The expression STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics is very fashionable in management schools.
Apparently these are the disciplines of the future, the important topics that a manager cannot do without.
In addition to this, there is the ability to think like a computer scientist, breaking down complex problems into single, small, easier to manage parts.
In Italy we also add as much knowledge as possible of English and then come the “soft skills” that is creativity, decisonality and effective interaction with others.
What really seems to be absent from this enriched definition of STEM is a competence that is crucial for the management areas that are management or not.
This definition of STEM lacks the full consideration of the Italian language. Writing and speaking well, in a self-confident manner and with a polished Italian is a huge added value.
If you think about it, it could come as a laugh to compare the sentence above with the last email you received, with those bulleted lists, abbreviations, English words and slang expressions. Or to note that even important communications of your work travel on messaging – a habit of absolute poverty – of the various Whatsapp and the like.
Here is that STEM, so defined, is not enough.
There are four reasons why a manager in our global village must have maximum mastery of the language (we treat here the Italian that then each declines in the language that it also uses for its own business because if you have a limited number of Italian words, even your own translations, even your thoughts in another language suffer a lot).
STEM: the missing points
Here are the aspects that STEM does not take into account and which are the skills that a manager must possess if he wants to achieve his goals. We can summarize everything in “knowing how to speak your language well” and we decline it in the next post in four simple areas:
Adapt any concept to the context, to the recipient and to the medium
Being in possession of a powerful tool for creative elaboration and critical revision
Find the right words to make emotional contact with those around you
Sharpen your ability to tell in a fascinating and persuasive way.
