As I never went to Harvard Business School, I can’t talk with any authority about the things they may — or may not — teach you there. The entrepreneur, Mark McCormack, didn’t study there either, but his book on the subject was a huge best-seller.

He started his sports marketing business IMG with less than $1,000 (Dh3,670) and turned it into a multimillion dollar business. Guys like that don’t sleep a lot. They’re up at the crack of dawn making calls, dictating agendas, laying down plans and setting standards.

If you’re looking for a leader, it’s the one you’re struggling to keep up with from morning until night. Good leadership comes in many forms, and it stands out most in business when market conditions aren’t at their best.

The most successful leaders always know how to motive their people, and they do it largely with their actions. We’re lucky to have leaders like that in the UAE, and the property market here is already a better place following the decision to bring Aldar and Emaar together in a strategic partnership.

The move — made to develop Dh30 billion worth of local and international projects — was seen by analysts as a sign of a maturing property market. It’s the most significant alliance yet between developers from the two emirates, and a clear signal that we can now expect a powerful joint effort to promote both as one entity globally.

We’re seeing positive action from the highest level, driving two major players each with their own massive client data base, enormous experience, impressive track records and healthy balance-sheets. I’m convinced the venture between Abu Dhabi and Dubai will boost investor confidence on a bigger scale than most people expect, and ensure the timely delivery of a range of major projects.

Business leaders in the property market must follow suit by taking positive steps themselves to win back investor confidence, and at the same time motivate their sales teams. How to do this in the current climate is one of the most common questions I face these days.

The key to ensuring a business performs well in this market is to be consistently objective and aggressively driven, while building a strong work ethic and leading by example. Being honest and transparent with your team is critical, and this includes acknowledging the current challenges that almost every company is being subjected to right now.

It’s simply not smart to hide from your team what you really think about current market conditions. This can be insulting to their intelligence and may result in them losing faith in their leader. The strongest recognise and communicate the challenges being faced, and motivate their teams by developing a practical and realistic plan of action.

Opportunities

They formulate plans designed not merely to come through a difficult period, but to identify and capitalise on the opportunities that come with every slowdown in the market. The reality is that even the biggest crisis any company can face — including a war and the threats to economic stability, or a major financial crisis — will still create opportunities that must be seen and exploited.

I’m a strong believer in sharing with my team real success stories borne out of the most difficult times for business. I set up my business in October 2009 at the peak of a global downturn, and often highlight the ways that we came through the very tough times that followed

If around 80 per cent of your most loyal clients today are investors who trusted you to guide them through the turbulence that follows a crisis like that, you collectively gain strength from knowing that you survived the worst.

We’re all human, and even some of the most positive, well organised, and driven leaders will have spells when they worry about the business, especially when the market is experiencing conditions like those we currently have here. But strong leaders are consistent in every element of their management, regardless of market conditions, and this is what builds confidence.

In recent times, Dubai has seen through two Gulf Wars, a global financial crisis, and much regional turbulence, and always emerged tougher and more resilient. Strong leadership has made that happen, and will make sure it happens again.

— The writer is CEO of fäm Properties.