MARINA CAPIZZI
I am co-founder of PRIMATE Consulting, a management consultant, ICF Master Certified Coach (MCC) and speaker. Since 2020, I have been collaborating with Amy Edmondson to promote Psychological Safety, integrating this concept with the neuroscience of Stephen Porges. In fact, I was the first to apply Polyvagal Theory to organizational contexts, exploring how our Autonomic Nervous System influences our ability to connect and collaborate within teams, improving the management of psychological dynamics in the workplace.
I have been working in consulting for over thirty years and have held senior executive positions, including that of Chief Executive Officer. Throughout my career, I have supported numerous organizations in designing development pathways and managing complex organizational transformations. I help CEOs and leadership teams define and implement strategies to develop more agile, inclusive and psychologically safe organizations. Together with my colleagues at PRIMATE, I apply innovative approaches such as Agile, Teal and Holacracy, integrating neuroscience to optimize decision-making processes and collaboration in highly complex environments.
I use writing to reflect, develop and share new ideas, perspectives and models. I published Non morire di gerarchia (FrancoAngeli, 2023), translated into English in 2024 under the title Hierarchy to Die or to Thrive?, which was selected for an international competition and attracted interest from the press and media. It is the first Italian book entirely dedicated to the topic of hierarchy in organizations and its evolution. In this work, I explore how traditional hierarchical structures are no longer suited to today’s challenges and propose an evolution towards more collaborative and adaptive environments.
I am also co-author of Non morire di riunioni (FrancoAngeli, 2020) and have written numerous articles for publications such as Il Sole 24 Ore, Economy, Il Sussidiario and others. I have co-written the forewords to the Italian editions of international books such as 90 giorni per potenziare il tuo team (90 Days to Level Up Your Teamwork, FrancoAngeli, 2026), Il giusto errore (Right Kind of Wrong, Egea, 2024), Organizzazioni senza paura (The Fearless Organization, FrancoAngeli, 2020) by Amy Edmondson, and Sense & Respond (Harvard Business Review Press, 2018), exploring the role of vulnerability as a driver of learning and transformation.
I believe that success is built through genuine cultural evolution, capable of combining excellent performance with Psychological Safety. My commitment is to help transform organizations into more human, inclusive and prosperous places.
All English articles by Marina Capizzi
Invisible work keeps the company running. But it doesn’t lead to career advancement
In every organization, there is work that is visible and work that makes everything else possible. The former appears in objectives, plans, reports, and performance evaluations. The latter happens beneath the surface: coordinating people who do not communicate...
More than strategy, biological functioning matters
It is not possible to talk about organizational functioning without considering the biological functioning of people, whose nervous system activates states of openness or closure in response to the signals it perceives. Neurophysiological configurations have a massive...
Delegation or Autonomy? The Distinction That Will Shape the Future of Organizations
In managerial language, delegation and autonomy are often treated as if they were the same thing. In reality, they represent two profoundly different logics. Delegation is a vertical act: it means transferring to a collaborator a piece of one’s own work—with a level...
Personal Well-being or Organizational Well-being?
The topic of well-being in companies is everywhere: conferences, digital platforms, employee services. But what are we really talking about? Work–life balance? Psychophysical well-being? Stress reduction? Development of individual skills? Solutions that make life...
The courage to make mistakes – Interview with Amy Edmondson
Amy Edmondson is a professor of leadership and management at Harvard Business School. She has ranked n#1 twice in a row on the prestigious Thinkers50 list. In short, she is one of the world's most influential voices in the fields of leadership, organizational...
The Challenge of Simplicity
There is a complexity we cannot avoid. It is the complexity that arises from the world we live in, characterized by non-linear, unpredictable, interconnected dynamics that are difficult to decipher. Companies have been talking about it for decades. But are we sure...