The OPEN MOOd Project - Open Manager for the Open Organization, funded by Fondirigenti and carried out by CIS - School for Business Management, in partnership with SFC - Confindustria Training Systems and Forma del Tempo, aims to conduct an in-depth analysis on the topic of Open Management.

The project examined the impact that the "Open" management style can provide to companies to increase the performance and success of the "Open Organization".

The study (OPEN MOOd – Open Manager for Open Organization) involved over 300 companies and 400 managers, with the aim of profiling a new managerial figure, that of the Open Manager, capable of creating formal and informal networks oriented towards research, innovation, market perspective creation, and the construction of Business Networks capable of exploiting complementarities between production processes, technological know-how, and human resources to achieve those system objectives that are and increasingly will be unavoidable for the management of "open" organizations today and tomorrow.

The conducted surveys, both desk and field-based, through the administration of questionnaires and interviews with top and middle managers, allowed for the description of a set of competencies that characterize the profile of the Open Manager, the design of an assessment tool for identifying the training needs in terms of managerial competencies for Open management within companies, and the design of a training model to develop these managerial competencies.

Specifically, 5 key factors of the Open Manager were identified, each composed of 3-4 reference competencies:

• Positive Expansion, understood as the cognitive and emotional acceptance of change as a permanent condition of our time and completely natural.
• Peer Leadership, as an evolved conception of leadership, which values the contribution of collaborators, the development of their growth potential within the company, allowing the establishment of respectful peer relationships, not based on dominance, but on collaboration and the ability to influence others in a "gentle" manner.
• Pro Agonism, as managerial behavior focused both on technological competence and understanding of more general organizational processes, capable of stimulating the team to self-manage based on clearly indicated objectives.
• Innovation Purpose, as an attitude to have a business vision outside the box, with a propensity to react quickly to situations and to question oneself, being open to opinions and divergent points of view.
• Evolution Drive, as orientation to reflect on experience to produce learning, thus questioning practices and identifying improvement actions.

The study also allowed the development of a specific test for self-assessment of these factors, which through the use of a specific algorithm, allows placing the manager who completes it into one of the 17 profiles provided, providing the respondent with a summary of the obtained result, with strengths and possible areas for improvement.

Finally, a training model was envisioned, useful for developing the competencies of the Open Manager in relation to the assessment outcome, which must also have characteristics of "openness", thus moving away from traditional training models. The envisioned model focuses on the logic of the Flipped Classroom, originated in school contexts, allowing not to base the training intervention entirely on classroom or e-learning activities, but to mix these approaches, appropriately combining them with the specific moments of the training intervention.

Evolution of the Initiative: the "Open MOOd EXTENDED" project

With the continuation of the project, through "Open MOOd EXTENDED", knowledge of Open Management will be deepened and effective innovative approaches for operating in increasingly articulated, interconnected, and complex business environments will be identified, also with the aim of communicating and disseminating the assessment and training tools for Open Management developed within Open MOOd.

The evolution of the project is therefore aimed at the 14,000 companies and 80,000 managers affiliated with Fondirigenti who deal with business development strategies.

This project will pursue dissemination objectives through a dual lever:

• Gathering the best practices of Open Management.
• Spreading the culture of Open Management among Italian companies.

In more detail, Open MOOd extended aims to:

• Capture the specific behaviors of the most significant managerial subjects identified with the Open Mood test.
• Identify and articulate the behaviors related to the 5 specific factors of the Open Mood model.
• Produce audiovisual materials that narrate the previously identified excellences.
• Share the opinions of excellent managers on a nationally relevant blog, developing a debate on Open Management to maximize the impact on a wider population.
• Networking events will be designed, where witnesses can meet other managerial populations, share narratives, foster contamination, and dissemination of experiences, and the impact of the dissemination action on Italian companies will be analyzed.

The initiative, which lasts about 9 months, involves the direct involvement of 50 managers, with the ultimate goal of creating high-impact media materials, also thanks to collaboration with Il Sole 24 Ore.

The Open Manager is the one who creates the conditions to respond to the new needs of flexibility, innovation, contact, and openness.

To participate in the survey and find out if you have the competencies of an Open Manager, fill out the self-assessment survey at this link:  https://economiacircolare.confindustria.it/open-mood/

Download the brochure of Open MOOd Extended and continue to follow the project on social media with #OPEN_MOOD_StrategicInitiatives

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