EVOLVE ISSUE 13
IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO INCLUDE, WE MUST MAKE PEOPLE FEEL THEY BELONG. FROM SOLIDARITY TO GENTLE LEADERSHIP: TWO COMPLEMENTARY VISIONS FOR BUILDING A SHARED, INCLUSIVE, AND TRANSFORMATIVE CORPORATE CULTURE. TO HELP US, WE HAVE EXTRACTED SOME INSIGHTS FROM THE THINKING OF SALLY HELGESEN AND PAOLA LAZZARINI.
In a rapidly changing world, talking about leadership increasingly means talking about relationships. The time for individualistic or performative models is over; now is the time for shared, inclusive visions that unite rather than divide. The motto Rise Together is not just a wish: it is a strategy. Growing together means being able to recognize differences, build bridges, and multiply points of view in order to address complexity. It also means learning to let go of the need to always be right, to open up to a culture of reciprocity, listening, and dialogue.
Two recent books – "Rising Together" by Sally Helgesen and "La grande D – Come la leadership femminile trasforma le organizzazioni" "The Big D – How Female Leadership Transforms Organizations) by Paola Lazzarini – explore this very issue from different perspectives: how to bring forth leadership that is truly shared, regenerative, and transformative. Both authors focus on the value of diversity and connection. And they invite us to rewrite the rules of power to make it more accessible, more equitable, and more humane.
Because, as Stephen Covey, author of many inspirational books, says when talking about the correlation between management and leadership: «Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.»
Building bridges for an inclusive future
Why, despite good intentions, do so many inclusion initiatives fail? That is the question posed by Sally Helgesen, one of the world's most authoritative voices on inclusive leadership and gender balance. In "Rising Together," the author offers a practical and deeply human guide to overcoming the barriers – visible and invisible – that stand in the way of full participation by all people in the workplace.
Her starting point is enlightening: if we really want to "rise together," we must recognize that men and women, people from different backgrounds, different generations, do not start from the same conditions and do not experience the same obstacles. Yet, the key to overcoming divisions lies not in denying them, but in making each other aware of the mechanisms that create frustration, misunderstanding, or disconnection.
Helgesen identifies eight relational triggers – from the tendency to control to the feeling of not being seen or valued – that can undermine trust and prevent collaboration. With concrete examples and an empathetic tone, she urges us to transform those triggers into opportunities for growth, cultivating listening, generosity, and a willingness to learn from our respective differences.
The central message is powerful and timely: true inclusion is not built with policies, but with relational awareness. In an era in which teams are increasingly hybrid, intergenerational, and multicultural, Helgesen offers us a compass for navigating change without sacrificing authenticity. Rising Together is a concrete invitation to abandon self-defense and experiment with a new – and more courageous – way of being together, at work and in life.
The transformative power of female leadership
What happens when leadership stops reproducing hierarchical and self-referential models and begins to include care, relationship, and justice as structural elements of power? According to Paola Lazzarini, sociologist and founder of the association "Donne per la Chiesa" "Women for the Church), what happens is a profound and necessary transformation of organizations.
In her book "La grande D" "The Big D), Lazzarini addresses an issue that often gets overlooked: the underrepresentation of women in decision-making positions is not just a question of numbers or equal opportunity, but an indicator of a cultural system that struggles to value alternative visions of success, authority, and impact.
The heart of her message is that female leadership should not be equated with male leadership but recognized in its own right: more dialogue-driven, horizontal, and oriented toward meaning rather than just performance. A form of leadership that brings to bear skills often considered "soft," but which prove decisive in the complex and unstable contexts in which organizations operate today.
"La grande D" is an accessible but profound essay that combines theoretical reflection, personal experience, and observation of organizational dynamics. The book does not put men against women but invites everyone to question the models of power we adopt – often unconsciously – and how they influence the way we work, collaborate, and make decisions.
At a time that calls for greater equity, collective intelligence, and cooperation, Paola Lazzarini's proposal is radical in its simplicity: to truly change organizations, we must also change the ideas we have about leadership. And embrace difference – of gender, style, and perspective – as an evolutionary resource.
DIVERSITY AS AN ASSET