Simona Cuomo

Simona Cuomo is an Associate Professor of Practice in Leadership, Organization & Human Resources at SDA Bocconi School of Management. Since 2010, she has been Director of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Smart Working Monitor. She is a psychologist, an AssoCounseling-certified Professional Counselor, and an ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC). She is currently working towards the ICF Master Certified Coach (MCC) credential and is qualified to administer Hogan assessments.

Her expertise spans the various areas of organizational behavior and Human Resources, integrating individual, relational, group, and organizational perspectives. Her work is structured around five main areas: leadership, communication, influence, emotions, and inclusion.

She focuses on leadership in its various dimensions: self-leadership, one-to-one leadership, people leadership, and team leadership. In the field of communication, she explores effective expression, public speaking, listening, perspective-taking, and feedback management; in the field of influence, she examines the dynamics of persuasion, negotiation, assertiveness, and conflict management. She explores the role of emotions in organizational behavior and relationships, with particular attention to emotional intelligence, self-efficacy, and stress management.

Her work on inclusion places personal and social identity, the multiple dimensions of individual differences, and their interaction at its core. She studies organizational cultures, leadership styles, and practices that foster equity, belonging, well-being, and the appreciation of differences.She devotes particular attention to reinterpreting organizational behavior models through the lens of neuroscience, exploring their implications for leadership, learning, relationships, and change.

She integrates research, teaching, and individual and group coaching, also using creative languages and experiential formats in projects for Italian and international organizations.

She is the author of books and articles published, among others, in the Journal of Gender Studies, Economia & Management, and Sviluppo & Organizzazione, as well as teaching cases distributed by The Case Centre. From 2016 to 2024, she was a co-author of the Articolo 3 blog and served on scientific committees and advisory boards.

She earned a degree in Psychology from the University of Milano-Bicocca and a degree in Political Science, with a specialization in Social Psychology, from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. She trained in counseling at the Centro Berne in Milan and in coaching at IN Coach Academy and through The Columbia Coaching Certification Program. She completed the Master in Coaching Metodo Osnaghi® – Level 2 and is currently attending Level 3. She obtained the Certificate in the Foundations of NeuroLeadership from the NeuroLeadership Institute, with Distinction, and earned a certificate in Neuromanagement from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.

She has three children.