Best Leadership Style to Lead Multi- Cultural Teams of Service Companies in the Oil & Gas Industry in the Arabian Gulf

This paper is dedicated to enhancing Organizational Health and Adaptability by finding a suitable leadership model for service companies in the oil & gas industry in the Arabian Gulf. This becomes a more challenging task if you are dealing with multicultural teams. The author relied on literature review to define the variables that can be correlated with or impact the choice of leadership styles. Variables such as the culture of the team, the characteristics of the leader, Industrial or occupational constraints. All these variables were considered & studied. A field research was also conducted to stand on the views of both the field personnel & management and test their perceptions regarding the subject matter. A quantitative approach relied on a questionnaire that was used as the base for testing field team's perception. And a qualitative approach relied on one to one interviews with members in management in leading positions to stand on the applicability of leadership models and the constraints involved. Three main leadership models were tested. Transactional, where leadership style is more authoritarian and relies on close supervision, strict organizational procedures, and is performance oriented through rewards & punishment. Transformational, where leadership style is based on a certain vision, and is more into inspiring a committed team to be creative, identify the aspects that require change, and execute plans as a team to march towards that particular vision. Laissez-Faire, where leadership style is more into delegating the leaders’ authority to the team who are given complete freedom to take decisions in order to achieve objectives, while the leader tries to provide the required resources and tools for his team. The results of the research recommend the Transactional model of leadership as the most appropriate style or model of leadership as both the qualitative and quantitative approaches recommend it. This research paper is believed to add value to the body of knowledge as it focuses on a specific sector of a specific industry in a specific region and guides its leaders towards being more effective in their roles in order to achieve better results.