Some leadership conversations stay with you because they don’t add more techniques. They change your attention.
That’s what happened for me with Ali Schultz, co-founder of Reboot.io. Reboot has been around for ten years now, and their work has influenced an entire generation of founders and leadership teams. But what struck me most is not a new framework. It’s a stance.
Better humans make better leaders. Better leaders create more humane organizations.
It sounds simple. It is not simplistic.
Reboot’s bet: leadership is personal work
Ali described Reboot as a platform for leadership coaching and organizational development that goes beyond skill-building. Not because skills don’t matter, but because skills are not the full story.
When someone steps into leadership, something predictable happens. Responsibilities increase. Visibility increases. Pressure increases. And we meet ourselves, fast.
Self-doubt. Imposter syndrome. Old patterns. Defensive reactions. The need to control. The need to please. The reflex to perform instead of relate.
Emerging leadership is not only about learning what to do. It’s about learning who you are while doing it.
Ali offered a simple equation that captures Reboot’s philosophy:
Practical skills + radical self-inquiry + shared experiences = greater resilience and stronger leadership.
I like this because it holds the tension. Not one or the other. Both.
A company built on diversity, not a single method
One of the early challenges Reboot faced was building a brand bigger than its founders. Ali shared how intentional they were about not building a company around one personality, one coach, or one method.
Instead, they built what Jerry Colonna calls a “wildflowers” approach. Biodiversity in coaching. Different styles. Different life experiences. Different ways of being with people.
It matters because coaching is not about fitting humans into a method. It’s about meeting humans where they are.
This also resonates with how organizations grow. Diversity is not just a value statement. It’s a design choice.
A small shift that changes everything: make space for the humans in the room
Ali shared something that I’ve experienced myself.
When you’re action-oriented, when you want to “not waste anyone’s time,” you can rush into agenda and execution. It feels efficient. It often isn’t.
Sometimes, the fastest way to move is to slow down enough to see what’s actually present.
A few minutes of human check-in changes the quality of the entire meeting. It reduces hidden friction. It surfaces what needs to be named. It creates conditions for real alignment.
This is not soft. It’s operationally sound.
Hiring in startups: the Sunday test, and the reality of stages
We also talked about what Ali looks for when building teams, especially in startups.
People who can create something from nothing. People who can execute and keep the bigger picture in mind. People whose heart is in it.
And one heuristic I’ll remember: the Sunday test.
Would you choose to spend time with this person on a non-work day?
It’s not a perfect filter. But it points to something important. Work is a human place. Toxicity does not scale. Neither does charm without integrity.
Ali also named something that more founders should normalize: not everyone scales with the organization, and that’s okay.
Some people thrive in the earliest stages. Some people want clarity and structure. Some people love the chaos. Some people don’t. The healthiest organizations design for transitions, rather than treating them as failures.
What horses, art, and ecology have to do with leadership
Ali’s personal influences were not what you’d expect from a standard leadership conversation: deep ecology, art, and horses.
Yet it makes perfect sense.
Leadership is a relationship practice. Presence matters. Authenticity matters. Power-with matters.
Horses, Ali said, don’t accept anything except the most grounded, most honest version of you. They offer immediate feedback. If you’re off, they know. If you’re performing, they feel it.
That’s leadership training, in a very direct form.
The next five to ten years: more human, not less
We ended with a question that’s hard to avoid right now: how will leadership coaching evolve with AI?
Ali’s answer was clear: work will remain human. Leadership will remain relational. If anything, the need for leadership development will become more important, not less.
AI may change tasks. It won’t remove the human complexity of trust, conflict, fear, meaning, belonging, and responsibility.
If we gain time, the question becomes what we do with it.
My hope is the same as Ali’s: that leadership and organizational development become even more human.
References
- Reboot.io, where you can find the resources and the newsletter
- Reboot by Jerry Colonna
- Reunion by Jerry Colonna (the book mentioned by Ali that was launching the day after we recorded)
Here is the transcript of the episode
Alexis: [00:00:00] Welcome to Le Podcast on Emerging Leadership. I’m Alexis Monville. And today, I’m honored to have Alison Schultz with us, the co founder of Reboot. io, an organization that’s been in reshaping the landscape of leadership coaching and organizational development. This year marks a significant milestone for Reboot. io as they celebrate their 10th anniversary. A decade of empowering leaders and team across various industries. So, without further ado, let’s welcome Alison Shultz to the podcast on emerging leadership.
Hey Ali. How do you introduce yourself to someone you just met?
Ali: Well, I guess I would say,
Hi, I’m Ali. I’m one of the co-founders of Reboot. How are you?
Alexis: That’s nice, that’s direct.
Ali: Yeah,
Alexis: could you walk us through the inception of reboot.
Ali: Yeah, so Jerry and I met in 2013[00:01:00] and we began doing the CEO bootcamps together. we did three bootcamps, including one in Italy, which is not too far from you. Before we formed Reboot with our partner Dan Putt the bootcamps proved that our instincts were right and that we were onto something. And so Reboot really came out of a vision to create a coaching and leadership development platform that would support people not only in better leadership, but also the work in the work that it takes to become a better human.
Alexis: I think that’s the part I’m very impressed with in all your communications with Reboot. there’s sometimes when you look at leadership or leadership development, there’s that kind of thing that are really technical. I. that seems to forget that behind all those skills, all those things that we learned to do there’s a human being and that’s probably something really important.
And I feel
that you are really touching regularly very well. So that, [00:02:00] that’s something I really appreciate.
Ali: Hmm. Thank you.
Alexis: what, what were some of the initial challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?
Ali: Yeah, so this is a great question. We had to build a brand for the company that was bigger than Jerry. So we had to build something that went beyond just Jerry Colonna. And by the end of our first year we had that, which was pretty cool to see. People were searching for reboot, they weren’t just searching for Jerry Colonna. And, you know, in the process of building that brand, we, we took advantage of Jerry’s notoriety and his reach and the work that he had been doing in the space for over a decade at that point. And we carefully crafted a brand and a voice that could stand on its own. I would say another thing that. We wanted to do, which kind of relates to that, is we wanted to build a company that was built, that wasn’t built around just one coach, one personality, or one method. We [00:03:00] wanted to bring together a team of coaches that were distinct and unique in their experiences and in their styles to better serve our clients. And internally, Jerry kind of refers to this as like wild flowers and, as a, I don’t know. I have a biology minor going decades back when I was in college. But if you know anything about biodiversity, there’s a strength, there’s an inherent strength in that. And so it, it serves our clients better when our coaches are unique so people can come to reboot and really get fit with a coach Just within our, our herd of coaches, I say lovingly
it’s kind of cool because you have a variety of, of humans that can meet the variety of humans that come to us for, for help and support. But it’s also like, I mean, can you imagine going to a therapist or a coach or, that just tries to fit you into their style or their method without really meeting you where you are as a human.
It just [00:04:00] like, it doesn’t match. So we wanted to create something that was really I don’t know, just a unique coaching experience that was in service to, you know, anyone that would come to us for, for help.
Alexis: This is, this is very, very interesting. And a quick question about the, the brand. Does Jerry’s book reboot was already out when you, when you created the brand?
Ali: No no. We started in 2014, so we started reboot in 2014. So we were doing this before Jerry’s first book came out. And his book came out in 20 17, 16 or 17, I believe. Maybe it was 2017. Maybe it was 2018. but it was much, you know, it was further down the line. So we had already had a brand and a larger platform established. the book came out and it had a place to be. It was kind of cool.
Alexis: Yeah, it’s very[00:05:00] very tempting to use , Jerry’s notoriaty and the work he did in the past and say, okay, that’s the one method we will propose. And I really like what you’re saying now. No, that’s not what we are doing. We are not like this. We are uniquely different and Yeah.
you, you can find a good match for you at the right time for you.
I really like that that approach.
you will celebrate the 10 years anniversary of of reboot io. what are the significant milestone that stand out for you?
Ali: Yeah. Man, I’ve got a, I’ve got a couple handfuls I, I jotted down so. Things. I think pulling off our first bootcamp was a big deal. And then I lost count after 25 bootcamps. So that. I mean, that, that’s a significant thing to successfully produce that many events, you know year after year. [00:06:00] And I would say another really big memorable event was getting the reboot podcast out and shipped. And that happened, that, that happened pretty quick. I remember it was probably September and three months of, of 2014, so it was three months since we had started. And, and we had the podcast out. it was really cool to, like Dan and I had been working on it, and Dan probably more so at that point. but it was cool to have Jerry listen to it for the first time and you know, to see his reaction. So that was really special. And then after that we just kept together products and services that were really , on our roadmap and that we had wanted to kind of put out in the world, including our, our peer groups, our circles we had put together a 360, review process for clients. So a lot of services that were really in support [00:07:00] of, one-on-one coaching, but it expanded and complimented just the one-on-one coaching work. Internally we had produced some really fun things too for our clients, mainly ’cause they were like educational, but we had a, a chatbook of poetry that we would use at events. we had made a branded journal. So it was cool to have kind of some tangible takeaways that we could, would give, you know, reboot clients in our work with them. And then of course, like Jerry’s first book Jerry’s second book, which is coming out soon. Tomorrow actually it launches it’s, I don’t know, in 10 years. That feels like a lot. I mean, on top of what, what I think is also kind of celebratory for us, and maybe for me, ’cause I hold this seat a little bit more than some of my colleagues ’cause I’m, I’ve just been the one kind of defaulted to being the brand voice.
You know, the [00:08:00] amount of content that we consistently put out into the world for free, because we know that, you know, not everybody can afford our coaching rates, but everyone should have access to frameworks or ways of thinking or questions for reflection that can help them become a better leader if they’re interested in this work. it’s nice to be able to provide such a rich At this point, library of resources for folks to kind of come to our site and mainline our content and kind of get a taste for what we’re about. and then, you know, maybe at some point know, if their comfort company sponsors them or budgets are such that it allows for it, they, they end up working for us.
But none of that’s like a requirement. we really put, a lot of good content out in the world as a Service to the entrepreneurial community and, and the emergent leaders, you know, to use your language, the emergent leaders that are there because they need support. You know, they need to recognize, you know, what are the practical skills that I need [00:09:00] and what’s the radical self-inquiry piece that I need?
Like, what are, what’s the inner reflection piece that I need to, to bring into this leadership space? And then what are the shared experiences, right? And so how can they then Find their people or their communities or their support or places for support, you know, in order to give them greater resiliency and enhance their leadership.
Alexis: Yeah, that’s beautiful. and among all the resources you are exposing to the world. I, I really like the, the journaling prompt.,
Ali: yes.
Alexis: so, that’s so simple and that’s so helpful to help people start with journaling , and usually there’s the, some people tell, told me, but I don’t know what to write.
I’ve said, all write what? What’s on your mind? And so I said, no, I’m, I’m stuck. I am, I cannot write anything I said. Okay. That’s a, that’s a good one. Let’s start with some prompts. And when I discovered your journaling prompt, I say, oh yeah, that’s, that’s really cool.
Ali: I’m glad [00:10:00] you think so. I think so as well. It’s it’s a, a, a really beautiful practice to, I mean, journaling takes work, you know, and it’s personal for everybody. There’s no right way or wrong way to do it. It just has to support you, you know? That’s why people do it. And so, Margaret and I, Margaret, who’s my, like partner in content creation and she’s the brilliant editor to our, our podcast we sat down and I was like, we have enough journaling prompts from all the content we’ve put out in the world and from all the events that we have done where we could just do an email Course, even though it’s zero cost, but like, sign up, get a daily email in your inbox. you know, the questions that we pulled together are very rebooting. And they’re very applicable to anyone in leadership, like anyone in leadership or management, or even people who don’t think of themselves as CEOs or founders or anything. They can be really handy. Just in terms of helping someone to establish a journal practice or, [00:11:00] giving them like that external prompt so that they can sit down and, and do some self-reflection.
So it’s such an important piece, I think, of being an, being a leader. I’m really delighted that, that we re release that this year.
Alexis: Over those, 10 years, how has your role evolved within the company?
Ali: Oh yeah. yeah. It’s, I feel like I’ve, I’ve, I’ve, been around done a lot I started in ops primarily, so I was like, you know, making sure that the trains ran on time and taking care of a lot of the internal structure, really the business structure of, of what are we doing and really leading the, the marketing and content efforts.
And I mean, we’ve been very lucky as a company that because of kind of like Jerry’s notoriety and whatnot. The, the PR efforts and the traditional marketing efforts, we really didn’t need so much of, but, you know, we could be really creative I don’t know, kind of like specific [00:12:00] with the content we put out.
And so I I really leaned in there and after five years, we came to a, a moment in the company where we were no longer a loose consultancy of, of coaches which is kind of what we began as, as we, we, as we tried the experiment of, you know, what is, what is this company and what does it need to be? we, we began employing our coaches. And so that was a, just a slight shift in the business model. Not too bad, but it was at that point that I handed over the operational reigns to just a, a small ops team within the org and I just stepped into coaching full-time. So it was a, it was a big shift, but it was also welcomed, so.
Alexis: Yeah, that’s a, that’s a big one. But yeah, that’s probably very satisfying to have built something, build a team that can run on, on its own and enables you to, to do something that has a different kind of impact. That’s a, that’s [00:13:00] interesting.
Ali: Yeah. Yeah.
Alexis: So. Emerging leadership mean to you, and how does it align with the mission of reboot?
Ali: Yeah, this was another really great question. I mean, we believe that better humans make better leaders and better leaders create more humane organizations. And we love working with the, with emerging leaders because we can instill in them during those emergent years, like the, the soft skills that are so important.
And we can also stress the importance of doing the radical self-inquiry work alongside the practical skills, right? But it’s a way to really support what’s emerging in each individual as they’re stepping into their leadership. you know, anyone who takes a leadership role that has not done that before is gonna run up into a ho, run up against a host of, of issues including [00:14:00] self-doubt, imposter syndrome all these things that really stem from who am I and what am I bringing into this role. But it also kind of stems from, I’ve never done this before, and what do I need to know to do the job? I kind of feel like, I mean, I kind of hinted or spoke to our formula before, but kind of the formula or the bet that we, that we take at reboot is that practical skills plus radical self-inquiry plus shared experiences equal greater resiliency and enhanced leadership.
Or it might be enhanced resiliency and greater leadership, whatever, but but it really fits that emerging leadership sensibility where You know, I don’t know. When I think about emerging leaders, there’s something emerging. It’s emerging in you. It’s emerging from a need in the world. It’s emerging from a need in the organization.
And how are you gonna meet that? How are you gonna a, listen to what’s showing up? Listen for what’s showing up. How can you be attuned to that? And how can you meet that need [00:15:00] or meet what’s emerging and be agile about it.
Alexis: I love it. So thanks for, for sharing. Can you share with us an example of a time when your leadership skills were put to.
Ali: Yeah. When I, when I operate, I’m really, I don’t know that tactical is the word, but transactional. Like when I go into, Get shit done. I go in to just get shit done. Like that’s, I assume, like that’s why we’re here. So I think it took a while for me to really, pause or trust that holding space for everything else that’s in the room is actually gonna get things done more smoothly and potentially more quickly.
Right, because you’re not just meeting with people who are always ready to go tracking the same agenda items that [00:16:00] you are seeing everything the way that you wanna see them. and so, yeah, I would say learning the, to just kinda sit back Not drive so much with the get shit done mentality but to really create enough space for the humans in the room and kind of meet and be able to meet that humanity, right?
Like personal check-ins how are we doing, how are we feeling about these things? And then go moving into what may be the agenda items, but it’s, it’s, it’s more like realizing. What are the other issues that aren’t maybe so tactical or get shit done oriented that are also in the room that need to be unpacked and talked about? And I think for early leaders, and I don’t know a lot of clients that I work with too, it’s like learning that, shift can be really impactful. And it’s hard I think during early startup days when everybody’s kind of doing everything and there’s an [00:17:00] urgency to just like Get everything done as fast as possible. Cause it feels like there is no time to pause or to take, take things slow or to, to ask big questions. I guess my invitation is, and my learning was, you to create the space for, for that way of being, with the to-do list. It, it’s, it’s more powerful in the long run.
Alexis: Hmm. Yeah, it’s a thank you for sharing that because I, I believe it’ll help a lot of people to, to think and reflect about it. I have the, the, the tendency also to, to look at the time we have, we have allocated to do something and to say, okay, I don’t want to waste the time of anybody, so let’s, let’s get to it immediately.
that’s, that’s kind of that urge that is there. And it’s hard to pause, so it’s a, it’s very, very helpful to say Yeah. But, Make enough space for the human being in the role. [00:18:00] And that’s, yeah, very powerful. I love it. If we look at the startup environment, what are, what are some key qualities you look for when you, when you are building a team?
Ali: Yeah. Key qualities I think, I think there’s. There’s a lot of power in finding people that are good people. Like you just really want good people. But I mean, as far as qualities a willingness to dive in and face problems, that’s key. And I think a willingness to be a little bit obsessed and dedicated also goes a long way at first, especially when teams are small and new and there’s a lot of exciting stuff happening. I mean, I say that in the sense that. The obsession or the dedication can help people, can really help the focus [00:19:00] and the, the small team cohesion a little bit. Yet that certainly doesn’t scale. mean it can, but it needs to be named, it needs to be checked in on and it needs to be maintained in a healthy way. you want people that are engaged in the work like they wanna be there. They’re eager to solve these problems. They’re eager to show up every day and solve these problems, and they get a little bit of aliveness out of it. I mean, you want people that really wanna be there. Cause you’re gonna get so much more out of not just the team. there’s no sense. I mean, it’s just hard to work with people who their heart isn’t in it. I don’t know. I think Someone who’s willing to kind of put their heart into it a little bit is, makes things kind of fun at the beginning. You also need a balance of like contextual thinking and execution, especially at first, because at first you have, I mean, I’m thinking of like startup teams of like maybe five to 10 people or five to 15 people, but. At that stage, [00:20:00] everybody’s kind of doing everything and it’s, it’s a little bit like, you know, a kindergarten soccer team where everybody’s on the field and not everybody has a defined role, but you know, you’re on the same team and you’re kind of playing certain parts of the, of the field, but but you’re also getting coffee and taking up the trash and doing all those other things.
So it’s such a mixed bag of an experience early on. And then of course, as at, at as things grow and roles scale and the company scales and roles get defined, then there’s more clear parameters and more clarity and more expectation around what your key role on the team or on the field is.
You know? I think you need people who are able to, kind of going along the execution line. It’s really great to have people that can execute, but you also need people who can create something from nothing, you know, because in a lot of startup spaces, there’s, I mean, that’s art really is to be, to create something from nothing, right? [00:21:00] But so many of the problems that get funded and companies are built around, like they didn’t exist. You know, before funding it was like, I have this idea, let’s do this. And so you need someone who can really see the whole picture of where this is going. And also also be able to know, okay, this is my role execution wise in the org and this is how I can contribute to this. And a lot of this is kind of set too, I think with leadership parameters, you know, like your leader’s gonna, a good leader will help you know, the team see these things. But honestly, I’d say when it comes to hiring people there is no sociopath filter. However, I know after working with a lot of clients that sociopaths exist. you have to trust your gut when hiring. And you have to be quick to really Get toxic people, I think, off the team. But one of the [00:22:00] ways to really test for this, it’s not foolproof because there are some really charming and toxic people that can just be in the world and then wreak havoc in your organization. But we always say, you know, the Sunday test. Here at Reboot, and that is, would you want to hang out with this person by choice on a Sunday? Like it’s a non-work day? You don’t have to be in their presence and yet you would, you would choose to hang out with them on some relaxing non-work activity. someone passes the Sunday test, that’s a pretty substantial thing. And you can tell a lot too about people And how they make you feel meeting in person, you know? So like when you’re hiring, really pay attention. How does this person make me feel? Are there any red flags? Are there any like suspicions or feelings that come up? I’m with this person that I either wanna get clarity around and lean in and [00:23:00] ask them about and or does it remind me of anything else in my life that with a red flag for another relationship that may have headed south. Those are just, they’re signals to pay attention to, I would say. it’s, there’s a lot of magic at the start of startup And then, you know, as teams scale, I think it’s key to also know that, not everybody scales with the organization and so, so turnover is like, natural turnover in many ways can be celebrated. Like, oh, we have reached this point in our organization where we need to bring in like a CFO, not just a director of finance or we need to bring in, A really like a main leader, not just someone who’s grown up and kind of fulfilled some, territory in the organization, like with marketing or, or some part of the org. And so, I mean, that can be really hard, you know, especially as teams grow because you get attached to people. But there’s ways to also build it into culture [00:24:00] and say, you know, we’re bringing you in. We know this might be. A short term thing, but we want this to be the best place that you’ve worked and you know, we’re gonna celebrate what’s here. And, you know, whatever tenure anyone does have, So I guess a lot of this is like, there are qualities that you want in your team, right? But not all those qualities, not all the people will necessarily scale with your org.
Alexis: Yeah.
Ali: And what are the qualities too, I guess as part of what I’m responding to here, as what are the qualities you can bring to like your hiring process and your culture and tending to those, those, those parts which are equally as important.
Alexis: I really like your, your, your answer and setting the right expectations also for people. And I like what you say. That’s, that’s a good balance between that for people who can grow with the, the team or with, with the company. That’s celebrate what they brought to the [00:25:00] team.
And there, there’s, there’s people who don’t want to go in the, in the next stage. They, prefer really the, the infancy in the incubation mode, and they don’t want to go to the next stage. That’s not, that’s not. Maybe they could , but they don’t want,
so,
Ali: Yeah.
Alexis: so that’s okay. And and, and that’s great to, to affirm those people for that period of time.
What, whatever along there that was. how, how do you approach your own personal and professional development?
Ali: Yeah, so my, yeah, this is a great question. an ongoing process really of. Kind of discovery from, you know, within me, but also a commitment to being curious about what’s showing up for me and my work. I believe we need guides in this life. We can’t do this alone. got a great body worker. I’ve got a great therapist. I have a small herd of beautiful horses[00:26:00] where I get to go and decompress. I have great colleagues that I get to share my work with and They share their work with me. So there’s like this cross pollination that happens. And I have a very loving and wonderful partner with whom I’m lucky to share both life and work.
So that’s a’s a big part of, I think what supports me in, in my work. I live a pretty cloistered life on purpose. So that I can kind of hear my own voice clearly stay attuned to what’s emerging within me and within the world And, you know, that quiet life really ensures that I have the resources that I need to do the work that I do with my clients. So, yeah.
Alexis: Okay. Excellent. Are there any books, mentors, [00:27:00] experiences that have profoundly impacted your, your style, your leadership style, or your way of doing your work?
Ali: Yeah, there’s probably too many books to mention. But I’ll say that it’s probably been informed by three things that are really important to me, and that is deep ecology, you know, this belief that the world in order to really amend the climate crisis or the ecological disaster that is kind of impending in the world we really need to tune into a shift in consciousness, which, helps people like awaken into self-actualization versus less woke, less aware way of being in the world. Right? So I’m a deep ecologist at heart it’s kind of cloaked, I would say, in, in all of my work at Reboot. It’s, I don’t speak about it that directly most of the time, but [00:28:00] I mean, for me it’s, it’s right there every day. say another practice that’s really informed, the work that I do is art. I’ve been an artist for my whole life. I’m not formally trained, nor do I think you need formal training to really be an artist. Same with leadership in many respects. but there’s something about, for me, the the practice of art where you are alone with your, with yourself and this idea or you in a blank page or a blank canvas, and it’s like, what am I gonna.
Bring to this. And it’s much less about what am I going to be creating? And it’s more about how am I with that creative force, that’s arising in me and how do I trust my, in my intuition and my instincts? And what then comes out of that? And how do I work with, you know, what’s in front of me? I think there’s, I don’t know, something about beauty and truth in that whole process. And it’s really personal and it’s really [00:29:00] intimate, but I think it’s, I think it’s key to leadership. And then hands down I would say horses are, have definitely impacted, my beliefs about leadership and probably my leadership style and. It’s a, it’s, there’s so much there for me in the, in the horse aspect, like I can’t even talk about it.
I just start crying. but there’s something about learning to be in relationship with another being that is not a power over relationship really. It’s power with, that’s, I mean, that goes a long way into anybody’s, you know, leadership or management roles. But for me, in my small herd of beautiful horses, it’s, you know, they, they don’t put up with anything really other than the best me, the most authentic. Me that I bring forward. And so for me, every, every moment spent in the barn is I’m not gonna knock my therapist ’cause I love [00:30:00] her. She’s fantastic But it’s there, it’s, it’s it’s immediate feedback in the sense that if I am off base or if I am not owning some state of mind, or I’m bringing some really grumpy state of mind into the interaction with them, like they know it and they’re like, You don’t feel great about yourself right now. Why should I feel really great about you? Or know, it’s, you know, they demand really the best of us in order to really have a good relationship with them, you know, harmonious. And it’s a, it’s a really wonderful, Attunement practice. probably three totally like outta left field answers, but they are, they’re, they’re the three cornerstones for me.
Alexis: That’s, that’s absolutely perfect. You, you brought me back many years. when we, we had horses at, at home and when you, when you spoke about that, that brought me with the, I was a small kid, so I, I was [00:31:00] small. When I was approaching the horses, they were always, trying to, to, to smell and and so through the nose and you, you approach your head close to their nose and they don’t move and they, they they smell slowly and it’s, and it’s warm and it’s, and it’s and you feel something is happening. And that’s, that brought that memory to my mind.
Ali: Yeah. Well, it’s such a, well, I’m really glad you brought up that, that memory, because I mean, I think if the horse industry really needed, to convert people into the horse industry, all you need is to just have a horse blowing on your face or your hand or something, and it, there’s something, there’s something really potent about that you’re hooked at me.
Anyway. Totally hooked. Yeah.
Alexis: Yeah. Oh yes. Oh yes. That’s.[00:32:00]
Let’s take a, a look at what will happen in the future. Let’s take our crystal ball . How do you see the landscape of leadership coaching and organizational development all those things changing during the next five to 10 years?
Ali: Yeah. I think the trajectory of the last five years has been important just to look back a little bit cause it put the emphasis. On the importance of leadership development within any startup or any organization. I sense that’s gonna continue. You know, there was a time when it was a hard sell to get an executive coach or bring in. L and d work, and now it’s just the norm. It’s kind of a norm, especially kind of in companies like startup companies that have been funded and other organizations too, and in other, [00:33:00] other verticals and other industries, not just tech. Which is really great to see because, you know, now that these like coaching and l and d are, are part of, you know, budgets and budgeting, they’re seeing the impact as well. I think because the payoff of those line items are so great for the individuals and the teams and then the organization and business as a whole. You know, I suspect that we’ll continue. I, the thing is like, we’re. Work is a very peopley place. Work is a very human place. Right. I really don’t think AI is gonna shift that too much. I mean, there are still gonna be humans doing human work and, humans need tending to, and those humans that are working in relational spaces need tending to, whether it’s their teammates or their customers or the service that they’re providing. So, I mean, I would, I would hope, I guess If I look into that crystal ball, it’s that the, the landscape of [00:34:00] l and d or the landscape of leadership coaching will just become more human, more and more human.
Alexis: I love it. And you guessed that my question was also connected with AI because it seems everything is related to AI nowadays.
Ali: I know. Yeah.
Yeah.
Alexis: I love your answer. That’s that’s reassuring . Mm-Hmm.
I’ve heard a lot of people thinking they will solve everything with a little bit of ai.
Interesting problem can, can be solved that yeah, I would love us to use the time that we gain to engage in more meaningful relationship Yeah, well said.
hope for that.
Ali: said.
Alexis: So what, what’s next for, for reboot? Any, any exciting projects or initiative you, you can share with us?
Ali: We’ve kind of got a lot of ideas in the hopper but I think [00:35:00] the big, the big and Easily ready to share. Tidbit is Jerry’s second book launches tomorrow. So you can find it on bookshelves everywhere for real, not just in pre-order. So we’re excited, we’re excited to see how, how that emerges. Tomorrow we were kind of aiming for some bestseller lists with a lot of presale efforts. But you know, the book industry is a really crazy space. So we’ll see what happens,
Alexis: Yeah.
Ali: other than that, you know I’d just say watch this space carefully for any projects and expansions. But you can count on us to continue to provide. Meaningful and helpful content as a corollary to the services we provide. And the newsletter, our new newsletter is always a great place to dive into what we’re currently doing and kind of what’s coming up in the next like months, in what might be emerging. I [00:36:00] don’t know, in the next year or so.
Alexis: I definitely will put links in in the companion blog post to make sure that people can find those resources in the, the newsletter and so on. And and the book, of that’s that’s cool. That reminds me that I did not prior order. I will. So that’s good. I will order now. So thank you very much for, for joining Ali.
That was really fantastic.
Ali: Oh yeah. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me.
The horse picture is from Missi Köpf (on Pexel)
