Who am I? Which is my professional mission? I am a "People focused Problem Solver".
For a number of professionals the answer to such questions is quite challenging. In my case it could include: a Professor, a Consultant, a Coach, a Management Guru ,among others. Why a "Problem Solver", then. Well, this definition came out from some of my clients, when answering the very same question. Who are the clients, whom I can serve best: business leaders, HR managers, business owners. For which kind of problem am I useful? Business problems, which involve a people performance issue, in terms of knowledge, competencies or mindset. How did I get to becoming a "Problem Solver specialised on people performance"? As most of us with a bit of vision and a lot of chance. |
As a consultant at McKinsey & Company I have learned very important core skills and I have started my professional journey .
Outstanding colleagues and clients were my sparring partners for learning core competencies such as problem solving, communication, trust based service, commitment, self efficacy. Through th journey, I have developed my personal framing of key business challenges: most of the time they issue lies with people and not with technology, knowledge or strategy. Such considerations gave birth to my curiosity in terms of people performance, motivation, mindset and behaviours. |
ESCP Europe came back into my life 6 years after graduation. As an alumni, I was called in for proposing a candidate city for the school's fifth campus in Italy. Together with other alumni and friends, we have proposed the winning candidate: the city of Torino. I have then been asked to "run the shop", which I did for 10 years, after leaving McKinsey & Company.
Joining an academic environment allowed me build up upon my consulting background and add academic rigour and teaching skills: I have competed my PhD and started to teach straight away. The blend of on-the-field business experiences, as a consultant and "ex-catedra" academic experiences, it has soon developed as a distintive capability, which is quite rare on the market and highly appreciated by the business world. |
Harvard Business School is indeed a key pillar in my development as a "People focused Problem Solver". During my transition from consulting to the academy I was challenged by learning to be a good researcher and a good teacher. A PhD is the main stream solution to the research challenge. Whereby, teaching is mostly learnt by doing. At HBS I have found a community of distinguished professionals, who put teaching at the center of their interests and the do teach how to teach. Joining their CPCL faculty program was a great decision: I have accelerated my learning about teaching and changing people in terms of their knowledge, their skills and their mindset.
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Mastering whichever ability takes time, practice, dedication, plateau and failures. Q-Labs, my lab, is my marketplace, my platform, where I serve, teach, advise, undertake, administrate.
Each experience lead me an inch closer to my mission: help people to solve business problems, where people can make the difference. My vision of scaling my approach is still far away; for now I serve each client personally and with the objective of becoming their "People Problem Solver" of choice. |