The Power of Compassion Pt 3 | Jerry Colonna and Leah Weiss

There is a metaphor that comes out of ancient wisdom traditions of a bird. One wing of the bird represents wisdom and the other represents compassion.

In order to fly the bird needs both wings.

Like the bird, as people and leaders, cultivating wisdom and compassion in our lives, and in our organizations may help us to realize our potential.

This metaphor serves as the centerpiece of our conversation today as Dr. Leah Weiss and Jerry Colonna dive deep into the power of compassion at work.

This episode is the third installment of a 4-part series (originally released last season) that features leading researchers and practitioners exploring themes related to compassion, courage, and living with a more open, and loving stance toward the world.

The first two parts featured conversations with:

Sharon Salzberg and Barbara Fredrickson
And James Doty and Jacinta Jiménez

In this moving conversation Leah and Jerry share: 

• Why they have infused compassion and mindfulness so centrally in their work with leaders and organizations
• Why empathy, safety, love, and belonging may be the most important qualities for leaders to focus on
• The role of suffering and a broken heart in compassionate leadership
• Using work as a crucible for realizing our potential
• The power of asking open questions, slowing down, and listening deeply
• How to navigate anger at work
• Reflections on opening the heart in difficult conversations
• The importance of kinship and recognizing our shared common humanity

**Please note: In this conversation Jerry and Leah share past experiences related to acute mental health issues and suicide. There is a possibility that some may find parts of this episode triggering. Please listen at your own discretion and in a caring and supportive way for you. Additionally, if you or someone you know is experiencing mental health issues, including those related to suicide please reach out for help. The International Association for Suicide Prevention is one organization that offers lots of free support, helplines, and resources globally. You can find them at https://www.iasp.info/ **

More about Jerry:

Jerry Colonna is the CEO, and co-founder, of Reboot.io, an executive coaching and leadership development firm whose coaches and facilitators are committed to the notion that better humans make better leaders. For nearly 20 years, he has used the knowledge gained as an investor, an executive, and a board member for more than 100 organizations to help entrepreneurs and others to lead with humanity, resilience, and equanimity. Previous to his career as a coach he was a partner with JPMorgan Partners (JPMP), the private equity arm of JP Morgan Chase. He joined JPMP from Flatiron Partners. For more on Jerry please visit reboot.io

More about Leah:

Dr. Leah Weiss is a researcher, lecturer, consultant, and author. She teaches Compassionate Leadership at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She is a founding faculty member of Stanford’s Compassion Cultivation Program. In 2019, she co-founded Skylyte, a company that specializes in using the latest neuroscience and behavior change to empower high-performing leaders and managers to prevent burnout for themselves and their teams. Leah has taught and spoken in over 75 organizations across sectors. Her work has been covered by news outlets around the world, including BBC, the New York Times, TED, the Financial Times, HBR, and others. For more about Leah visit:

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