I started off the year as the President of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO UAE Chapter) with the following quote by Alvin Toffler: ‘The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn’.

As I end my tenure, I want to reflect on this same quote and apply it to what I have learnt, unlearned, and relearned while managing a non-profit organisation of almost 80 dynamic entrepreneurs who are constantly juggling work, family, and personal priorities in life.

We run the chapter like a publicly held company. There are 10 ‘chairs’ who assume different honorary titles throughout the year (finance, strategic alliances, marketing & communications, etc.).

Every month we have early morning meetings for exactly 60 minutes, in which each chair discusses and updates the board on what they have accomplished, where they are lagging, and the next month’s plan of action.

Imagine the scene — a sharp 8.30am start for 10 super-busy entrepreneurs who are already short on time. Throw in the fact that each chair is questioned and cross-examined (with complete respect of course!) to challenge them to do more for the chapter. This is followed by countless hours during the month to accomplish each chair’s task so that they feel proud of what they have accomplished.

All this effort for exactly Dh0 in return.

This is where I unlearned the meaning of compensation. Cold hard cash does not mean so much for people who have a clear purpose in what they are doing and what they want accomplished for themselves or for their organisation/company/community. If you give a handful of people a clear purpose with some tools and a lot of moral support, that team can do wonders.

Think of Apple, Google, and the Emirate of Dubai. The same philosophy and same outcome — people who don’t look at the clock but at their personal purpose statement. Is what they are doing in sync with what the organisation aspires to be?

If the answer is yes, the leader needs to hold hands with core people and watch the organisation rise to the next level.

What I need to relearn about managing people is to manage my own expectations. Each individual is different. Each chair has a lot of going on in his or her life.

They cannot drop everything and cater to your needs every single time. It is tough for me to accept that as delivery of promises on time is very important to me.

But not for all. I am not saying that a person is unprofessional if they slip up or get delayed. I am constantly retraining myself to try to put myself in their shoes and assume they have a good reason for not delivering results on time.

As peers, I hope they can open up to me and help me understand the reasons for the delay so I can help them if possible. But that does not always happen — entrepreneurs are great at giving advice and not receiving it.

Hence I have to relearn that each person is different and it is best to accept their strengths and weaknesses and manage around that in order to get the job done.

The biggest thing I learnt about managing peers who do not ‘have’ to report to you: zip up and listen! Trust and respect are core values and the only way for peers to open up and respect you is when you train yourself to talk half as much as you listen.

If the president just orders and shuts down ideas, there are going be ten monkeys in the room really fast. I believe the role holder needs to act as a moderator where ideas are discussed, managed, and taken action on.

The best part of a discussion is where a chair brings up an idea that he or she is very passionate about. As you go through the pros and cons, it is very important for the chair to come to realise why the idea is not suitable for the chapter at this point in time.

I can easily say “No, not a good idea”, but I am surely going to demotivate that chair for the foreseeable future.

I am sure these learning, unlearning and relearning can be applied at work and at home. Minor modifications have to be made each time to suit the circumstances.

I showed my wife this piece and she smirked and said “Why don’t you have the same patience and listen to my problems?”

Another learning tip: Men are from Mars … and women from Venus.

— The writer is the President of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization — UAE Chapter.