In this episode of Women Leadership Reframe, we sit down with Anna Simioni, Vice Chairwoman of the Board of the Foundation for Italian Cancer Research and Boston Consulting Group Advisor. Anna shares profound insights on redefining success, embracing generative conflict, and creating environments where women leaders can flourish rather than simply improve.

Anna's unique perspective on leadership challenges traditional notions of harmony and presents a compelling case for how productive disagreement can lead to better outcomes. She also discusses her initiative to address the concerning trend of women leaving the workforce and her innovative program at Politecnico Business School in Milan.

• (03.08 - 11:36) The shift from "improving" to "flourishing" in personal and professional growth
• (12:13 - 15:06) Why harmony isn't always the goal: embracing generative conflict
• (15:12 - 19:58) Anna's journey from her biggest hurdle being "herself and her attitude” to embracing failure and learning with a “Growth Mindset”
• (20:19 - 27:04) The power of a growth mindset in leadership development
• (28:53 - 33:51) What is generative conflict?
• (36:06 - 42:20) 2022 Wake-up call: over 95% of all voluntary terminations were women
• (43:09 - 46:34) Growth, learning and impact: a three dimensional approach to a senior women leadership program to increase impact
• (46:39 - 50:13) The power of allyship and leveraging a bigger network, embracing conflict, and leading beyond your role for bigger impact
• (51:06 - 53:31) How organizations can create environments that welcome productive disagreement

Anna Simioni is Vice Chairwoman of the Board of the Foundation for Italian Cancer Research and a member of the Board of Banca Generali. She serves as a Boston Consulting Group Advisor for People & Organization practice, after having been Executive Director. With over 16 years in executive positions and 19 years of consulting practice, Anna brings deep expertise in transformation, organizational effectiveness, behavioral changes, trust building, and leadership development.

A certified coach since 2009 with specializations in Narrative and Somatic Coaching, Anna is also a certified teacher of the Feldenkrais Method. She has been Chair member of the Harvard Graduate School of Education Learning & Innovation Laboratory. Anna holds a Business Administration degree from Università Luigi Bocconi and a master's in Human Resources from the University of Michigan School of Business.

"Success is really being able to put your power at the service of your purpose."

"Life is never in harmony... What matters is how you recover from the imperfection and the misalignment, to recreate a stronger bond or relationship with people."

"The way you do things really makes visible what you want to achieve... It's not about having a goal or having an ambition and saying, 'okay, ambition is so important that I need to find a way to accomplish it.' The way you try to achieve things is even more important."

"Most of the time we completely forget that the decision is good only when it is applied... making a decision in a shorter time and then having a very long or never full implementation, for me, it's not the best thing that an organization can do."

1. Embrace productive disagreement as a path to better solutions and stronger relationships
2. Focus on how you achieve goals, not just what you achieve
3. Create space for different voices and perspectives in decision-making
4. Build and leverage networks beyond your immediate organization
5. Practice self-awareness and be open to changing your narrative
6. Consider both adding and removing things in your life to flourish
7. Approach conflict with curiosity rather than...