Horizontal Aerodynamics: A Business Perspective

Forbes

3 days ago

Davide Sartini, Chief Corporate Officer at G. Mondini Spa / Forbes Italy's Top 100 CMOs (2021) | Capital Magazine's Top 150 Managers (2020).
In human culture, one element recurs more than any other, weaving the fabric of history: knowledge. From the myth of Prometheus to the Judeo-Christian story of the apple plucked by Eve, through the European secular Enlightenment and positivism, knowledge has played a pivotal role in shaping humanity's conception of itself, enriching the spirit and empowering individuals to navigate their lives through informed choices.
Another recurring element in human history is dominion. Over the centuries, individuals and movements have sought to dominate both their own people and others. This was true of monarchies, which were fiercely contested by major Enlightenment movements, and later of dictatorships, which defined much of the 20th century and continue to shape the lives of billions today in various parts of the world.
While knowledge has been exalted by artists, poets, philosophers and scientists, dictatorships have been opposed not only by great humanists but also by science itself.
If we were to draw a parallel between these two undeniable human tendencies and the business world, we might argue that hierarchies should serve as a means, with knowledge as the ultimate goal. Yet, more often than not, we encounter hierarchies that, in their rigidity, appear to make themselves the end goal. This is evident in the figure of the 'authoritarian' leader in modern business parlance—personalities with little empathy for whom profit and, above all, blind domination become their mantra, losing sight of a larger purpose: that of fostering development, creativity and knowledge—human qualities that power companies and determine their success.
A key distinction can be drawn between a tyrannical leader and an ethical one, where the former pursues personal gain with severity, while the latter seeks the common good, guided by core values. A further evolution of leadership is that of the empathetic leader, whose benefits are well documented in terms of innovation, employee well-being and self-confidence.
In my view, an ethical and empathetic leader forms the foundation of what I refer to as a functional 'horizontal aerodynamics' within companies. This is not about dismissing or overlooking the essential structural hierarchies that ensure the proper functioning of the organization. Rather, it is about fostering a horizontal flow of knowledge that supports the vertical knowledge scaling.
As outlined in this article, interdepartmental relationships within companies underscore an organization's holistic growth strategy. The aim is to create a unified reality across various departments, generating a more complex and powerful collective awareness and competency that spreads horizontally. Achieving business objectives depends on internal alignment. The author writes that this system is based on four pillars: clear goals, key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure progress toward those goals, continuous professional development and transparency in communication.
A horizontal approach involves more than simply sharing information; it's about transmitting and instilling the values and objectives that are foundational to the company's history and mission. Sharing these values and goals is a critical element of individual well-being, which can ultimately help drive collective success.
In practice, this approach is not far removed from what companies strive to implement daily. Consider the management of international branches and the use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems—software designed to streamline, automate and enhance the core processes of an organization, providing consistency between headquarters and branches and serving as the main repository for data and information. What's certain is that spreading and maintaining shared values, long-term goals and projects is more complex and challenging than simply exchanging numbers and data. This is where empathetic leadership plays a crucial role, a trait that should not be seen as exclusive to business leaders.
Abraham Zaleznik, a pioneering and influential scholar on leadership, emphasized that the key distinction between a manager and a leader lies in their approach to order and chaos. A manager seeks order and structure, whereas a leader embraces chaos. As a result, a leader's potential is greater, particularly when they allow themselves to be supported and guided by more experienced collaborators on specific matters.
Empathetic leadership can be embodied by anyone—from managers overseeing entire departments to those leading specific projects. Just as management is not a distinct field of study isolated from the rest of the corporate ecosystem, but rather a multidisciplinary approach, a good leader should adopt a holistic vision when guiding a company. Think of your business as a living organism with its own apparatus, organs, tissues and cells, each dedicated to a specific function, all working toward a common goal.
From my personal experience as a manager, I can say with confidence that the heart of any company lies in its people, who embody the three essential forms of capital: social, economic and cultural. A leader who overlooks or neglects even one of these dimensions risks undoing the hard work of the entire team and ultimately ending up with nothing but empty promises.
Being a manager means engaging with other human beings every single day. In this context, empathy is no longer just an option—it's a necessity for achieving meaningful results. I approach this by constantly reminding myself that the people in front of me are, first and foremost, human beings, not merely parts of a work project. They have personal lives outside the workplace that inevitably influence their performance. At the same time, they have individual needs: career growth, fair compensation and aspirations. Being empathetic means taking all of these factors into account.
The role of empathy in the workplace has been well-documented by the social sciences. Employees led by empathetic leaders and managers, for example, are less likely to fall into the vortex of burnout—one of the defining workplace challenges of our time. Generational differences must also be taken into account. Younger employees are ambitious yet often fear they won't have the chance to stand out, and many are underpaid. More experienced workers, on the other hand, may fear being sidelined, while also striving to balance personal life with corporate responsibilities. An empathetic leader recognizes and values these differences.
A thousand days may not be enough to prove we are right, but a single day can reveal that we were wrong. Credibility is built gradually but can be lost in an instant. By nurturing social, economic and cultural capital in people, supporting horizontal networks and leading with empathy, we can ensure that day doesn't catch us off guard.
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