According to the Oxford Dictionary definition, inspiration is “the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially something creative and/or innovative.” Therefore, by definition, an inspirational person is “someone who moves others’ intellect or emotions or prompts action or invention.”
One of the main reasons why I selected the IM4 Master Program among a wide set of possible choices, is the unique opportunity to meet, learn and discuss with inspiring people.
Every day spent in my class is valuable because of the incredible cultural diversity of its components. 27 students represent 12 different countries and 3 different continents.
Behind these numbers there is an entire world of values, habits, behaviors and lifestyles. Of course I have found some similarities between the Italian culture and the other EU countries, but the most exciting part was trying to deepen tmy knowledge about culture which are far away from mine like the Chinese or the American one.
This natural curiosity led me to get in touch with Robert Napoli, a 28 year old guy coming from Kansas City, Missouri – USA, passionate about life as I am and with an incredibly deep work experience. Robby, as we call him, spent 4 years working in B2B Sales and Marketing, the IT/Staffing industry partnering with Forbes 100 and Fortune companies in Des Moines, Iowa. But, besides of that, I consider him as an example of a natural leader. When it comes to leadership, stimulating others is key to success and Robby definitely knows how to leverage different capabilities from different people, encouraging them to reach the common objectives that have been set.
I personally took inspiration from his approach to build my own style of leadership and manage efficiently a multicultural group.
At the moment what the experience has taught me is that, to lead people successfully, you must:
1. Understand people’s relational needs.
2. Listen to others’ opinion.
3. Always give feedback.
4. Be able to give up leadership when it is necessary.
5. Be honest.
Eventually Robby encouraged me to put myself on the line and continue to improve and make progress in this direction.
