Lessons from Jerry Colonna

Key Learnings & Philosophy

These points encapsulate some of the core tenets of Jerry Colonna's teachings on leadership and personal growth.

Better Humans Make Better Leaders: The foundational belief of Colonna's work is that leadership development is fundamentally about personal development. To lead others effectively, one must first commit to their own growth and humanity. [1][2]
Radical Self-Inquiry is Essential: Leaders must courageously and compassionately examine their own inner worlds, including their fears, self-deceptions, and unresolved issues. This process is crucial for authentic leadership. [3][4]
Embrace "The Art of Growing Up": True leadership involves a continuous process of maturation, which means facing difficult truths and taking responsibility for one's life and choices. [5][6]
Confront Complicity: A cornerstone of Colonna's coaching is asking the question: "How have I been complicit in creating the conditions I say I don't want?" This prompts leaders to recognize their role in their own struggles. [2][7]
Leadership is Not About Having All the Answers: Many leaders feel pressured to know everything. Colonna teaches that true leadership lies in asking the right questions and creating a space for others to find their own answers. [8]
Work Can Be a Place of Self-Realization: Colonna challenges the idea that work must be a depleting force in our lives. Instead, it can be a primary vehicle for achieving our fullest potential. [3][9]
Embrace Failure as a Learning Opportunity: Fear of failure is a significant obstacle for entrepreneurs. Colonna advises viewing failure as an inevitable and valuable part of the journey toward success. [10]
Cultivate Resilience and Adaptability: The entrepreneurial path is volatile. The ability to recover from setbacks and adapt to changing circumstances is more critical than any single strategy. [10]
Lead with Purpose and Passion: A deep sense of "why" is what sustains leaders through difficult times. This purpose provides the motivation to persevere when challenges arise. [10]
Focus on Your Unique Value: Leaders and organizations should have a clear understanding of what makes them unique and stay true to that, rather than trying to be everything to everyone. [10]
Authenticity is the Core of Effective Leadership: To lead authentically, one must have a deep understanding of oneself, including both strengths and weaknesses. [11]
Difficult Relationships are Opportunities for Growth: People who frustrate or challenge us often mirror our own unresolved issues. They present a chance for profound self-development. [11]
Unresolved Personal Issues Manifest in Leadership: Leaders often project their own unrecognized traits onto others, leading to conflict. Self-awareness can mitigate this. [11]
Find Fulfillment in Purpose, Not Just Achievement: True satisfaction comes from aligning one's work with a personal sense of purpose and living with honesty day-to-day. [11]
The Journey of Radical Self-Inquiry: This process involves skillfully and compassionately exposing self-deception to reveal one's true self. [5]

Top Quotes

"Until we make the unconscious conscious, we will be dictated by it and call it fate." [7][12]
"How have I been complicit in creating the conditions I say I don't want?" [7][8]
"What am I not saying that needs to be said?" [7][8]
"What am I saying that's not being heard?" [7][8]
"What's being said that I'm not hearing?" [7][8]
"The first act of becoming a leader is to recognize this being so. From that place, we get to recognize what skills we need to develop and who we really are (and are not) as leaders." [7][13]
"Listening opens that which pain has closed." [8][14]
"When we stand still, we run the risk of remembering who we are." [14]
"Remember, the higher up the pole the monkey climbs, the more his ass shows." [8]
"Stop spinning, stop pitching me, stop telling me you're crushing it. Sit still and ask yourself why things are the way they are and why they aren't the way you'd like them to be." [8]
"Learning to lead yourself is the hardest part of becoming a leader." [8]
"The alchemy of becoming yourself is the ultimate magic act and the fullest expression of leadership." [8]
"When leaders fail to look at themselves, they turn their inner turmoil and very human contradictions outward." [8]
"How would we feel if our children were to work for the company we've created or the team we lead?" [8]
"We need dreams. But willfully ignoring what is true is not the same as dreaming. It's delusion; and delusion leads to terrible decisions and, even worse, the destruction of trust." [7][13]
"I am not what has happened to me; I am what I choose to become." [14]
"To live well is to see wisely and to see wisely is to tell stories." [14]
"Taking your seat means defining your life." [7]
"One of the hallmarks of mental health is the ability to hold conflicting feelings." [7]
"The way to guide is to ask and not to tell." [7]
"I came to understand that, while people might not see you, might not get you, you could use that fact to survive." [14]
"If you could give up the need for measurable progress... and then focused on doing what is right and true each day... you'd live in congruency with your truest self." [8][12]
"Time and again I've watched hearts break open, so that true and authentic leaders can emerge." [13]
"The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves." [1]
"Better humans make better leaders." [1]
"What is not encouraged in our children is being yourself." [1]
"Your mission is not just to be a better person or to make a better company, but to work towards creating a better world." [3]
"The necessary first step is for leaders and others who hold power to see themselves clearly." [3]
"We are effectively cutting off access to 50% of The Human Experience because we don't know what to do with it." [5]
"There is something powerful and purpose-driven in acknowledging and living in that gap between who we are and who we'd like to be—without getting sucked into guilt, without getting sucked into shame..." [2]
"We tend not to teach our children how to speak in a way that is life-giving and life-affirming." [2]
"My co-founder, Ali Schultz, taught me the wisdom of horses. Horses... do not base their choice of the leader of their herd on strength or intellectual wisdom." [7]
"I'm no longer striving. Seat taken, he no longer needs to define himself by what he's doing." [7]
"Are you using work as a prop for self-meaning?" [8]
"Failure is inevitable in entrepreneurship. But it's not the end of the world. In fact, failure can be a valuable learning opportunity." [10]

Learn more:

Lessons from Jerry Colonna

Key Learnings & Philosophy

Top Quotes

Written by Antoine Buteau

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