The event was organised by CEFODIMA to showcase the results of a trial involving 7 Air Force Units. The trial originated in 2010 as a result of the 1st Leadership Seminar held in Florence. On that occasion, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force ordered the commencement of a trial phase in selected pilot entities within the Air Force Training Command, Flying Schools, and Air Force Academy, to disseminate the Mentoring methodology as a tool to support command action. This pilot project led to the drafting of a Mentoring Manual. In 2012, at the 3rd Leadership Seminar, the higher authorities decided to test it also in more strictly operational environments. The procedure therefore involved the Centre for Didactic and Managerial Training, the 46th Air Brigade of Pisa, the 15th Wing of Cervia, the 36th Wing of Gioia del Colle, the 51st Wing of Istrana, the 2nd Missile Maintenance Unit of Padua, the 3rd Wing of Villafranca, and the 4th TLC Technical Maintenance Unit of Borgo Piave.
During the works, several themes were analysed: the methodology of Mentoring as a tool for creating a widespread leadership process in the Departments, the presentation of the complex structure of the project and the results obtained, and the possible future implementation of the proposed model.
One of the most interesting moments was the one dedicated to the reports from the individual Departments, which, through their respective Commanders, highlighted the strengths of the trial, emphasising the positive elements and pointing out some areas for improvement. The cornerstone of the trial was the systemic approach, which, among other things, involved the creation of ad hoc professional roles, including “mentoring scheme designer”, “mentoring project tutor” and “mentor trainer”, in order to build a platform of basic skills, certified at an international level by an external body, necessary to implement and develop the system for subsequent applications deemed strategic. In this regard, in his concluding remarks, the Commander of the Didactic and Managerial Training Centre, Colonel Pierluigi Giorgino, reiterated the importance of the innovative research on leadership initiated by the Italian Air Force, which, in line with the most modern organisations, has decided to equip itself with its own Leadership model and the most suitable methodological tools for the specific needs of the Armed Force.
The day concluded with the presentation of diplomas for the international certifications obtained, by the certifying body, namely the Italian School of Mentoring, which followed the pilot project at every stage, and in the presence of the Commander of the Institute of Aeronautical Military Sciences, Air Division General Gianfranco Camperi.
In his address, General Camperi highlighted how the use of an effective leadership process, at every level of the organisation, is an essential factor for the development of our Armed Force and stressed in this regard that the distinctive elements of the methodological tools adopted to disseminate leadership, in a constantly evolving organisational context such as that of the Air Force, must be flexibility and adaptability.
Mentoring methodology, within international organisational contexts, is increasingly being established as a codified and standardised tool for the effective transfer of complex transversal skills between personnel within the same organisation with diverse experience. In the A.M. field, the experimentation of the manual has confirmed the enormous potential of mentoring as a tool for disseminating values, lessons learned and best practices, in order to promote a leadership culture at all levels of the organisational structure.
