Better Human, Better Leader

Yesterday evening I had the great pleasure of being at an intimate gathering at the H Club to hear from Jerry Colonna, hosted by Ian Sanders.

I’ve written about Jerry before in “That’s a great question“, so it was a privilege and pleasure to meet him in person (as I’ve often noted, a key reason I moved to London was that so many great thinkers, writers, speakers come through London regularly).

Jerry is a truly exceptional leadership coach and someone I have already learned much from. I look forward to diving into his book “Reboot – Leadership and the Art of Growing Up” over the holidays.

For now, a few key takeaways from the event last night:

• Better Human, Better Leader.
• It is hugely powerful when we feel the workplace embraces us bringing our whole selves to work, including accepting and embracing that sometimes we all struggle.
• On the contrary, when we feel forced to always put on and wear a mask, we face huge personal dissonance. This is when companies complain that there are issues with trust in the organisation.
• This does not mean turning meetings into therapy sessions, but it does mean meeting someone who is struggling with simple human care, understanding and acknowledgement.
• Be human by being open, vulnerable and supportive of your people. Vulnerability allied to the confidence that we will get through and find answers together, this is strength in leadership.

Thank you for your inspiring presence and teaching, Jerry.