Editorials

For inclusive leadership: shared vision, deep listening and authentic relationships

6 August 2025

3' min read

Every organisation goes through different phases: initial spurts, sudden accelerations, moments of loss or slowdown. In all these transitions, the leader's role does not end with pointing out the direction. On the contrary: it is precisely when the course is uncertain that the value of a leadership capable of listening emerges. Because a leader who does not listen, sooner or later also stops seeing what really matters. And when this happens, even the most ambitious project can lose strength, cohesion, momentum.

Today we live in an era in which complexity has taken the place of linearity. Coordinates have become mobile, traditional references less reliable. Algorithms, artificial intelligence, competitive pressures and global crises continuously redefine what we consider 'normal'. In this context, the real challenge of leadership is not to have all the answers, but to be able to unite people around a shared meaning.

The book The Courage and the Vision. Alexander the Great and generative leadership (by Gianfranco di Pietro and Andrea Lipparini, Il Mulino, 2025), from which this reflection takes its cue, starts from an emblematic moment in the history of the Macedonian leader: the mutiny of his army on the banks of a river on the borders of India. After years of extraordinary conquests, Alexander the Great suddenly found himself isolated. The soldiers, worn out by the battles, the climate, the lack of a discernible goal, refused to go on. It was not a physical rebellion, but a symbolic one: they no longer recognised themselves in their leader's vision.

This episode highlights an ever-present theme: the loss of trust does not occur because of a strategic error, but because of an emotional breakdown. When the leader disconnects from his team, when he stops listening and picking up on weak signals, the implicit pact that holds the group together is broken. And even the most brilliant strategy risks failing.

In the corporate world, the same happens. The companies that succeed in growing sustainably are those that do not just give orders, but build relationships. Those that act as a One Company, where the consistency between words and behaviour, between declared values and daily practices, is tangible. In these realities, the vision is not just a manifesto, but a shared culture.

The generative leader is not the one who drags others along with charisma, but the one who creates the conditions for everyone to give their best. He is the one who recognises fatigue, who welcomes dissent as a stimulus, who nurtures energy instead of burning it. He is able to read the context and, above all, the people. Because the real competitive advantage today lies not in material resources, but in the quality of relationships.

As mentioned in the preface to the book: 'No leadership is possible without a deep understanding of human nature. Only those who can create authentic connections and shared meaning can lead people in uncertain contexts'. It is a message that goes straight to the heart of contemporary organisations. The ability to listen - the real one, not the instrumental one - is no longer an optional soft skill, but a strategic element. As is the ability to orchestrate differences, to value heterogeneous perspectives, to prevent misalignment before it turns into disenchantment.

People never forget how we make them feel. Trust is played out in the details: a glance, an exclusion, an incoherent message. Generative leadership stems precisely from here: from the realisation that leading means taking care of the connections that unite people to a direction.

It is not an easy model. It requires presence, lucidity, courage. But it is the only one that can stand the test of time. Because it does not build followers, but companions. It does not impose, but involves. It does not consume, but regenerates. Today more than ever, we need leadership that knows how to combine vision and humanity. Leadership that can see far, but also remain close. Because in a world where everything changes quickly, the true fixed point remains the relationships we know how to build.

Benedetto Vigna is CEO of Ferrari; Andrea Lipparini is Professor of Business Strategy at the University of Bologna and associate dean at the Bologna Business School.

The book:

Courage and vision. Alexander the Great and generative leadership, by G. Di Pietro and A. Lipparini. Preface by Benedetto Vigna, Il Mulino editore, 2025.