Team Emotional Intelligence enthusiast. Faculty member and lecturer in People Management at Bologna Business School – the Business School of the University of Bologna – and Adjunct Professor of Human Resource Management at the University of Bologna.
Member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations (CREIO) in Boston and Director of the European Center for Team Emotional Intelligence (TeamEI).
Professional Background
Massimiliano graduated in Political Science, with a focus on economics, from the University of Bologna. During his studies, he launched a start-up providing organizational services to companies. After completing his MBA in International Business at MIB School of Management and gaining experience at Bocconi University’s School of Management, he took on the role of Head of Corporate Relations at the Business School.
Since 2000, he has collaborated with Profingest Management School (which in 2006, following a merger, became Alma Graduate School, today Bologna Business School) in the Organization and HR area, taking on responsibility for the Organization and Human Resource Management Distance Learning area.
From 2003 to 2010, he was President of Six Seconds Italy, the Italian branch of the world’s leading network for the development of Emotional Intelligence. Together with Joshua Freedman and Anabel Jensen, he developed the SEI (Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Assessment), one of the main international tools for measuring Emotional Intelligence, and the Vital Signs suite of tools, innovative instruments for evaluating organizational performance drivers.
In 2005, he was appointed member of the International Committee of Nexus EQ, the largest international conference on Emotional Intelligence, and participated as a speaker in the Netherlands alongside Daniel Goleman and Peter Salovey.
In 2006, he became responsible for the People Management area of the Part-Time MBA programs at Bologna Business School – University of Bologna.
Since 2006, he has been Adjunct Professor of Human Resource Management at the Faculty of Engineering, today the School of Engineering and Architecture, University of Bologna.
In 2010, he was appointed Managing Director of Six Seconds Europe, and since 2012 he has served as Director of Global Strategy and member of the Board of Directors, supporting the COO in defining strategies.
In 2013, he delivered a keynote at Harvard Medical School titled “Being a Change Agent.”
From 2014 to 2015, he was Director of the Center for Innovative Management of Six Seconds, a research center within the international network.
From 2016 to 2019, he was Director of MGMTLAB.eu – People Intelligence, aimed at combining neuroscience, people analytics, and HR management to improve organizational performance.
In 2017, with an international team, he launched the start-up TEAMX, providing companies with a Team Relationship Management tool based on artificial intelligence to support leaders in collaborative dynamics.
In 2023, together with colleague Giulia Baroni, he launched Team Emotional Intelligence – the podcast where 1+1=3 (www.teameipodcast.it ), now in its fourth season, designed as a new channel for spreading scientific content on collaboration in a light, accessible tone.
In 2024, he became Director of the Corporate Executive MBA at Coesia.
Since 2024, he has also been Director of the European Center for Team Emotional Intelligence (www.teamei.eu ), with the aim of bringing a European voice to the international debate on collaboration.
Organizations Massimiliano Has Collaborated With
Adecco, Amadori, Amazon, Azimut, BASF, Bulgari, Coesia, Eli Lilly, Ferrari, General Electric, Goodyear, Johnson & Johnson, Marchesini, Mars, Novartis, Pfizer, Presidency of the Council of Ministers (Italy), SACMI, Schneider Electric, SCM Group, Trevi Group.
Books and Chapters (International and Italian)
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Andrea Lipparini, Massimo Franceschetti, and Massimiliano Ghini, Gli errori del manager, 2024, Il Mulino.
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Massimiliano Ghini & Joshua Freedman, Inside Change: How to use emotional intelligence to facilitate change inside organizations, in Emotionale Intelligenz in Organisationen, 2018, Springer.
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Massimiliano Ghini & Joshua Freedman, The Vital Organization, 2014, Six Seconds Publishing.
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Massimiliano Ghini, Intelligenza Emotiva in Azione, 2011, Il Sole 24 Ore.
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Joshua Freedman & Massimiliano Ghini, Inside Change, 2010, Six Seconds Publishing. Italian edition: Intelligenza Emotiva dentro al cambiamento, Il Sole 24 Ore.
Selected Articles, Papers, Research, and Business Cases
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Ghini & Baroni, 2024, Semantic Analysis of High-Performance vs. Low-Performance Teams: A Comparative Study. [link]
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Ghini & Baroni, 2024, Analysis of Determinants in High-Performance Teams: An Empirical Approach. [link]
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Toschi & Ghini, 2021, Open Innovation in Camst: A People-Centred Approach to Sustainability, ECCH.
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Gubellini & Ghini, 2021, Team sostenibili. Pratiche per migliorare la sinergia e puntare sulla performance, Sviluppo e Organizzazione.
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Fariselli, Ghini, Stillman, 2020, EQ Training for Management Cascades Value in the Field: UCB Case in Italy, Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation.
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Camilleri & Ghini, 2017, Persone e dati: nuove opportunità?, Harvard Business Review Italia.
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Numerous white papers and business cases from 2005–2013 on Emotional Intelligence, performance, engagement, and organizational climate.
Awards and Recognition
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Best Teacher Award for Executive Masters at Bologna Business School (2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023).
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“Noble Goal” Award at Harvard Medical School (2013) for his commitment to creating a new culture of people management within organizations.
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Faculty Pioneer Award Nomination (Aspen Institute, 2006) for significant contributions to management, particularly through innovative research and development of Emotional Intelligence measurement tools.
Other Roles
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Member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations (CREIO).
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Member of the Scientific Committee of Work on Work, Ferrara Fair initiative.
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Member of the Advisory Board of MUG – Innovation Hub Emil Banca.
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From 2012 to 2017, Board Member of Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Network, Menlo Park, California.
