Leadership Coaching for National Talent Programmes

National talent tracks need leadership depth, not only placement

Bahrainisation, Saudisation and Emiratisation are national policies, in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE respectively, that encourage private-sector employers to develop and employ more citizens. Many organisations now run dedicated leadership tracks so that national employees reach management and executive roles, not only entry-level ones.

Placing someone in a role is the start. What determines success is whether the leader can earn trust, make decisions and develop a team. That is where leadership coaching adds something training alone cannot.

The pressures national leaders tell me about

Leaders on national talent tracks often carry expectations that their colleagues do not see. These are the themes that come up most often in coaching.

• ✦Being highly visible early, with the sense that any mistake will be noticed and remembered.
• ✦Taking over from an experienced expatriate predecessor and needing to establish their own authority.
• ✦Leading team members who are older or have longer service in the organisation.
• ✦Working inside multinational, multicultural teams where communication norms vary widely.
• ✦Balancing family and community expectations with the demands of a senior role.
• ✦Quietly wondering whether colleagues believe the promotion was earned.

How I shape a coaching track inside a national programme

1. 01

   Understand the programme

   We look at the roles the track feeds, the timeline and what the organisation needs these leaders to do well.

2. 02

   Agree goals with sponsors

   Each participant sets development goals with their line manager and HR in a three-way conversation.

3. 03

   Coach through the transition

   One-to-one sessions, usually weekly or every two weeks, focus on the real challenges of the role.

4. 04

   Add peer learning

   Where useful, small group sessions let participants learn from each other's experience across functions.

5. 05

   Review at agreed points

   We review progress themes with sponsors, while what is said in sessions stays confidential.

Coaching in Arabic or English, as the participant prefers

Language matters in coaching. Many leaders work in English all day but think through personal questions in Arabic, and some of the most important insights arrive in the language a person feels most at home in.

I coach in both, and participants can move between them within a session. Executive coaching in Arabic and English explains how bilingual coaching works in practice.

Sponsors decide whether the track feels like development or compliance

Participants quickly sense whether their organisation sees the track as an investment in them or a regulatory obligation. Sponsors shape that impression through how they talk about the programme, how much time they give it and whether they offer genuine stretch work.

I help sponsors and line managers play that role well: setting stretching goals, giving honest feedback and creating room for new leaders to make decisions. Two challenges come up often enough to read about in advance: how to build credibility in a new leadership role and how to lead team members older than you.

Why my background fits this work

I am based in Manama and have spent more than 26 years in leadership, HR and talent development, including in government as well as financial services, FMCG and entrepreneurship. My career began in HR and talent management, developing leaders and building talent strategies, so I understand how national talent programmes look from inside the organisation.

I am an ICF Professional Certified Coach with more than 4,500 coaching hours, and I coach in person in Bahrain and online across the GCC.