Category: Educations Series

During my MBA experience at MIP, one of my focuses has been to improve my leadership skills.

Some of the courses I attended have provided me with excellent foundations, which have allowed me to further explore some topics that I consider crucial in my professional growth.

With this goal in mind, some time ago I happened to read an article by the famous management and leadership expert, Jacob Morgan. The main question he aimed to answer was, “What should we be teaching leaders now to prepare for the future?”

In order to do this, he interviewed more than 140 top CEOs from around the world and tried to summarize their answers into four main mindsets which leaders of the future should have: Global Citizen, Explorer, Servant and Chef.

The last two fascinated me the most, so I tried to look into them more deeply with Daniel Trabucchi, assistant professor at MIP Politecnico di Milano and expert in Leadership & Innovation.

“The concept of leadership” – says Professor Trabucchi – “ is going through one of the most delicate moments in its history. The drastic changes undergone by business and the world in general in recent years have meant that the new emerging theories are breaking away from the classic ones. Finding a trade-off between the two factions will therefore not be easy.

Among the mindsets that Morgan mentions, there is the ‘Servant’, the dimension that comes from the Agile world and from Scrum, which introduced the concept of Servant leader associated with the Scrum master. Nowadays, leaders must know how to put themselves at the service of their team and their organization to help them give their best, to put everyone in a position to get the most out of the available resources. A fictional example, but very appropriate to explain this type of approach, is a scene from the Netflix series, “New Amsterdam”. It is based on the story of Dr. Max Goodwin becoming the medical director of America’s oldest public hospital. In his introductory speech, everyone expects to hear about the direction he will be giving to the hospital, the decisions he will make and implement shortly thereafter. Instead, he shocks everyone with a simple sentence: ‘How can I help?’ Here, these 4 words are the fifth essence of servant leadership.”

Another mindset proposed by Morgan is that of “Chef”, which sees the leader as an expert in balancing different ingredients, including technology and humanity.

“Here, we are once again approaching the more classic themes of leadership”, continued Professor Trabucchi. “This mindset, however, adds something compared to the standard theories: chef as the one who knows how to dose those elements, not just use them, knowing when to stop with one and exaggerate with the other. This metaphor still reminds me of the agile world, from which I borrow the concept that most makes me think of chefs: cognitive flexibility. It is nothing more than the ability to combine ideas, intuitions, visions and knowledge that come from different “worlds”, making them grow on each other. A bit like the chef does in fusion cuisine, taking the flavors of different culinary cultures and combining them into something new and even better.

Approaching new technologies with this mindset, with the desire to take what they offer and reinterpret them in a new way, is what today’s leaders need.”

About the author

Usually we tend to apply what we learn in specific fields only in that field; we study it and rarely do we contaminate models coming from different disciplines. As a matter of fact, however, a lot of scientific findings come from interdisciplinary researchers. For example, Daniel Kahneman, one of a countless list, discovered the two systems of thought by using psychology, behavioural economics and decision-making principles. Finally, as a psychologist, he won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.

In our normal lives (unless working in research) we are not asked to study to expand human knowledge, but we can do something easier and more effective just by applying to our daily routine what university courses have taught us in specific modules. We could use financial principles to better plan our household budget; we could use some supplier evaluation models when it comes to buying a new piece of furniture, or we could apply some marketing rules when we need, for example, to promote ourselves.

Speaking about careers, what I think could be useful is to gather and apply some of the university teachings that can help us to have a better and more efficient career; and this is what the Career Development Center at MIP pushes candidates to do alongside their formal MBA lessons.

For example, in some lessons the lecturer encouraged us to think of our personal career as a real project to manage, with achievable objectives (such as a position to reach or a company to work for) within a defined timeframe; activities to be planned that can enable us to gain an interview and to master it; resource allocation (not only the time to spend weekly on top of our working hours, but also investments in specific courses or a premium subscription for some professional networking platform). Then there is the monitor and control phase and, really importantly, also the “change request” analysis: it is not unusual to change the scope after a period of maturation.

Another topic imported from formal studies is professional network management. Network theory is used in many disciplines such as statistics, computer science, electrical engineering, as well as sociology and neuroscience. We saw it applied for career purposes. During the courses, the lecturers encouraged us to write down a list of our personal contacts, starting from our first position up until our current job, with the field of specialization, the background and the possible connection with the company we aimed to work for or the position we planned to apply for. It might be surprising that while writing the list, more information and connections between our contacts (that we had not thought of before) popped into our minds.

Of course, simply planning their career and creating a map of contacts to systematically nurture does not ensure that the candidate will attain their desired position. There are professionals who achieve their goals without these tools and, at the same time, others who, despite their efforts, do not reach the position they desire. I think that these two instruments (together with others touched on during the Career Development courses), if consistently applied, represent a great help in defining our position on the career path. Sometimes we apply for jobs automatically and later realize that the road we are following is wrong, or not perfectly aligned. To have a map to refer to (and to fine-tune regularly) enables us to know exactly where we are, to change route, and to deepen our knowledge of matters that can help us during our career journey.

What is important is to be consistent and to beware of the mental obstacles that occur. The phrases within us like “I know a lot already”, “theory is easier than practice”, “I am who I am; I cannot change” are the worst enemies we can face during our path. They are inside us and are harder to beat because they are part of us. But like in sport or with positive habits, the hardest part is at the beginning. Once we start to work with these tools, they become part of our routine and essential to demonstrate our clear positioning during interviews.

About the author

That’s all Folks!

No, this is not the end of a Looney Tunes cartoon. This is the end of a personal growth path undertaken in the last two years of studying for the International Part-Time MBA at MIP Politecnico di Milano. Two years full of hard work but also plenty of satisfactions. Two years in which I consolidated my knowledge in the Supply Chain field, but which allowed me to get to know and explore other areas of interest in more depth, from Corporate Finance to Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.

Brick after brick, I think I managed to consolidate the foundations and build that castle that makes me feel, today, a better professional than I was in October 2019.

Now I would like to focus on the culmination of my journey: Closet Relay, the object of my project work. Closet Relay is a business idea which was born among MIP’s desks, starting from the concepts learned in the Innovation Leadership course, with my fellow adventurer, Alessandro Calvino, and my colleagues, Marco Postorino and Elisa Serra.

The goal was to create a digital platform focused on the long-term rental of luxury clothing and accessories for children. How many times during your childhood did you hear your parents saying: “Better buy it a bigger size, so it’ll fit you for longer?” And, in fact, this is what often happens to children, as in 47% of cases, their clothes are disposed of due to an issue relating to size and fit. This fact causes an enormous environmental impact, feeding the 92 million tonnes of textile waste generated worldwide every year.

Closet Relay, with its long-term rental business model for luxury garments, would allow the useful life of the products to be extended by up to three times. And this effect would be further amplified by the creation of an “outlet” channel, dedicated to the sale of second-hand garments that can no longer be rented as they are not being worn any more (they are no longer considered “as new”).

To develop this idea, we have applied most of the concepts learned in the last two years: from strategic planning (internal and external analysis, market positioning, competitor analysis), to marketing (touchpoints and customer journeys), from logistics to financial planning.

We have also applied innovative simulation techniques, such as Monte Carlo analysis. This allowed us to identify the optimal rental price configurations, mix of items and logistics networks.

Closet Relay not only allowed us to end our MBA path with “icing on the cake”, but also to win a prestigious international contest in the luxury sector: the Mark Challenge contest, organized by the University of Monaco.

This has given us good international visibility, but, above all, it has allowed us to get in touch with professionals, investors and companies which helped us in further improving ourselves. And who knew that this idea, born among MIP’s desks, could one day become a beautiful reality?

So, are we sure “That’s all folks”? Maybe not. After all, as an old Hindi saying goes: “Never Stop Learning Because Life Never Stops Teaching”.

About the author

After the discussion of our Project Work, Edoardo and I were hanging out, relieved and relaxed, waiting for our colleagues Giuseppe and Antonio so that we could go and celebrate together. We began summing up our feelings, our emotions, and our understandings at the end of those two intense years of the Part-Time MBA.

F: Why did you decide to enrol in an MBA course at MIP? Since I decided that an MBA was the step I was missing in my learning path, choosing MIP was quite easy. I’m an engineer, Politecnico di Milano is my alma mater, and I knew that I wanted a focus on innovation and technology. But you have a different background!

E: You’re right. I achieved a Master’s Degree in Foreign Languages for International Relations, which gave me a solid base of linguistic skills and robust theoretical knowledge to help me to develop very useful soft skills, in particular negotiation and cultural intelligence. I also learnt the initial models of micro- and macroeconomics. Those skills were crucial in the early part of my career, in a sales department managing stakeholder relations and interests and working out internal processes. What about you? In class you were one of the few with a role in operations. I can still remember when you introduced yourself on the first day: “My working background is on construction sites, a tough, harsh environment: along with learning, I’m here to improve my relational soft skills, so if you perceive me as rough, please tell me”. Do you think you’ve achieved your aims?

F: Among people in sales, marketing, HR, R&D, planning and consulting roles, we’re a true minority! And as far as my soft skills are concerned, I think I’ve succeeded. Teamwork was a real challenge for me at the beginning, and a couple of hours ago we delivered a project that is the synthesis of the passion and efforts of four different minds and strong personalities. Conflicts forced me to practice emotional intelligence, tight deadlines to collaborate, different mindsets and backgrounds to train adaptability. I was able to listen and learn from all my colleagues, and I was amazed by your ability to de-escalate disharmony in our team, like a conductor recalling soloists to the music. How about your soft skills journey?

E: At the beginning, I can say that I had an advantage. I think commercial roles are true gyms for quickly developing soft skills, exposing you to various situations when people, interests, behaviours, and expectations must be put together on the same scale. But facing different working styles was a challenge for me too: I was worried that three engineers in the same team as me might be a nightmare! In particular, my biggest fear was that the gap in scientific and technical knowledge between me and you would prevent efficient communication and teamwork. Quite the opposite! One of the most important lessons is to transform differences in values, together, as a team. In fact, what I didn’t expect on my MBA journey was that classmates are not just a part of the package but the glasses that make you focus better and, often, the reason why you won’t give up.

F: That’s part of the biggest question. What about your initial expectations, two years later?

E: Take a step backwards. My work training was a “learning on the job” style: I often had the chance to verify and reject the effectiveness of my theoretical knowledge on the ground. Despite this experience, it was crystal clear in my mind that something was missing: I had many dots in my mind but still, few links. And this applies both to my learning and my career path, as I like to think of them linked together. To be honest, I was a bit lost too; rushing through everyday life wasn’t allowing me to put things in order and there was increasing chaos. I needed a roadmap for my personal career, but above all for my immediate future.
The outcome of the MBA experience? I took one step back and a deep breath, and I can now see the bigger picture! Dedicating the last two years to my personal growth has put everything else into perspective and given me a new, specific knowledge and mindset about who I should (and want to) be as a professional. I have collected a lot of specific hints and precise directions to dive deeper into what most interests me.

F: I had similar feelings when I was evaluating whether a Part-Time MBA at MIP was the right choice for me. The lack of a bigger picture was a trigger for me too. If I wanted to be the main character in my future career, I needed to change my point of view to set the path. I felt like I was walking in the jungle and I felt stuck in an environment that I knew and I was able to face, but I was not completely aware of the dynamics and the final destination of my path. I decided to climb the hill and reach the observation point so that I could understand where I was and decide where I wanted to go.
This mindset of curiosity, an openness and a propensity to get involved are keys to achieving a change in your point of view. And I agree when you say that colleagues help us to focus better on this target: a shared involvement helps you to overcome your personal limits and accept new challenges. We learn during the classes, but we also learn from each other: I can’t count how many times seeing different approaches and expertise at work amazed me and helped me to improve myself. Do you remember how we, the three engineers on the project work, were amazed by your perception map?

E: That was cool! But I should say, “the three engineers” is a joke: your personalities and approaches are so different! And I should say, this is a real chance to learn. The more diverse the people you work with, the more opportunities you have to be enriched.

F: I’m grateful to have shared my MBA experience with such diverse people. From the top of the hill, each of us will leave with new targets and a new path: but we’ll definitely keep in touch, we’ve shared such a meaningful period in our lives.

About the authors