Leadership and Uncertainty: Guiding When Everything Changes – Gianmarco Monsellato

The Company: At the Center of Life, Difficult to Define

Gianmarco reminded us that the company is at the center of economic and social life, yet poorly defined by economists and politicians. From its origins (Renaissance, Medici, Jean-Baptiste Say), it was conceived as committed — wanting to create a better world, taking risks, and investing in flow rather than rent. Today, the company must reintegrate politics and geopolitical issues: fragmented supply chains, “doing business with friends,” and for Europeans, the challenge of remaining part of history in the face of the American and Chinese empires.

Leading in Uncertainty

Guiding when everything changes requires clarifying the mission and values, listening to the field and country managers, and providing areas for value creation without centralizing everything. Transcendence — designing a future more desirable than the status quo — motivates teams; you don’t motivate anyone with an Excel spreadsheet or AI alone. The human element remains at the center; the leader is increasingly an activist who must carry a societal message and explain the role of the company.

Employees and the Quest for Meaning

Employees expect more from the company: work-life balance, values, and commitment. The quest for meaning is the first step toward a form of spirituality at work. Organizations must speak out with transparency, explain decisions, and create communities where social mobility and meritocracy work.

Geopolitics and Value Chains

Gianmarco insisted that supply chains and geography can no longer be treated as simple logistics: they have become strategic. “Doing business with friends,” fragmenting risks, rethinking site locations — these are all subjects that challenge the model of frictionless globalization. For Europeans, the challenge is to remain part of history in the face of the American and Chinese empires: the company must therefore reintegrate politics and sovereignty issues into its thinking, without substituting itself for democratic debate.

In a nutshell…

• The Company: committed from the start; today reintegrating politics and geopolitics; remaining part of history; value chains and geography as strategic issues.
• Leadership in Uncertainty: clear mission and values; listening to the field and country managers; transcendence (designing a desirable future); the human element at the center; the leader as an activist and messenger.
• Employees: quest for meaning, transparency, communities, work-life balance; speaking out and creating spaces where social mobility and meritocracy work.

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