“In Italy I was an employee, while in Greece I am a leader”, the views on leadership of the director of the Italian Institute in Athens, Francesco Neri.
Effective leadership is a very important factor in the workplace. Given the conditions of the post-Covid era, as well as the constant changes taking place in society today, a competent leader is vital in every workplace. Leadership is characterized as the ability to influence an individual or a group, so that they voluntarily and willingly strive for the realization of goals with the greatest possible efficiency. This term has changed significantly today, as we have moved from a more authoritarian concept of leadership to an era characterized more by co-creation and democratization. Therefore, in this day and age, the skills one needs in order to be considered a “good” leader have changed. From the ability to create a friendly atmosphere, to the development of one’s Emotional Intelligence so as to invest in relationships between staff, these skills help reduce turnover rates and promote efficiency in the workplace, along with ensuring that employees are happy and motivated. Therefore, whether we’re focusing on a public or a private organization, its leader, in addition to all the responsibilities they must fulfill, must contribute to the creation of a healthy work climate.
Therefore, in the context of our course “Leadership and Emotional Intelligence” in the Department of Communication, Media and Culture at Panteion University, we completed a project on Job Shadowing. As such, we got in touch with the director of the Italian Institute of Athens, Francesco Neri, with the aim of understanding the daily life of this particular leader.
Our choice of this leader was determined by the fact that we considered it very important to contact a person from a public institution, since most of the time, when we are asked to think of a leader, we turn to private companies. Thus, we challenged ourselves to think “out of the box”, and learn the details of the responsibilities of a leader in a public institution. The interview took place at the Italian Institute of Athens. In a first stage we toured the site and photographed some of the works of art that were there. We then proceeded to Mr. Neri’s office, where with his friendly disposition and enthusiasm we began the interview. The climate created by the leader himself consequently created a lot of familiarity and a willingness for discussion.
Starting with the interview we asked some basic questions regarding his leadership and experience. We started by learning more specifically about his responsibilities in this role. He mentioned that as director, he oversees the smooth running of Italian courses, the organization of different cultural events, collaborations, but also parts that are less interesting to him, such as paperwork and other bureaucratic processes.
The second question was based on the pros and cons of the role he has as a director in a public institution. Mainly on the positive side, he mentioned the fact that he has come in contact with different cultures, that he has lived in different and new places, each of which has contributed to his personal development, and that he has a constant contact with art, acquiring continuous cultural enrichment. On the negative side, however, he spoke mainly about the fact that, since he has to change countries from time to time, this brings difficulties to his family as they follow him. He seemed to empathize with his family members, including his children, who struggled to make friends when they first arrived in Greece, and his wife, who left her job in Italy when they moved here. He told us that he has lived, apart from Italy, in Luxembourg, France and now in Greece. So, another downside of his work is the fact that different ways of thinking prevail in each country, to which he must adapt as a leader.
When asked to refer to the skills that a good leader must have, he mentioned as very important the ability to adapt, both internally, with the company’s employees, and externally, with the agencies with which the Italian Institute collaborates. He emphasized that it is important not to be absolute, but to collectively listen to everyone’s proposals and not to consider yours as best. Characteristically, he told us that sometimes, even though the initial proposal is rejected, the second or third one is ultimately more effective compared to the original one.
What really struck us when he was asked to describe a typical day at work is that when he enters the workplace, he talks to the employees every day. He wants to have a more direct contact with them, because, as he told us, he aims for authenticity in his relationships. As he told us, based on his personal experience, many times in company meetings, employees don’t talk about what worries them. On the contrary, on an interpersonal level they are much more receptive to communicating their problems. As he told us, he socializes a lot with his staff because he aims to understand and solve their problems, but also to create a more meaningful relationship with them. With the characteristic phrase that he mentioned “In Italy I was an employee, while in Greece I am a leader”, he spoke to us about the importance of emotional intelligence. He mentioned that because he has been in the position of the employee, he can understand more directly his employees’ thoughts and help them appropriately. Therefore, he understands their feelings through empathy, a crucial skill that every leader ought to possess.
At the same time, he told us that a large part of his responsibilities includes crisis management, through the prevention and constant resolution of problems that arise. He informed us that from experience he has learned the necessity of “self-leadership” so that he can remain calm in difficult situations. He explained to us that in the situation of a crisis, one must have patience and not act impulsively, giving oneself enough time to observe developments before making a decision.
At the same time, we referred to the changes that the institution underwent during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the way in which it managed this grand change, both concerning the employees and in relation to the institution itself, since Mr. Neri was then located in France. We also discussed the actions it’s still taking in the post-coronavirus era. As such, the concept of adaptability came up again, after he described to us that the language courses had to be transferred online. When he noticed that people still prefer taking classes online, he told us that he kept that option even in the post-pandemic era, while in terms of cultural events, people prefer to attend them in person, leading him to find ways after the pandemic to organize them despite the restrictions.
So, through this interesting experience, we saw up close the high responsibility that a leader possesses regardless of the field in which they are. Also, very important was what we heard about the leadership of both employees and partners, as well as the management of cross-culturalism and adaptability of the leader. Through this specific Job Shadowing we understood the difficulties and various problems that the leader is called to face, but also the need for adaptability, authenticity, understanding, empathy, along with “self-leadership” that they must possess, in order to successfully lead a team people.
The hospitality at the site was excellent, as we then came in contact with some employees, wwith whom we spoke about various issues both related and unrelated to their workplace, while in general the impressions they had of Mr. Francesco Neri as a leader were incredibly positive. As a group we gained a very beautiful experience, as we saw in practice subjects that we cover at an academic level. It was a meeting full of “new” lessons for all of us.
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Our Team: Clairvoyants
