Dr. Rashid Alleem, a well-known United Arab Emirates (UAE) “Knowledge Ambassador,” discusses how he and his team transformed the management processes and internal culture of the once-faltering Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA). Rescuing this crucial municipal institution required an effective team and a powerful project management model. Alleem shares it all in this conversational, practical manual. The first step in handling such a daunting project, he says, is shouldering the responsibility and “making a commitment to lead.” Alleem offers detailed, valuable strategies for navigating a complex, difficult, and time-sensitive project.
The Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) faced multiple challenges.
Rashid Alleem was surprised when His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi – a member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates and the president of Sharjah, the UAE’s third-largest city – told him that he was to lead the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA). Though the appointment somewhat alarmed him, Alleem accepted it and its daunting responsibilities.
Sharjah is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah, part of the larger Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. When Alleem accepted the appointment to manage the water and sewer system, the company carried billions in debt. Creditors were demanding payment, and SEWA had a surfeit of employees with inadequate skills and poor morale.
Alleem soon learned that SEWA needed more than a makeover – it needed a total transformation. He had to replace its outdated, run-down equipment and infrastructure and repair relationships with its customers, who felt poorly served and ill-treated.
Previous managers had operated via a strict, hierarchical, top-down system. Alleem set out to change SEWA’s processes and culture...
Rashid Alleem, PhD, is the former chairman of the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA). He also wrote Is Success A Sin?: Insightful Stories of Work and Life that Speak Directly to the Heart and Soul and Tolerance: Harmony in Difference.
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