Training tomorrow’s leaders

What does it mean to develop competencies for future managers? And what are the must-have skills they need to tackle the managerial challenges awaiting them? These are the central questions in the latest work curated by Enzo Baglieri entitled Manager del futuro (Managers of the Future), published by Egea.

The portrait of a successful manager may look like a paradigm: an economics or technical background fortified by years of working in the company and solid experience abroad. But in today’s turbulent, uncertain business scenario, nothing is more in flux than the reasons behind the success of different leadership models. That’s why the ideal manager is not the one who crafts corporate strategy based on answers, but the one who focuses on the questions instead. This inquiry-driven leadership means maintaining a creative approach to face ongoing changes. And stemming from this approach, also considering these changes in professional scenarios and in the work world, is a renewed interest in lifetime education.

In light of the SDA Bocconi School of Management experience, now spanning five decades, this book presents an overview of the most distinctive competencies needed to grow in leadership positions and senior management. Manager del futuro represents a useful guide for readers who want to navigate the complex field of management education and understand what it means to have a post-graduate experience.

If you had to choose a single skill that is indispensable for future managers, what would it be?

The ability to read complex phenomena and respond in an equally complex way. This means first you have to have broad competencies and the capacity to integrate them. But complicating matters is the speed of change, which necessarily means having a penchant for studying and lifelong learning.

As far as post-grad education, what role does it play, and how important is it for a career in management today?

The job market always places a premium on education, if it’s high quality. But we can’t deny that there’s a general lack of understanding, even in HR departments and among headhunters, about the unique offerings and the differences between programs run by the country’s top business schools. It’s not uncommon to use ‘master’ to label a course that only lasts a few days, or even just a few sessions. At times because some management training providers, even well-known organizations, add to this confusion with the titles of their programs.

What are the chief changes in today’s job market that are potentially interesting for future managers?

Data-driven decision-making, fintech and sustainability are some of the most vibrant areas of expertise. What’s more, companies are changing their stripes, even Italian family firms. Many companies are quickly pivoting from an entrepreneurial to a managerial approach, mainly thanks to generational change. These new generations train at the best schools in the countries, so they know they need to surround themselves with people who have a similar post-graduate education in management.

SDA Bocconi offers learning experiences in various sectors, including art, culture and luxury. How can programs with an economics or business bent be blended with a background in humanities?

Applying an economic-financial and managerial approach to the world of art and culture doesn’t necessarily mean looking to make a profit. Instead, it means creating the conditions for sustainability (including social sustainability), enabling organizations to give fair compensation for the competencies and the people who live and work for art, preserving the values of culture over time.

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SDA Bocconi School of Management