The Power of Learning by Example
"I don't believe in entrepreneurial DNA, but I do believe in learning by example. And I’ve had great ones. My father, of course, but also many women in the family who were excellent managers and entrepreneurs." When describing her professional growth in the family business, Veronica Squinzi, CEO and Global Development Director at the Mapei Group, keeps her eyes on the generations that preceded her, but also on those who are coming up. "Both of my grandmothers were entrepreneurs in different fields, my mother was one of the best marketing managers I’ve ever met, responsible for marketing and communication at Mapei for years, and my aunt, in addition to being president of the group, has her own law firm. This does not mean, however, that I was automatically a good fit for positions of responsibility within the company, nor that my children will be. As professionals, we must recognize our limits to understand what our path is and, as parents, understand our children’s inclinations so as not to force them to do something they don’t want to do."
The new generations in family businesses understand this path towards awareness all too well, and must often take winding roads to reach their destination. "After high school, I attended a program in Political Science on the advice of my mother, who has a degree in the subject, and considered it a good way to get ready to work in marketing," sums up the manager at the helm of the group (together with her brother Marco, also CEO). "Today, in hindsight, I wouldn’t make the same choice: I realized that marketing is not my world. I had sensed this even then, so much so that, after graduating with a degree in Political Science and a specialization in Business Management and Industrial Strategy, I was looking at some job offers abroad. Then my father told me that he would like my brother and me to stay at the company and that he saw opportunities for growth for us within the group. We both decided to stay. At the time it was probably the right choice, but today I would give my children different advice because I believe that an experience outside the family business – and even more so abroad – is very formative. You need to learn to be obedient before being a leader. You can do so even at a family company, but it's more complex."
Her first assignments at the company allowed Veronica Squinzi to work in management control and then move on to strategic planning, traveling the world and deepening her knowledge of all the group's subsidiaries. "At a certain point, however, I felt the need to consolidate the fundamentals and take time for myself. That’s why I enrolled in the MBA at Bocconi," Squinzi continues. "The Master was not only an educational opportunity, but also a chance to reflect on my choices and my professional vocation. As well as to demonstrate that I had the leadership, communication and change management qualities needed to lead a multinational company in the future." So, is merit more important than women quotas? "I thought so for a while, but I must admit that I was wrong: women quotas are very important to elicit a change that otherwise would not happen," continues Squinzi. "I believe that being a woman is a useful strategic lever to break up the status quo and enrich certain environments with the typical qualities of female management. One of the characteristics that I personally try to enhance is a model of gentle leadership that I strongly believe in. It can be assertive and authoritative, but without letting the role take over my personality."
