I am Change
I transcribe the interview in Rocking Talent magazine - A Disruptive Magazine for Disruptive People which can be seen here
I am Change
By Leila Ovando 6th August 2020
Motivator of change and citizen of the world. This is how Piero Gandini defines himself, expert in Progressive Management, among many other characteristics that differentiate him from the rest and make him a perso who lives what he preaches.
For some years now, we are facing a new paradigm in the world of talent management that prioritizes people over the rest because it understands that if the person is well, their relationships, their work, their leisure ... in itself, their life it will flow in a natural and organic way. This is what Piero Gandini defends and works for every day, on his website highlights “More humanity, better future”
I am constantly in the process of evolution, of transforming myself, and that is part of what helps people and companies change. I speak from my own reality
Empathy or nothing
In an interview with Rocking Talent Piero explained what it is to be a progressive manager. It is not just looking to the future, in innovation or in the digital world.
“To be a progressive manager is to be a nonconformist who defies the status quo with courage and determination. It is to have an accompanying style on your leadership. To be a progressive leader is to leave no one behind ”.
The protagonist is empathy because we are talking about putting people first. In addition we are talking about vulnerability, because we must recognize that we do not always have all the answers "and in fact this pandemic has made us all more vulnerable." Piero argues that it is in times of crisis that companies are best known, positively and negatively.
Many have understood it and these organizations that have known how to position themselves in time and space are the ones that will be successful, “for me success is not individual or of the company itself, but of the group that is within the company because you care about people ”.
It is very common to hear cases in which employees are not entirely satisfied with their bosses, either due to their unwillingness to change or due to attitudinal issues. However, Piero Gandini expresses that it is also common to meet organizations in which the working teams are the one that resist change. How do you work when there is opposition?
"You have to connect with the people." It highlights again the relevance of practicing empathy and the need to find those people who can be influencers of the positive points of the change that initiate the domino effect, those who are convinced.
“It is very rare for a team to be 100% resistant. When it's like this you have to look up ”(referring to higher levels of governance).
Strategy, culture and purpose
There is a phrase by Peter Drucker that says “strategy eats culture at breakfast ”what do you think of this?
This happens because there is no coherence between what I do and who I am. For this not to happen you must be clear about your essence and live it and act in coherence with that. Any strategy that I base on my essence, you cannot eat my culture because I am my culture. If that happens it is because they are not speaking the same language.
"The culture must be the one that gives birth to the strategy and they must be aligned." "I am radically positive and I believe in purpose," says Gandini, who works fundamentally for people and the company to have their own essence and that is related to the key elements: mission, vision and values, but above that, purpose .
Together with his team, they address transformation processes only for those who want to have a positive impact on people, the company and the planet. “If it only happens for productivity or the collaborators alone, no. I want to support the contribution to make the world and the future better”.
Believer in Change
“I am constantly in the process of evolution, of transforming myself, and that is part of what helps people and companies change. I speak from my own reality and that's why is that I have the authority to speak ”but of the collective that is within the company because you care about people ”, says the ex-diplomat and humanitarian worker Piero Gandini, who together with his wife have already lived in more than 10 countries and their children, just 14 years old, have grown up in 4 of them.
Practice by example what you want organizations to do. Not moving, but cheering for the unknown or giving uncertainty. "That vulnerability should not scare you,it gives you courage ”, he maintains. When we closed one door,another that was not even known to exist, opened.
In the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic, the Gandini family decided to leave their home and undertake a move to the Netherlands. Do the kids know the language? They do not know that culture is very different from Spanish? Yes, they very wel aware of it.
The engine of change of this decision was the need to shake off our comfort, go behind the future and be convinced that the best is yet to come.
The world is full of situations and it is a choice to see them all as opportunities. Every time a decision is made that shakes the status quo, comfort and safety, a process of changes are generated that turn into domino effects that affect and motivate those around us.
“My transformation processes are linked to management because not only do I transform myself as a person and individual, but I transform my way of managing and leading teams, that helps change happen. If we don't change from the inside out, It ends up being mere makeup ”.
How do you think this new normal that we all have to face will be and what is being?
What is emerging is the exercise of co-creation. The future now is not how I make money or how I am the most recognized, but how I join hands with other people to do something that makes sense and generates a positive impact.