Leadership, curiosity and innovation: an interview with Roberto Verganti

On Friday 20 September, Roberto Verganti, Professor of Leadership and Innovation and co-founder of the Leadin'Lab at the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Economics and Business Administration by the University of Vaasa in Finland.

The award, which was officially announced last July, is the highest academic recognition given by the University of Finland to outstanding personalities who have distinguished themselves through their scientific and social contributions, bringing significant benefits to the University and the country.

On this occasion, we met Prof. Verganti to talk about the path that led to this important achievement.

The PhD is typically the beginning of an academic career. Thinking back to your beginnings and the challenges you faced, what advice would you give to the "Roberto of the past"?

I come from a simple family on the outskirts of Milan. When Prof. Emilio Bartezzaghi proposed an academic career to me, I had no idea what it meant. Students only see the teaching part of what we do, but they don't know how much work goes on behind the scenes. When I started, I was completely inexperienced and had no clear idea of the path I wanted to take. If I had had the time then, I might have focused on my overall development as a person. The academic work soon turned into a leadership role. No one had prepared me for the role of a lecturer, let alone for leading a team or an institution.

Thinking instead about the challenges that a doctoral student faces when entering the world of academia and research today, what has changed? What advice would you give to today's doctoral students?

If I had to make a suggestion today, it would be to devote more time to personal growth, in addition to research and training.

I advise PhD students to take care of their growth as individuals, not just as researchers. Research also benefits from this. Especially at a time when technologies are presenting us with not inconsiderable moral challenges.

Do you think that people starting a PhD now are getting this kind of training?

Not yet. If we talk about the global academic world (not necessarily the Politecnico di Milano), there is an increasing focus on research and less on teaching, so that someone who grows up as a PhD has little training in teaching. He/she learns a little on his/her own and a little by shadowing other lecturers who are themselves self-taught. Above all, they receive no real training in leadership. The result is that you select and create very capable researchers who are very good at working alone, but who have not developed the sensitivity and sophistication of leading and developing others.

My recommendation is to take more time and not to sacrifice personal growth and teaching for the sake of getting research results quickly. Researchers must first and foremost be women and men of great sensitivity and depth. Unfortunately, we see universities as cathedrals of knowledge, which is true and very important, but knowledge is worth little (or even dangerous) without human depth. Who takes care of this?

What value do you place on research and what does research mean to you today?

From a personal point of view, research is one of the best jobs in the world. It allows us to learn continuously, in areas that we have chosen for ourselves, and to share what we have learned and our view of the world with others. It is one of the most enjoyable things in life and a great personal satisfaction.

From a university perspective, research is the engine that drives the ability to teach. Beyond articles and patents, the most powerful contribution that research makes to society is through the students we educate.

It is vital for research to enjoy full freedom, especially at a time like the present, which is marked by crucial challenges. A case in point is the Covid-19 pandemic: thanks to the efforts of a few researchers, who initially did not receive the recognition they deserved, we were able to develop a vaccine in record time and come out of the crisis in just eight months. Fortunately, the academic world is free, otherwise Drew Weissman and Katalin Kariko' would not have been able to continue their mRNA research (with enormous difficulties).

Research can produce concrete results in the face of all kinds of challenges, such as sustainability, where it is essential to find solutions that reduce our impact on the environment, or in the field of management, where the ultimate goal is for people to develop critical thinking that helps guide organisations in a complex world.

The university should not just be a place to learn methods and tools, but rather an environment to cultivate this critical thinking about what surrounds us. After all, it is leaders who set the course for the world's future. Often, caught up in the urgency of teaching concepts and models, we risk forgetting the importance of educating people capable of free and deep reflection, men and women capable of making decisions with a broader and more conscious vision of the reality around them.

In addition to critical thinking and vision, those who work with you recognise your great curiosity. Where does this curiosity come from and how do you nurture it?

Curiosity comes from ambition and from knowing that you don't know. In the university system there is always pressure to prove what you know, but true curiosity is knowing that you don't know, because it allows you to discover what you don't know.

It is awareness that drives us to do better, to achieve a level of satisfaction of which we can be proud.

Much of your research is done in collaboration with companies. Does real innovation come from this synergy?

Absolutely. I have been fortunate to work with many managers and many leaders who have embraced design-led innovation. When we started researching it, I was very young, just starting out, and we knew very little about it. It was also thanks to the courage of some leaders who believed in us that it was possible to develop new approaches to innovation.

Managerial research is practical and pragmatic: it requires contact with reality, with technological challenges, but also with human challenges. Curiosity and the pursuit of beauty are important drivers of innovation within the company.

Can you explain what you mean by the pursuit of beauty? How do you talk about the search for beauty when you do research with companies?

For me, beauty means things that make sense, not just from an aesthetic point of view.

The pursuit of beauty forces you to ask deep questions, it is also the pursuit of ambition and doing things with care. It is almost a physical sensation, your body telling you that something is not working in what you are doing and forcing you to reach a higher level of satisfaction, to be really proud of it.

It is this aesthetic awareness that tells you that something is not working and that you are longing for a higher result instead.

In a world where sustainability is the challenge, the pursuit of beauty means creating something we fall in love with and care about. In a way, it's the opposite of consumerism: if something is beautiful and you care about it, you don't want to get rid of it, you want to preserve it and take care of it.

Looking to the future, what are your next projects?

I am about to start a new research project with the Stockholm School of Economics on art and innovation, exploring how art can help leaders to better reflect and face the challenges of innovation. To develop the much-needed search for meaning. A very inspiring project that I hope will open new horizons.