Elevating Leadership and Innovation with Language Proficiency

Gian Paolo Perrucci , Chief Technology Officer, Pearson Languages, explores how language learning has propelled his career growth and how leaders can unlock their workforce’s potential. Gian Paolo speaks English, French, Italian and Spanish, and utilizing them in his career spanning Italy, Denmark and currently, Switzerland.??

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From a small town in Southern Italy to an international career and a trilingual family, language has shaped every part of Gian Paolo’s professional and personal life.??

Working with leading global brands like Nokia, Nestle, and Nespresso, his passion for giving others the “language passport” he had and helping businesses get the benefits of diverse teams brought him to his current role as CTO at Pearson Languages.??

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Falling in love with English… and my wife?

English was the passport for this new world of opportunities, opening many, many doors I wouldn’t have had access to.??

When I went abroad for the first time at age 18, I realized the English I’d been learning at school wasn’t actually that helpful. I could understand what was being said, but I couldn’t be myself in English.??

I started changing the language on my DVDs to English, listening to how people really spoke and became more passionate about the language as a result.??

Improving my English helped me win a scholarship to study abroad for a semester in Denmark.??

One semester turned into six years; I completed my Masters, a PhD, and met my now wife, who’s German. For years, English was the main language between us.??

Now, when we sit down to dinner with our kids and there’s this mix of three or four languages being spoken, I reflect on just how far those DVDs have brought me.?

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The best type of brain training?

Language learning goes beyond translation or finding your way around when you travel.??

When you speak multiple languages, different parts of the brain have to work together and make connections.??

You have to be able to look at the same thing, a pencil, for example, and match it to the different words in Spanish, German, and English.??

It teaches your brain to be flexible about what you see and the way you interpret it, as well as staying connected — that mindset is so valuable.??

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The blend of technology and the human touch?

There’s much more to language learning than translating the words you hear.??

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AI and new real-time audio translation technologies can get us to a certain level. But actually, having a language in your brain allows you to connect with people emotionally — to integrate and get to know one another.??

Technologies like AI and VR can help to make language learning easier and more accessible, especially for different personality types.??

For example, at Pearson Languages Languages, we built an AI-based engine that allows people to practice conversations without worrying about being judged for their accent or the stress of impressing another person.??

It opens up lots of interesting opportunities for immersing yourself in real-life scenarios without being held back by a fear of failure.??

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The language of leadership??

To communicate effectively as a leader, you need charisma; and charisma comes from the ability to master a language.??

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Those who are able to articulate their ideas well, to express themselves, to find the right word, tone, or expression at the right time — they’re the ones who inspire confidence in the people listening to them.???

It’s something that’s only going to become more important in the future. Whether it’s social media, online video games, or just connecting with people around you, speaking English at a certain level will become even more important.??

As more and more young people who have that fluency and comfort with English come into the workplace, it’ll become even harder for those who don’t speak English at that higher level.??????

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Supporting diverse teams??

People who speak English as their first language have a kind of career “fast track”. And this creates less diversity at senior levels.??

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When this happens, companies miss out. Having people from different cultures and backgrounds enriches a company’s culture, bringing a diversity of thinking which delivers better business results.???

The first thing companies can do is to support language learning with tutoring or apps. Then build on that with expat rotation programs so people can put those language skills into practice and be totally immersed in the world of the language they need to speak.??

When you’re forced to speak to the doctor or your child’s kindergarten in that language, when you’re thrown into what I call a “cold swimming pool” of everyday conversations, that’s when you really learn a language — that’s when you learn to swim.??

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A personal mission?

Fluency is a gift, and when you’ve grown up speaking English it’s easy to take that gift for granted.??

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Whether it’s preparing for a presentation or sending an email, it takes that little bit more effort for ESL (English as a Second Language) speakers.??

That’s why part of my personal mission is being here, working for Pearson to try to make it easier for people to get the language passport I had.??

I want to give them ways, means, tools to make it easier and more engaging so they can have the international experience I had and hopefully get as close as possible to that fluent speaker experience where you can be yourself in English.???

Then you will own that passport that will open up doors to opportunities you never could have imagined.??

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A valued member of the Pearson leadership team, Gian Paolo works on making language certification a positive, inclusive experience that gives more ESL speakers the confidence to speak up and apply their skills.??

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He lives in Switzerland, with his wife and two trilingual children who are fluent in Italian, German, and French. The next language they want to learn? English.??

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The experience of living and working abroad like Gian Paolo can help leaders recognize, learn from, and adopt different working styles. Read more about these “cultural blind spots” and what international leaders can learn from studies on the Premier League in Global perspectives: International experience as the ultimate preparation for today’s leaders .?

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This interview is part of Pearson Languages’ series, Global Voices: Leaders on Language and Business, an exclusive exploration into the pivotal role of language in achieving international business excellence. In this thought-provoking series, we examine how leaders foster diverse teams, navigate global markets, and ultimately propel organizational success to new heights by leveraging language skills. Explore the rest of the series on Pearson Languages’ LinkedIn. ?

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