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Jerry Colonna, CEO of Reboot.io, says business leaders must embrace the fear surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. (Peggy Dyer photo)
How can business leaders manage the stress and uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic? According to Jerry Colonna, it’s all about embracing fear instead of denying it.
“This is a really important message for anybody who feels responsible for other people,” said Colonna, CEO of coaching company Reboot.io, on a recent episode of Harvard Business Review’s podcast “The Anxious Achiever.” “Whether it’s parents feeling responsible for their children, or lovers feeling responsible for their loved ones, or leaders feeling responsible for their colleagues: Everyone around you can feel your fear,” Colonna said. Denying that you’re afraid makes the fear worse, he advised, as it undermines trust within an organization — “and we need trust to get through this together,” he told podcast host Morra Aarons-Mele.
In the episode, Colonna also noted that although many people around the globe are in physical isolation, no one should suffer alone during this challenging time for fear of sounding like they are complaining to those who might have it worse.
“When we get stuck in the aloneness in our suffering,” he said, “we cut ourselves off from the most powerful medicine we’ve ever invented, which is compassion.”
To learn more about how Colonna is leading his team through COVID-19, as well as hear a discussion between Aarons-Mele and psychologist Camille Preston about coping with uncertainty by taking on a growth mindset, visit the Harvard Business Review site.
Casey Gale is an associate editor at Convene.
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