Leading Through the Unexpected: the courage to lead through change
26 settembre 2025 - Forbes Italia, Milano

Last night I had the honor of speaking at the WOBI event, Leading Through the Unexpected. A topic that feels very close to me, because today more than ever, leading an organization means facing the unexpected and turning challenges into opportunities for growth.
On stage with me were Stefano Caselli, Dean of SDA Bocconi, and Cesare Carcano, President of Casaforte Self Storage. Together we discussed leadership in a fast-changing, often unpredictable world — one that requires not only vision and strategy, but above all agility, courage, and adaptability.
I shared my belief that leadership can no longer be understood as an exercise of top-down control. Today, a true leader is an enabler — someone who builds trust, distributes responsibility, and creates the conditions for people to fully express their value.
For me, this translates into a concept I’ve been championing for years and told in a book: Braveship. A courageous leadership style that abandons old hierarchical patterns and embraces new, distributed, and more human organizational models. At Var Group, we are experiencing this every day: freedom, autonomy, and shared responsibility are not slogans, but concrete practices that generate trust, innovation, and results.
The evening was further enriched by the presentation of Alessandro Zollo, CEO of Great Place To Work® Italy, who shared the findings of a European survey conducted with over 25,000 workers. It was a powerful confirmation: company culture and effective leadership are key to competitiveness, innovation, and people’s well-being.
My heartfelt thanks go to WOBI for creating such a stimulating space for discussion, Forbes Italia for hosting us at their new Milan offices, and to all the participants with whom I had the chance to exchange ideas and experiences.
In a world where change is the rule, I am more convinced than ever that distributed leadership is not an option but a necessary choice. The real question now is: who is ready to embrace it?