What is participative leadership? De Nora’s example

De Nora embraces an inclusive and participative leadership style which values quality relationships between managers and coworkers. This is fundamental to the success of a modern company.  

In order to create direct relationships where the primary focus is on discussing significant matters and who can offer value to them, rather than who is the boss, the gap created by the so-called "hierarchical levels" is minimized. Leaders are encouraged to be an example for their team and to promote the concept of sharing ideas and open dialogue, creating an environment where every person can feel listened to and valued in spite of their role.

The widespread culture of inclusivity goes beyond philosophy and becomes an everyday practice, making people feel like part and parcel of the company’s success. 

Let’s see how De Nora’s effort comes into practice to promote this type of leadership.

1. How inclusive and participative leadership works at De Nora 

Inclusive and participative leadership hinges on the relationship between boss and colleagues on active listening, inclusivity, the culture of feedback and accountability. 

The approach, based on a good role model, has a domino effect. When leaders do their part, they transmit their values to their team, progressively creating a culture of inclusivity, beneficial for everyone. 

For this effective process to begin, it’s important that those who first acknowledge its importance and how it affects wellbeing and productivity, are the heads of the company, through dedicated programs and actions.  

Inclusive leadership represents for De Nora a pillar of the business culture, and sharing the concept is fundamental to create a fair and respectful work environment, where everyone feels understood and valued.  

To highlight the importance of these principles, in 2024, a system based on feedback was introduced in Italy for managers' performance evaluation and it involves colleagues.

Every manager, with at least three people directly reporting to them (to ensure anonymity), is evaluated by their team on their leading skills, especially on inclusive leadership criteria. This allows the company to measure how effective managers are on this “core aspect” of their job and pushes them to take care of the wellbeing and development of their people.

Managers are also encouraged to promote an inclusive environment, through a direct connection to a compensation and benefit system, as the performance evaluation is taken into account for salary and careers review.   

Thanks to this process, the company is able to figure out in what areas improvements are needed and what actions can be taken to be sure that every member of the team has a role, in a context where mutual respect and esteem are paramount for collective achievement. 

2.  The program InCLUDe 

Amongst De Nora’s tangible and concrete initiatives, we can mention educational paths, such as the program “InCLUDe” (Inclusive and Cohesive Leaders Unlock De Nora), designed to help managers to develop and cultivate specific skills of inclusive leadership.   

The effectiveness of participative leadership is tightly connected to the ability of leaders to include, engage, inspire and take care of the members of the team.  

The program had a great success in its 2024 edition. It involved 100% of Italian managers and directors of the company, with 85 participants in total, attending a two-day interactive and engaging training consisting of in-person classes and one online follow up session.  

This was a demonstration of the real effort that the company is putting in improving its organization. The first class was exclusively for the CEO and all the Italian C-Level executives, who showed great enthusiasm and involvement.   

It was a clear message about the importance of InCLUDe for all De Nora’s branches which, by 2026, will see all their managers and directors involved in local editions of the training, each of which tailored to the different cultures and specific needs of every country.

3.  The importance of active listening in participative leadership

Active listening is a communication method that enables the creation of a welcoming space, free of judgments, where everyone can feel understood, accepted and supported. It’s one of the pillars of inclusive leadership at De Nora and allows an authentic, constant dialogue between managers and colleagues.  

To enhance the comprehension skills, the company fosters constant dialogue between managers and colleagues and plans, situations dedicated to feedback throughout the year, both individual and collective: 

• Individual feedback: it offers every member of the team a moment with their manager to discuss the past year, to align on the goals to be reached in the current year and to design the action plan based on individual needs and ambition, talking about useful actions to push one’s personal and professional growth;

• Collective feedback: it offers a more general overview of the company atmosphere, and it’s collected by De Nora through several surveys during the year. The aim is to measure the sentiment of all the members about key themes, such as the relationship with their work, with their colleagues, with their managers, but also the work environment, the leadership and its values.

4. Educational paths as a support for De Nora’s managers

The leadership skills development programs are essential for De Nora, because the company’s goal is to create an inspiring and inclusive work environment. Participative leadership is the core of this mission and every leader is trained on three main aspects: 

• Inspiring Communication: The ability to motivate and engage the team, giving a clear and compelling vision; 
• People Development: the effort put into pushing personal and professional growth through customized and co-designed development paths; 
• Planning, Organization and Control: the ability to manage and organize the team’s priorities in an effective and sustainable way, encouraging personal initiatives.   

To conclude, inclusive and participative leadership at De Nora is based on values that foster constructive relationships of trust, giving everyone the chance to grow personally and professionally.   

In order to maintain such inclusive and collective growth-oriented culture, the company regularly invests in strengthening and evaluating an open-minded and cooperative leadership style.