Speak Like A Wise CEO – The Leadership Lessons From Dubai's Most Unexpected Taxi Driver
- Brainz Magazine
- Jun 11
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 12
Written by Rohit Bassi, ROI Talks
Rohit Bassi has been given the title of "The Communication Wizard." He assists clients in improving careers, businesses, and lives.
When a PhD scholar and former executive traded his boardroom for a taxi cab, he discovered what true leadership really means. What would possess a successful executive with a PhD, board positions, and decades of corporate achievement to become a taxi driver? Not a financial necessity. Not a career crisis. But something far more profound, the courage to step outside his echo chamber and truly listen.
Meet Ammar Shams, a 61-year-old Emirati who did exactly that. After years in senior roles, including advising ministers and chairing boards, he made an unusual decision in 2023: he wanted to experience Dubai through the eyes of a taxi driver.
The uncomfortable truth about leadership bubbles
"I lived in my bubble," Ammar admits candidly. "My Dubai was the Dubai I grew up in, a very limited location. I mixed with friends who invariably lived in similar areas, had the same education level, same socioeconomic background, and same international exposure."
Sound familiar? Most leaders operate within carefully constructed bubbles of professional networks, social circles, and geographic boundaries that reinforce existing perspectives. We convince ourselves this is reality when it's merely our reality.
The great leveller
What Ammar discovered behind the wheel was what he calls "the greatest leveller." Every stratum of society, every nationality, every income bracket got into his taxi. CEOs sat in the same backseat as labourers. The mechanism worked the same for everyone.
But here's where it gets interesting: people started talking.
"There is this liberating belief that 'I'll never cross paths with this person ever again,' and they're willing to let the floodgates open," Ammar explains. "They would share intimate details of their lives with a total stranger."
The leadership lesson hidden in plain sight
The most revealing moment came when passengers couldn't believe an Emirati was driving a taxi. "You can't be from here," they'd insist, despite his local accent and name displayed on the taxi screen. Everyone except other Emiratis questioned his identity.
But fellow Emiratis? They simply asked, "So what's it like? Does it pay well?" One even admitted, "If it paid well, yes, I'd do it too."
The difference? Those who knew him recognized that capability isn't defined by job title. Everyone else was trapped by their own assumptions.
The Muhammad Ali test
Ammar references boxer Muhammad Ali's philosophy: judge people by how they treat "the great unwashed" cab drivers, waiters, and delivery personnel. Do you look them in the eye? Are you respectful? Do you recognize them as fully grown human beings with responsibilities, families, and outlooks on life?
"I met some phenomenal human beings who shamed me by their dignity," he reflects. "Yet for a lot of people, they don't see them. They're driving the car, but they don't see them."
The reality check every leader needs
During his two-month experiment, Ammar didn't just drive; he underwent the same training as every other taxi driver. English test (despite being fluent), two-week course in Arabic alongside 34 other prospective drivers, the same exams, the same shifts.
"No quarter asked, no quarter given," he says. His connections got him in the door, but privilege ended there.
The physical and mental demands were real: 12-hour shifts (10 hours driving maximum), mandatory breaks, stress management techniques, and the constant navigation of traffic and human nature.
Speaking like a CEO, by not being one
True leadership emerged not from his title or status, but from his willingness to:
Step out of comfort zones: "I would only ever do a job where I was learning, where it was fun. The minute it was repetitive, I moved on."
Listen without agenda: His default was to say little or nothing because he wanted to listen.
Question assumptions: Every ride challenged preconceptions about Dubai, its people, and himself.
Embrace vulnerability: Admitting "how little I know" became a source of humility, not weakness.
The bubble-breaking formula
Ammar's guide for leaders resonates beyond the taxi industry: "You need to consciously create a process by which you come out of your bubble, whether it's to connect with people, have an experience, or expose yourself to knowledge."
This isn't about dramatic career changes. It's about intentional discomfort. Regular reality checks. Systematic exposure to perspectives that challenge your worldview.
The courage to unlearn
Perhaps the most profound insight from Ammar's journey is this: "The more I learn, the more I understand how little I know. Anyone who professes an understanding of knowledge by definition is showing how little they know."
True CEO-level thinking isn't about having all the answers; it's about having the courage to question your assumptions, step outside your bubble, and listen to voices you've been unconsciously ignoring.
Your next move
You need not become a taxi driver to access these insights. But you do need to find your equivalent experiment:
Eat lunch with someone from a completely different department
Spend time in parts of your city you've never visited
Have real conversations with service workers
Question: Whose voices are missing from your inner circle
The taxi was just Ammar's vehicle for discovery. What will yours be?
Because leadership isn't about the corner office, the title, or the status, it's what you do when nobody is watching, when you sit beside someone you usually ignore. When you realize you've built barriers to protect your comfort rather than expand your view.
As Ammar puts it: "Leadership begins where ego ends."
The question isn't whether you can afford to step outside your bubble. The question is: can you afford not to?
Ammar Shams documented his taxi driving experience in his book "Take Me to Dubai," exploring the intersection of privilege, perception, and human connection in the modern UAE.
This article is based on an interview with Ammar Shams by me, Rohit Bassi, for ME Talkex, ME HR & Learning. Ammar Shams documented his taxi driving experience in his book "Take Me to Dubai," exploring the intersection of privilege, perception, and human connection in the modern UAE. Watch the full interview: TheTalk - Take Me To Dubai - Emirati, Ammar Shams, Becomes A Taxi Driver. Follow ME Talkex: YouTube | Follow ME Hr & Learning Website
Rohit Bassi, ROI Talks
Rohit Bassi has been given the title of "The Communication Wizard." He assists clients in improving careers, businesses, and lives. He does this by serving leaders, teams, and change-makers to be wise and impactful with their communication.
