By way of opening premise at this Aspen Junior Fellows meeting, it was observed that the current crisis is an accelerator of change and, like the Chinese ideogram for the word “crisis”, can be seen as posing both a problem and an opportunity. Small wonder then that young people are a prime focus of attention, given that they also represent both of these conditions. Having inherited a legacy of curtailed or betrayed hopes, younger generations appear defeatist. Yet in order to be part of a “generation”, individuals need to rise above their own concerns and feel that they are agents of change, taking on leadership with assurance. What actually happens is the opposite: the response is to look after one’s own interests. Moreover, in seeking to be a “youthful country”, the focus in Italy is often placed on appearing young rather than engaging with fresh ideas.
The participants stressed that what is required is “critical optimism”, to analyze the opportunities and find the responses that a new generation of leaders is tasked with coming up with and spreading in Italy and around the world. Rebuilding confidence is key, which entails moving beyond instilling what is all-too-often a conformist approach. New leaders are contending with a situation radically different to that faced by their predecessors: the global population has reached 7 billion people; world decisions are taken at a G2 or G20 level in an increasingly complex and multipolar landscape; medium- to long-term forecasts are improbable; and education levels are no guarantee of standard of living, which is increasingly dependent on non-economic factors (such as the environment). Meanwhile, Asia is producing too much compared to what it consumes, the United States is consuming too much and saving too little, and Europe is investing too little and is plagued by governance problems.
The new generation of leaders – it was felt – must first of all overcome their parochialism to understand the global scale of problems; in other words, they need to be Italians at heart, but international in mindset. They need to be able to lead this transformation innovatively, but without losing the value already present throughout the country. They need to overcome the deficiencies of outmoded politics, ineffective governance, and unsustainable public debt. Building on existing assets, they need to be able to recombine Italy’s strong suits: private savings, entrepreneurship, the ability to strive for incremental innovation, and a flair for turning the experiences of other countries to advantage. They will increasingly need interdisciplinary rather than single-focus skills. Any vision for the future needs to be able to connect the dots to tap into opportunities, and know how to navigate between the country’s present resources and strengths, so as to integrate them.
Finally, it was suggested that the new breed of leaders must also be able to navigate change, not alone but as part of a team. Indeed, the participants considered it crucial that this new brand of leadership be collective, networked, and capable of rallying responses from different people with diverse cultural backgrounds, in order for complex problems to be resolved. For this reason, variety rather than conformity is to be encouraged in the training of new leaders. Obviously, it is not possible to “pretend that things will change if we keep doing the same things” (Einstein). A dent must be made on entrenched behaviors and attitudes, to ensure talent is not allowed to be dismissed on the grounds of its youthfulness.