themselves, identify with a bigger objective, and alter their own professional as well as personal lives while endeavoring to realize the goal(s) in question. Visionary leaders are also needed because they inspire such commitment from workers that mechanism of punishment and reward become internalized.

In the case of Al-Qaeda, its followers wanted to realize the terrorist organization’s goals in order to fulfill the law of God as they understood it, not because they thought that Bin-Laden would reward them with money and material goods (Kumar & Whitefield, 2007). This shows that visionary leadership actually transcends the personality of the leader. Business Cases where Visionary Leaders are Required Not all business organizations require the input of visionary leaders. In most of the work-organizations in the West, for example, workers need managers more than visionary leaders who will effect significant changes to various work-related functions.

The reality is that, because visionary leaders bring such incremental and transformative change, their input is mainly required in cases where there is a need for such change. For instance, organizations require visionary leaders when faced with bankruptcy, or a serious recession. Such situations call for the input of leaders who can re-shape how workers perceive themslves and their workplaces, and think. In such circumstances, the strengths of visionary leaders will contribute towards the organization prevailing over the situation at hand.

Conclusion Even though he was the evil genius that inspired the actions of disillusioned young men who believed that they were divinely appointed to murder innocent people, Osama bin Laden’s leadership style endeared him to thousands who felt aggrieved at the West for one reason or another. He was successful in creating an organization that succeeded in channeling the hate and distrust of fundamentalist Muslims towards the annihilation of their presumed enemies. References ICSR. (2014).

The death of bin Laden: Whither al-Qaeda? Retrieved from http://icsr.info/2011/05/the-death-of-bin-laden-whither-al-qaeda/ Kumar, S., & Whitefield, F. (2007). Visionaries: The 20th centurys 100 most inspirational leaders. White River Junction: Chelsea Green Publishing. Mockaitis, T. R. (2010). Osama Bin Laden: A biography. California: ABC-CLIO. Newman, A. (2011). Bin Laden & Al-Qaeda: U.S. Govt. Creations. The New American. Retrieved from http://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/history/item/4708-bin-laden-al-qaeda-us-govt-creations