The 7 Games of Leadership: Navigating the inner journey of Leaders

Guest post by Paolo Gallo, who is a recognised Global Expert in Professional and Personal Development, Human Capital, Future of Work, Leadership, and Energy Management, and an ICF-certified Executive Coach. He is the author of a new book called The 7 Games of Leadership.

Do we need another book about Leadership? Really? That is a fair question when you get  2’870’000’000 results by Google “Leadership book.”: Try it yourself, it is scaring.

The point is that most leadership books are usually “framed” in

Four categories. First one:  what a Leader does (or should do); second: what makes a Leader, filled with personal attributes at times difficult to reconcile, such as “A Leader must have a long-term perspective while being able to run a profitable company every quarter.” The third category is” How a Leader should operate”, emphasizing tools and methodologies, and the last category last is the “hero” story: a Leader who, against all odds, has been able to “win”.

How to use the 7 Games of Leadership

The 7 Games do not belong to any of these four categories; I am sorry to disappoint. But – wait – if it is not “that”, what is “The 7 Games” about? Leadership is a journey of never-ending personal development, so the 7 Games explain and describe each phase (I call them Games) of your personal development, the necessary path to Leadership. Being a Leader it is neither a title nor a finishing lane. It is an inner meaningful journey of self-development, both personal and professional. To me, it is the most exciting journey of our lives.

What do we mean by personal and professional development? How can we growth as people? What defines true success, a meaningful life? The 7 Games of Leadership: navigating the inner journey of Leaders focus on these powerful questions.

After proving an overview of seven megatrends that are reshaping our lives, and the lives of our families, communities and countries, I emphasize the need to develop our contextual intelligence, how we connect the dots and our capacity to understand and master transformation without being derailed by frequent W.T.F. moments.

We will then learn to play and understand the 7 Games, the sequential 7 phases of personal & professional development.

Game 1: the Inner Game. The quest to fully understand why you are here, finding your true inner voice. What are you good at?

Game 2: the Better Game: how can we improve, gain credibility and earn a reputation?

Game 3: the Caring and Outer Game occurs when we grow as individuals and we care – responsibly – about others. We ‘open the windows’ by understanding the bigger picture, by developing contextual intelligence, the capacity to connect the dots, anticipate rather than react. See opportunities.

Game 4: the Crisis Game. How can embrace the necessity of a mid-life crisis? How can we steer our life in the right direction? How can we effectively shape a meaningful life transition?

We then move to discover the energy and rebirth of Game 5. Reinvent yourself, because of a conscious personal decision not generated by external life- quakes.

Game 6 is igniting a Revolution, the joy of giving, being of service, and the ultimate sign of wisdom.

Last comes Game 7: Letting Go: it’s a process that starts with healing, losing, quitting and then letting go. It’s the ultimate success, the supreme sign of fulfillment, is returning home, it’s passing the torch with graciousness.

We then focus on a powerful question: how can you increase your professional value? What is new leadership model that in the new context that is unfolding so rapidly in front of us? The closing will offers reflections but never conclusions. We will learn from ancient and yet so modern philosophies, the difference between ghosts and ancestors and how we move from something toxic to something else, meaningful and impactful, in many different ways.

Navigating the inner journey to become a Leader starts from you. Now.

More about Paolo Gallo

Paolo Gallo is a recognized Global Expert in Professional and Personal Development, Human Capital, Future of Work, Leadership, and Energy Management, and an ICF-certified Executive Coach. Paolo is an Adjunct Leadership and organisational Behavior Professor at SDA Bocconi University, Milan. He is the Founder of “Gallo Compass Consulting” and has been the Executive coach of more than 150 Executives, including 50+ CEOs.

Paolo Gallo has served as Chief Human Resources Officer at the World Economic Forum in Geneva. He has also been Chief Learning Officer at The World Bank in Washington DC and Director of HR at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. He has prior experience at the International Finance Corporation in Washington DC, and Citigroup in London, New York and Milan, his home town. He is also a board member of selected companies.

Paolo graduated with top marks in Organizational Behavior from Bocconi University, Milan, is a Chartered Fellow of the FCIPD, UK and a Certified Leadership Coach from Georgetown University, Washington DC. He has worked in 80+ countries and written the award-winning book “The Compass & The Radar: The Art of Building a Rewarding Career while Remaining True to Yourself” published by Bloomsbury in 2018, and translated into seven languages, with 60K copies sold worldwide.

Paolo’s new book, “The 7 Games of Leadership: Navigating the Inner Journey of Leaders”, also published from Bloomsbury, is available from October 2023. Paolo Gallo has published 100+ articles with Harvard Business Review (Italian & Arabic editions), Sole24 Ore, Forbes, World Economic Forum Agenda, Irish Tech News, and Tribune de Geneve.

Paolo Gallo has delivered more than 100 keynotes – live or virtually – such as: Google Talks, 10 Downing Street, Ferrari, FCA-Fiat, Pictet, Toyota, Microsoft, Salesforce, IBM, Manpower, LVMH, BBC, Sole 24 Ore, Bridgestone, Citigroup, Blackrock, UBS, ENI, Arup, United Nations, World Bank, ITU, IATA, WTO, WHO, WIPO, IMD and given 3 TEDx and commencement speeches and Gallo’s posts on Linkedin got 23 millions views since 2020. He lives in Geneve with his wife and daughter

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