Great managers look to the future to anticipate tomorrow’s challenges, yet history still offers valuable insights into the challenges facing today’s leaders. In the second session of the series "Management lessons from history’s great figures", the focus will be on Alexander the Great, exploring the relationship between vision, personal ambition and the ability to engage people in pursuit of shared goals.
Can a leader continue to win while simultaneously losing the trust of their team? How can motivation and commitment be sustained through long and demanding transformations? And how can a leader turn their vision into a shared endeavor rather than a personal ambition?

In just a few years, Alexander the Great built an extraordinary empire, leading his men towards seemingly impossible achievements. Yet, at the height of his success, a growing divide emerged between his ambitions and those of his men, who became increasingly reluctant to follow him into further conquests.

Drawing on his book "Il coraggio e la visione. Alessandro Magno e la leadership generativa" (2025), Andrea Lipparini, Professor at the University of Bologna, will revisit the experiences of the great military leader to reflect on the relationship between vision, trust and engagement in the challenges of contemporary leadership.

In particular, the session will explore:

• beyond Alexander’s conquests: when the leader’s vision no longer aligns with the aspirations of his followers
• from loyalty to rebellion: the challenges of sustaining motivation and commitment over time
• the limits of personal ambition: the importance of turning an individual vision into a shared endeavor.