Reunion

Building on the success of Reboot and the concept of radical self-inquiry, executive coach Jerry Colonna encourages leaders to consider the ways they have been complicit in, and have benefitted from, the conditions in the world they say they’d like to change. He shows them the path to creating new systems of inclusion for everyone.

We all want to belong. For executives and managers, to be better leaders—and people—we must create welcoming environments in which we, and others, feel recognised and have a place. To do so, we must first face our own need for belonging and how that need is often thwarted. Colonna argues that only through radical self-inquiry can we come home to ourselves and others and, in doing so, create systemic belonging—homes—for everyone.

Many people in power fall into the trap of toxic leadership. But this toxicity can be overcome. Colonna guides us on a journey of reunification with the disowned parts of ourselves, the myths and truths of our ancestors, as well as a deeper connection with those most affected by systems of exclusion. He shows how to apply radical self-inquiry (“How have I been complicit in creating the conditions I say I don't want”) and broaden it to include “How have I been complicit in maintaining systems of oppression that I say I don’t want”. More importantly, he challenges us to ask, “What do I need to give up that I love in order to have the systems of belonging that I want?”

The necessary first step is for leaders and others who hold power to see themselves clearly. The vital second step is to see and alter the effects of one’s untended, unhealed wounds and beliefs on those we are tasked to lead.

Doing so allows us to reimagine businesses as collectives where a shared sense of belonging thrives, causing a reckoning with the accepted definitions of leadership, success, and value.

With its unusual blend of poetry, quotes, and examples from Colonna’s own life, as well as the lives of his clients, Reunion is a life-altering guide for today’s complex and divisive world. Its wise insights and practical advice will help create an inclusive and welcoming workspace, uncover the best of who we are, and nurture and support those whom we are privileged to lead.