Training

Inclusivity: how to build strategic relationships to manage complexity

Inclusion is becoming a key skill for building effective partnerships, valuing generational and cultural diversity, and tackling current economic and social challenges

by Luca Brambilla* and Barbara Falcomer**

18 September 2026

Aggiungi Il Sole 24 Ore
ai preferiti su Google

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Inclusivity as an enabler of relationships
Diversity as a response to the demographic crisis
Challenges and the value of intergenerational exchange
Communication as the infrastructure of inclusion

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Today, more than ever, there is a need for inclusion. Not only in the name of the ethical principle of equality, but also as a matter of pure practical necessity. Forging alliances and embracing a plurality of perspectives are the key to unravelling the complexities of the modern world.

Inclusivity as an enabler of relationships

The Edelman Trust Barometer 2026 highlights a worrying trend: seven out of ten people across 28 countries say they are reluctant to trust those whose values, backgrounds or approaches to issues differ from their own. The report refers to ‘insularity’ – a tendency to retreat into homogeneous circles fuelled by economic anxiety, geopolitical tensions and technological disorientation. This phenomenon is making its way into organisations, teams and negotiations. In a context where people are increasingly distrustful of those who are ‘different’, building relationships that transcend one’s own cultural, generational and value-based boundaries becomes a rare and decisive competitive advantage.

To achieve business objectives, we need to collaborate, and to collaborate, we need to communicate. But communication cannot be left to chance: those who communicate instinctively tend to focus on their own interests at the expense of those of the person they are speaking to. And a self-centred approach cannot, by definition, lead to a meaningful dialogue.

We must therefore shift towards a form of communication known as ‘strategic’, which emphasises three essential elements: I (the interests of the communicator), You (the interests of the interlocutor) and Context (the economic, legal, temporal, spatial and personal factors that influence the relationship). This is a style that can be described as inclusive in the etymological sense of the term: it ‘includes’, that is, ‘encompasses within a whole’ everything needed to build a relationship that is sustainable over time. A non-inclusive relationship is an empty bond, stripped of the energy that makes it effective in achieving business objectives.

Diversity as a response to the demographic crisis

Italia is in the midst of an unprecedented demographic crisis. In 2024, fewer than 370,000 children were born, with a fertility rate of 1.18 children per woman – the lowest level ever recorded (ISTAT, 2025). The average age of the workforce has reached 44.2 years, with the proportion aged over 50 having risen by 23 percentage points over the past twenty years (Confesercenti, 2025).

Closing the gender gaps in labour force participation would increase per capita GDP growth by 0.23 percentage points per annum across the OECD; for Italia, which is among the countries with the widest disparities, the potential gain is even greater.

Research by Valore D shows that there is still a long way to go: almost 80 per cent of Italian workers believe that their company still has a lot of work to do in terms of diversity and equity. The gender pay gap stands at 17.4 per cent in the private sector (Eurostat, 2024) and the proportion of women in senior management – although at 34 per cent (Grant Thornton, 2026) – is falling for the second year running.

But how can companies that are moving in the opposite direction measure their impact? Valore D and the Politecnico di Milano have developed the Inclusion Impact Index Plus, a tool for mapping Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies and preparing for gender equality certification (Law 162/2021).

The solution to the demographic crisis also lies in multiculturalism. Paradoxically, in order to preserve ‘Made in Italy’, it is necessary to draw on a foreign workforce. A prime example is Fincantieri: at the Monfalcone shipyard, 40 per cent of the 6,000 workers are Bangladeshi. CEO Pier Roberto Folgiero is committed to genuine integration, supported by welfare services and Italian language courses, demonstrating that inclusion and productive identity are not mutually exclusive.

The challenges and value of intergenerational exchange

The report Beyond Generations (Valore D, 2024) highlights how up to four generations – from Baby Boomers to Gen Z – now coexist within companies, each with profoundly different expectations and relationships with technology. The most forward-thinking organisations are responding with reverse mentoring programmes and deliberately constructed multigenerational teams: not out of philanthropy but out of necessity, given that 88 per cent of Italian companies are already struggling to find the talent they need (HR Observatory, Politecnico di Milano).

The demographic crisis and longer working lives also call for a rethink of career paths: professionals over 50 who have been ‘pushed out’ are increasingly being rehired, whilst younger staff – penalised by the automation of entry-level tasks by AI – are being thrust into complex roles before they are ready. It is the task of business leaders and HR professionals to create synergies between generations and to redesign development pathways that transform this diversity from an obstacle into an asset.

Communication as the infrastructure of inclusion

In a world that is becoming increasingly closed off, organisations that know how to be open have a real competitive advantage. But openness is not just an attitude: it is a skill. Companies that successfully integrate different generations, cultures and perspectives do so because they have invested in their people’s ability to communicate beyond their own boundaries, to recognise the interests of others as part of their own, and to build relationships that hold up even under pressure.

This is the true infrastructure of inclusion: not policies, not reports, not certifications, however necessary they may be. Without the ability to form genuine relationships with those who are different from us, every tool remains a dead letter. And in an age when seven out of ten people struggle to trust those who are not like them, this ability is more valuable than ever.

*Director of the Academy of Strategic Communication

**Managing Director, Valore D