No fluff. Just depth, data, and daring leadership.

Where Psychology Meets Performance

Trusted by leaders in dentistry, healthcare, and high-stakes 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. Speaker. 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

Where strategy meets soul.

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. Let’s go there.

Acting as your strategic advisor — and your secret weapon — I’ll help you create a culture that’s not only safe, but sacred. One where your people thrive, not just survive.

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 dental practices through strategic hiring, virtual talent, and culture alignment.

Learn more
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.

Stream now
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.

Learn more
Denobi Award-Winning Consultant & Legacy Builder

Denobi Award-Winning Consultant & Legacy Builder

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

Watch now
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.

Book me

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. Let’s go there.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Keep up with Chief Psycho

Feedback isn’t just about the words you use—it’s about the relationship behind them.

In psychologically unsafe environments, even “constructive” feedback sounds like an attack. Defensiveness isn’t a personality flaw—it’s a survival response.

Want your feedback to land?
Then build the safety net first.

Because when people feel safe, they don’t just hear feedback—they grow from it.

#LeadBetter #ModernLeadership #chiefpsychoMicromanagement isn’t leadership — it’s insecurity wearing a management title.

The urge to control every detail doesn’t make you competent — it makes you a bottleneck.
 It reveals one of two things:

 1️⃣ You don’t trust the people you hired
 2️⃣ You don’t trust yourself to lead without hovering

True leaders build systems that empower, not control.

They develop people, not dependencies.

Because leadership isn’t about doing it all — it’s about letting go.

#NoMoreMicromanagers #LeadBetter #ChiefPsycho #LeaderDNACorporate responsibility has evolved — but not really. 🦖 

From “not our problem” to “we’re forming a committee to examine the possibility of considering potential solutions sometime in the undefined future,” companies have just gotten better at sounding responsible… without doing anything.

Same avoidance. Fancier packaging.

Real leadership requires action, not layers of vague intent.

#CorporateBS #WorkCultureIsBroken #ChiefPsycho #AccountabilityTheft #LeadershipSatire #NoMoreBuzzwordsYou track technical debt — but you ignore psychological debt. 💸 

Every time you:
 → Push people past sustainable limits
 → Prioritize deadlines over dignity
 → Demand performance without resources

You’re silently accruing a cost that doesn’t show up on spreadsheets… until your best people walk.

The most expensive words in business aren’t “We failed.”
They’re: “I’m giving my two weeks’ notice.”

Stop managing systems. Start supporting humans.

#LeadBetter #ModernLeadership #PsychologicalDebt #ChiefPsycho #CultureCost #SustainableWork“Culture fit” is just code for “people who won’t challenge us.”

Let’s be real: When you hire for “fit,” you’re building a team of clones—not innovators.
Why “fit” fails:
🚫 It rewards conformity over creativity
🚫 It silences dissent (aka progress)
🚫 It’s lazy leadership in disguise

Hot take: If everyone thinks like you, someone’s redundant… and it’s probably you.

Hire for CULTURE ADD instead:
✅ Seek cognitive rebels (they’ll disrupt stagnation)
✅ Prioritize “What can they teach us?” over “Do they vibe?”
✅ Let friction fuel your growth, not your ego

Tag a leader who needs to stop cloning and start evolving.

#HireDifferent #CultureStartsAtTheTop #ChiefPsychoLabYour brain doesn’t distinguish between physical and psychological threats. 🧠 

That passive-aggressive email from your boss? Your amygdala reacts like you’re face-to-face with a predator.
In toxic environments, your nervous system stays on high alert—spiking cortisol, shrinking trust, and frying decision-making.

That’s not drama. That’s neuroscience.

Chronic stress at work isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s your ancient survival mechanism working overtime in a modern environment it was never designed for.

Leaders who understand this build psychologically safe workplaces where people think clearly, speak honestly, and perform at their best.

The rest just build burnout cycles—and wonder why top talent leaves.

This isn’t just culture. It’s chemistry.

#WorkCultureIsBroken #LeadBetter #ChiefPsycho #NeuroscienceOfLeadership #PsychologicalSafety