Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up

by Jerry Colonna

He goes on to explain that he’d sworn that he was never going to be cold or hungry or alone again. I nod in recognition. I see him as he sees himself more fully. “Who hired the sales guy?” He looks around sheepishly. “I did.” “And who promoted him?” “Me,” says the camper. “There is nothing to be ashamed of,” I tell him. “The problem isn’t his greed. He’s just doing what you hired him to do. You outsourced your need to never be cold and hungry again to someone more acceptable. And he’s doing a great job at that.” “What if you took back your greed,” I ask him, “and instead see it for what it truly is: a desire to be safe, warm, and happy?” Take back the wish, take back the promise you made to yourself, leave aside the shame and own the fear not as something to deny but as something that fuels you. He brightens. I continue: “Let’s expand that view now. Let’s go beyond making sure that you and your family are never hungry again. Let’s see the ways you and your company have made it possible for your employees and their families to not be hungry. To feel safe, warm, and happy.” His body unfolds, and we all bear witness to his taking his seat not merely as a CEO but as a man, capable of providing for the boy under the overpass. Radical self-inquiry is how we learn to become more of ourselves, more like ourselves, more authentic. More human. And better humans are better leaders.