Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up

by Jerry Colonna

One of the most profound teachings I’ve ever received came from a simple sutra from the Buddha: we are basically, unalterably good. We are born that way. (And, as evidence, the Buddha pointed to our humanity. Only humans, he taught, can achieve enlightenment and so, simply because we are human, we are essentially good.) But each of us grows, seeking love, safety, and belonging. We seek to love and be loved. We need to feel safe physically, spiritually, and existentially. And we yearn to belong. Learning to lead ourselves is hard because in the pursuit of love, safety, and belonging, we lose sight of our basic goodness and twist ourselves into what we think others want us to be. We move away from the source of our strengths—our core beliefs, the values we hold dear, the hard-earned wisdom of life—and toward an imagined playbook listing the right way to be.