Impact of Cultural Intelligence on Transformational Leadership in the UAE’s Parliamentary Diplomac

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between Cultural Intelligence (CQ) and Transformational Leadership (TL) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the Parliamentary Group of the UAE’s Federal National Council. The paper examines how diplomats employ CQ in effecting transformational leadership (TL) in the field of parliamentary diplomacy in the UAE. This involves composing the multi-criteria decision making elements of four factors model (FFM) of CQ on TL in order to rank each factor. To do so, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was applied to a sample of parliamentary leaders with the aim of advancing the understanding of values, beliefs, and perceptions of these leaders. The AHP-based decision-making approach allows criteria to be prioritized in terms of importance, leading to the creation of a hierarchal model based on pairwise comparisons. The hierarchical framework that emerged was divided into four main criteria (goals) and 15 sub-criteria. Such qualities affect Members of Parliament (MPs) understanding and how they express their views in both international and regional spheres and the impact of the CQ criteria in their performance diplomacy sphere. Providing parliamentary leaders with leadership training in CQ is highly recommended. While parliamentary groups showed a preference for certain leadership practices, these preferences may be incorporated in the development of transformational leadership that may be more suitable for today’s diverse international iv parliamentary diplomacy community. The connection between Cultural Intelligence and transformational leadership practices confirms the value of MP development in CQ. Cognitive and Motivational factors were more significant than Metacognitive and Behaviour factors. Implications and inferences can be made regarding similar Gulf countries.