Purposes: The purpose of this paper is to reveal interview findings from an empirical study, conducted with a nursing education leader currently working in the UAE, to remedy the paucity of literature, related to leadership issues in nursing education in the country; and to synthesize all relevant literature review material into proposing a culturally suitable model for nursing education leadership in the UAE. Design: A review of the literature on authentic transformative leadership was conducted and select successful leadership attributes have been discussed. A hermeneutic, phenomenological, semi-structured interview with a nursing leader in the field of nursing education currently working in the UAE was also conducted. Findings: Emerging themes reflected global patterns such as the presence of a hierarchical leadership model, lack of communication, poor teaching resources and low student numbers. Successful attributes that can help cope with the challenges include-taking care of self, building the trust economy, perseverance, maintaining strong professional networks and cultivating relationships among faculty members. The Excellence in Nursing Education Model by the National League for Nursing has been adapted for the proposed conceptual model for successful nursing education in the UAE.