This qualitative study was performed to probe transformational leadership in Dubai. It primarily focused on senior leaders within two business sectors: higher education and the media. The ultimate interest was understanding the leaders' perceptions of transformational leadership and its applications. Another aspect of this study is answering the question, "How do leaders in Dubai perceive transformational leadership and its effects on businesses in higher education and media sectors?" The primary data were obtained from eight in-depth interviews with senior leaders at eight business bodies in Dubai. Split into two interviews, each leader was asked to respond to 14 open-ended questions. Used as the backbone of the study, the literature review provided insights into existing knowledge on three themes: (a) the practical application of transformational leadership, (b) theories of transformational leadership and its application to businesses, and (c) globalization and culture of transformational leadership in the Middle East versus the world. The theory assessed is transformational leadership. According to Al-Obthani and Meen (2019), transformational leadership theory involves inspiring and motivating individuals to be creative and innovative in the organization. After assessing these themes, the research examined leaders' perceptions of transformational leadership, its impact, and its implementation in their businesses to improve achievement and results. The results revealed that senior organizational leaders in the Middle East identify certain aspects as critical when considering transformational leadership in higher education and media, including charisma, innovativeness and creativity, inspirational motivation, and individualized consideration (Turnnidge & Cote, 2018). Moreover, Al-Shibami et al. (2019) suggested that cultural and national values differentiate Middle Eastern leaders from those elsewhere in the world, as organizational culture is embedded in the region's national values and cultural heritage. However, with globalization, there has been a cultural unification, which has influenced the concept of transformational leadership in the Middle East. Consequently, applying transformational leadership has various positives for business leaders in this region, including encouraging team enthusiasm, promoting positive organizational changes, highlighting the importance of communication, increasing employee efficiency, enabling collective decision-making, showing flexibility, building engagement and retention, motivating and enhancing autonomy, and fostering creativity and innovation among team members. The findings also revealed several negatives about transformational leadership in Dubai, including challenges in avoiding risk and having a short-term vision, possible struggles in balancing Western leadership styles with Middle Eastern collectivist culture, and a cautious approach aimed at avoiding disruption to stability, which may indicate reluctance to fully embrace innovative practices; strategies such as "phased implementation" may also slow down the pace of innovation.