Cut through the noise. Build trust. Lead like a human.

Where Psychology Meets Leadership

Trusted by leaders in dentistry, healthcare, and high-performing teams nationwide.
I help bold leaders and ambitious teams build trust, lead with intention, and unlock what's possible — all by getting real with the human side of work.

I'm Jonathan Bonanno - the mind behind Chief Psycho. 

Consultant. KOL. Psychodynamic Practitioner.

I’m the person leaders call when everything looks perfect on paper but feels like it’s falling apart behind the scenes.

For over a decade, I’ve worked at the intersection of business psychology, organizational development, and deep human transformation. Whether in dental groups, high-growth startups, or healthcare systems, I help teams and individuals reconnect with what’s real — so they can rise beyond what’s broken.

I’ve built, scaled, sold, and resurrected businesses. I’ve led rooms full of burned-out founders, overachieving executives, and high-functioning misfits. And I’ve done it all while practicing what I teach: showing up as my whole self and doing the uncomfortable, inner work — first.

Let's Get in the Lab

Inside the Lab

I work with leaders, visionaries, and teams who feel the tension between ambition and authenticity. If you’ve ever been called “too much,” “too emotional,” or “too intense” — you’re my kind of human.

As a trusted expert in organizational development and industrial/organizational psychology, I specialize in building cohesive, high-performing teams from the inside out. Headquartered in California, I work nationwide — using my signature LAB Methodology™ to transform businesses from reactive to regenerative.

I don’t sell shortcuts.
I create spaces where your story can breathe, your truth can rise, and your next chapter can begin — for you, your team, and the future you’re building.

Whether you’re a founder who’s burned out from holding it all together…
A team leader struggling with silent tension behind the smiles…
Or a practice owner ready to stop fixing symptoms and start healing systems…

This is your lab. This is your work. 

Start Your Lab Session

The work behind the movement

Professional Highlights

Founder & CEO of ZIA

Founder & CEO of ZIA

A people-first integration firm transforming businesses through strategic talent mapping, hybrid talent integration, and organizational alignment.

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Person dressed in black holding a microphone while seated against a patterned backdrop and neon sign.

Host of The Chief Psycho Podcast

Unfiltered conversations with bold leaders and the voices you don’t hear enough of.

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Co-Host of The Psycho x Incito Xperience

Co-Host of The Psycho x Incito Xperience

A first-of-its-kind immersive coaching cohort and retreat series for those who serve others relentlessly.

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Award-Winning Consultant & Legacy Builder

Award-Winning Consultant & Legacy Builder

Recognized for redefining leadership in dentistry through psychological safety and cultural integrity.

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Certified Practitioner of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy & I/O Psychology

Certified Practitioner of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy & I/O Psychology

Combining introspection with behavioral science to build healthier, high-performing humans.

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Ready to get real?

I don’t do transactional. I do transformational.
If you’re looking for a quick fix or a templated solution, I’m not your guy.

But if you're:

  • A founder holding it all together on the outside
  • A team leader ready to go deeper than another “strategy session”
  • Or someone who knows something inside you — or your org — is shifting...

Let’s talk. 

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Keep up with Chief Psycho

Ever heard of the Wave Theory? 🌊

I didn’t learn the Wave Theory in a classroom. I lived it:
▪️I felt it at mile 5 when my chest burned and my brain whispered, “quit.”
▪️I felt it in business—month 9 of scaling ZIA—when I was exhausted, frustrated, and still pretending I had it together.
▪️I felt it in life—when relationships collapsed and I had to rebuild myself from the ground up.

The highs? Addicting. ⚡
When everything clicks, when momentum feels endless, when you believe you’re untouchable.

The lows? Crushing. 💔 
When the work feels pointless, when you lose people you thought were permanent, when you’re too tired to care.

And the reset? That’s the part I used to ignore.
But now I know—recovery is what makes the next wave possible.

For years, I treated the trough as failure. I pushed harder, blamed myself, tried to force the crest. 

But the wave always came, and when I stopped fighting it, I finally understood:
⬆️ The highs remind you what’s possible.
🔄 The reset teaches you how to survive both.
⬇️ The lows strip you down to what’s real.

So let me ask you: Have you felt the wave in your own journey? Are you riding it or still trying to outmuscle it?

#ChiefPsycho #WaveTheory #LeadershipUnfiltered #EnduranceLeadership #EnergyCycles #PsychologicalSafetyThe real reflection isn’t always in the mirror, because glass only shows you your face—
 ◾️Not your patterns
 ◾️Not your avoidance
 ◾️Not the gap between who you said you’d be and how you actually showed up

The hardest part of leadership isn’t making decisions—it’s being brutally honest with yourself when it’s quiet.

Ask yourself:
 🔸 Did I show up as the person I want to be?
 🔸 Did I say the thing I was afraid to say?
 🔸 Did I lead myself before I tried to lead anyone else?

Titles, wins, metrics—none of that changes the truth. Leadership isn’t about what people see.

It’s about who you are when nobody’s looking.

#ChiefPsycho #SelfLeadership #RealityCheck #LeadYourselfFirst #LeadershipUnfilteredYour resistance to change isn’t a character flaw—it’s a survival feature gone rogue.

I used to beat myself up for staying in situations I knew weren’t serving me. Toxic relationships, dead-end jobs, patterns that kept me small. I thought I lacked willpower or courage. Turns out, I was just human.

Your amygdala can’t tell the difference between leaving a bad job and leaving the cave during a storm. 

Both register as: “This could kill you.” 
Loss aversion means your brain weighs potential losses twice as heavily as potential gains. 
So even when the math says “leave,” your nervous system says “stay alive.”

The familiar dysfunction feels safer than unfamiliar possibility. Your brain would rather keep you miserable in a known cage than risk you dying in unknown freedom.

Understanding this changed everything for me. I stopped fighting my resistance and started working with it. I made change feel safer by making it smaller, more predictable, more supported.

Your survival instincts aren’t broken. They’re just outdated. The same brain that kept your ancestors alive is now keeping you stuck. Awareness is the first step to override.

What change have you been resisting that you know would serve you? Comment below—sometimes naming it out loud is the first step to making it feel less dangerous.

#MindScience #ChangeManagement #Neuroscience #ChiefPsycho