Fabiola Gianotti shares what leadership looks like when purpose, passion, patience, and global collaboration replace hierarchy and control....
The European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) is the world-leading laboratory for high-energy particle physics, based in Geneva, Switzerland. Particle physics is the study of the smallest constituents of matter and the Universe and the laws of nature at the most fundamental level.
CERN is the home of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which allows us to study the fundamental laws of nature down to scales of smaller than 10-18 m. This provides insight into the structure and evolution of the Universe, from the “infinitely” small to the “infinitely” big. The LHC is the most powerful accelerator ever, housed in a 27 km ring, 100 meters underground.
On 4 July 2012, ATLAS and CMS, the two general-purpose detectors at the LHC, announced the discovery of a new and very special particle: the Higgs boson. This particle is the answer to how the matter we are made of could form in the early Universe.
Fundamental to this discovery were many new technologies, in particular the high-tech superconducting magnets that made the LHC so powerful. Built by Alstom (France), Ansaldo (Italy), and Babcock Noell (Germany), they are a brilliant example of partnership between CERN and industry. Fundamental research often requires technologies that are not available in industry when needed. Hence, they need to be developed by laboratories and industry through collaborative partnership.
CERN embraces and promotes open science, and its cutting-edge, multidisciplinary technologies are shared with society at no cost. By pushing accelerator and detector technologies to the limits, incredible advances have been made – including the development of the World Wide Web (by Tim Berners-Lee, who at the time was a CERN employee), hadron therapy to treat cancer, electronics and instrumentation for medical imaging, and machine learning for self-driving cars, among many others.
CERN was founded in 1954 on the initiative of a group of visionary scientists and politicians with two main goals. The first was to restore scientific excellence in Europe after the war, during which many researchers had left the continent, causing European science to decline. The second was to promote peaceful collaboration among European countries through science. The 12 member states that signed the founding convention in 1954 recognized two key ideas: first, that the social and economic recovery of the continent required sustained investment in fundamental research; and second, that science is a powerful glue that can connect people in a fractured world.
From the original 12 European member states that signed the convention, CERN has grown to include 25 member states and 11 associate member states from across the world. In addition, CERN has some 50 international cooperation agreements with technologically advanced nations such as the United States, Japan, Canada, and China, as well as countries that are still developing their scientific capabilities. In these cases, a key part of CERN’s role is to help young people and scientists build expertise and close the gap. Today, the CERN community includes more than 17,500 people representing over 110 nationalities, making it a truly global organization. The original vision of promoting peace through science has therefore expanded far beyond Europe to the entire world.
What unites all of us is a common passion, shared objectives, and the common goal of understanding how the universe works.
Most people at CERN are not employees of the organization; they come from universities, research institutes, and laboratories around the world. Therefore, traditional management tools like salaries or performance reviews are not the primary levers for alignment. What unites all of us is a common passion, shared objectives, and the common goal of understanding how the universe works. People know that this is something that cannot be achieved by a single person, institution, country, or continent. The goal can only be achieved by collaboration. The role of the leaders is not to dictate but to support the community in achieving common objectives.
CERN is an extremely democratic place where leadership does not come from hierarchy – it comes from ideas. If the youngest student has the right idea, we follow it. In the decision-making process, it is crucially important to listen to people and allow them to express their views. Ultimately, a decision must be made, usually by the leaders, but if people can be part of the process, if their voices have been heard, then they will accept the decision and work for the common objectives.
My education in science was very important in my leadership development because fact-based thinking, curiosity and rigor helped me. But one of the most challenging transitions I faced as Director-General was moving from a “vertical” mindset to a “horizontal” one. As scientists, we are trained to develop deep expertise in our specific, often narrow, field, to understand every detail of it. Leadership at CERN, however, requires the ability to embrace a wide range of domains, from science and engineering to funding, human resources, government relations, public communication, and environmental responsibility. I had to become broader, but also necessarily more superficial. I often had to resist the temptation to dive into every technical detail – which, for a scientist, can be frustrating – but leadership requires keeping sight of the bigger picture, trusting the people around you, the experts in their fields, and empowering them to do their work.
Leadership is not about knowing more than others in the room; it is about creating the conditions for others to grow and shine. Even when you may know more than your colleagues on a particular topic, it is important to step back, give space, and ensure that credit goes to the people who are doing the work. A good leader does not need to demonstrate authority by showing superior knowledge. On the contrary, leadership often requires restraint: listening, observing, and allowing others to contribute fully. This humility builds trust and strengthens teams, particularly in environments where expertise is widely distributed.
CERN operates on extraordinary timescales. Some projects span decades, even generations. Leading in such an environment requires maintaining a clear long-term vision while ensuring that people remain motivated in the present. This is achieved by recognizing that progress happens incrementally. Each small step matters, and each contribution is part of a much larger journey. A good leader acknowledges and celebrates these incremental achievements. Even if the final goal may be decades away, people need to see the impact of their work today. Every “stone” laid on the path is essential, and recognizing these contributions keeps teams engaged and motivated.
This article is inspired by a keynote session at IMD’s signature Orchestrating Winning Performance program, Lausanne (2026), which brings together executives from diverse sectors and geographies for a week of intense learning and sharing with IMD faculty and business experts.
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