Alessandro Romaioli: A Leadership in Action. Business & Marketing

Alessandro Romaioli 1
ALESSANDRO ROMAIOLI: A LEADERSHIP IN ACTION
Course Name and Code
Professor Name
University Name
City, State
Date
Alessandro Romaioli 2
Alessandro Romaioli: A Leadership in Action
COVID-19 is claiming lives and creating fears in Italy. Emerging as a global hot spot for pandemic spread, Italy is mourning many people, old and young, in a few months. Worse, hospitals are running out of personal protection equipment (PPE) and, more critically, ventilators essential for COVID-19 patients. The situation is growing into a macabre scene of death, fear and despair. Indeed, no one seems to find a way out. Even governments are scrambling for support and, hopefully, a vaccine. Then, Alessandro Romaioli, co-founder of Isinnova, Italy, steps in. Hearing of a hospital in Brescia, Romaioli develop prototypes for missing valves required for ventilators and offers all for free (“Cristian Fracassi & Alessandro Romaioli,” n.d.). Internally motivated, Romaioli and his partner choose to provide a local hospital expertise and knowledge Isinnova has to find a solution for an unfolding crisis.
The “voluntary” action Romaioli makes is an example of good leadership having self-awareness and situation awareness, particularly during periods of change or crisis (Kotagal & Pellegrini, 2018). From a leadership characterization perspective, Romaioli can be said to act as a pacesetting leader. This leadership style is characterized by a leader’s self-initiative and modeling expected behavior (Hope, 2017). In going an extra mile beyond a playbook, a pacesetting leader gives a model for all, including followers to adopt and imitate. The pacesetting leadership style has many advantages. In current case, Romaioli uses non-allocated resources at his own expense to find a solution for a global challenge in a local context. In using his company’s resources and doing research to develop new valves for ventilators, Romaioli is setting a pace for everyone to step in and invest extra resources for public good. This action is, from a good citizenship perspective, commendable. On a flip side, pacesetting does not suit
Alessandro Romaioli 3
every situation or everyone. Looking closely to current case, Romaioli is in a position of
privilege. A business owner and having enough knowledge and resources, Romaioli is able to
provide help and give an example for all to see. In imitating a pacesetting leader, many follow...