The Reboot podcast showcases the heart and soul, the wins and losses, the ups and downs of startup leadership. On the show, Entrepreneurs, CEO’s, and Startup Leaders discuss with Jerry Colonna the emotional and psychological challenges they face daily as leaders.
Episode 159 // July 12, 2022
When faced with uncertain times and unavoidable challenges, how we show up matters. For some of us, a healthy reaction might be to withdraw and tend to the tender parts of ourselves that need support and care. For others, these crucible moments present an opportunity to lean into the work of our lives and give us the chance to truly discover the work we were born to do.
In this episode, Jerry sits down with Andrew Alexseyenko, a Ukrainian entrepreneur and co-founder of KOLO, a nonprofit organization that provides operational assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In this conversation, Andrew describes the early stages of the war and shares what compelled him and his co-founders to put their existing startup on pause and shift their focus toward building KOLO.
Jerry marvels at the power of shared leadership and points out that the hallmark of a great leader is the number of leaders they help create. He reminds us of the ways collective leadership can effectively combat hopelessness and can provide a sense of agency in the face of adversity. Jerry illustrates how the skills we develop during times of turbulence are carried with us throughout the remainder of our adult lives.
Top Quotes:
“The world is so interconnected right now. I can’t believe how connected we are.” – Andrew Alexseyenko
“What can we do individually, and as a company, to support people, and to support Ukraine? Me and my co-founder, we agreed that we will not make any profit in the company until the war will end. Our main goal right now is to support the Ukrainian defenders. So we decided that we will transition to a nonprofit organization.” – Andrew Alexseyenko
“When our hearts are broken, we have a number of choices. One of the choices, which is completely understandable, is to withdraw and take care of the heart. And that’s an important move. But another choice that we have is to actually lean into the work that we were born to do.” – Jerry Colonna
“There is something uplifting about leaning into the work that you were born to do. It creates a healing sense of agency.” – Jerry Colonna
“The most important thing is energy. If you want to help someone, it’s not that hard to find some project to join.” – Andrew Alexseyenko
“There is a piece of you that thinks that the leader is the one who sits at the top of the pyramid and directs and tells everybody what to do. But one of the measures of leaders, of leadership, is the number of leaders that you help create.” – Jerry Colonna
“There is leadership that is loud and demonstrative, and then there is leadership that is quiet and stable. And the fact is, we need both kinds of leadership. We need the people who can organize and create the conditions for other people to step up.” – Jerry Colonna
“One of the more mature ways that I have come into my own leadership is to understand that that shared responsibility creates a sense of empowerment and gives us the sense of agency in the face of helplessness – preventing the sense of hopelessness.” – Jerry Colonna
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