Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jon Antonucci. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jon, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.

So many organizations completely forget about the front-line leaders who are (at least) influencing or (at most) dictating the internal culture of the organizations.

While training may be offered for almost every other position, little (or no) empowerment is provided to those who are burdened with with tremendous responsibility of serving their team on a day-to-day basis. When training is offered, it tends to be superficial, “check-the-box” training doing little to truly facilitate the success of those who are shouldering the largest part of the culture and productivity responsibility.

Often these front-line leaders have a genuine desire to perform with excellence, but have no idea of how or where to obtain quality resources that will empower them to do so. Sadly, organizations are often so busy replacing the people these leaders push away, that they fail to “sharpen their axe” and address the core challenge.

This is why I refer to front-line leaders as “the forgotten leaders.”

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I got my entrepreneurial start growing up in the foothills of Colorado, where I started providing lawncare and lemonade stands for my neighbors at only seven years old. At age 11, I had multiple business pursuits, and began karate classes at the local Boys and Girls Club. By age 12 I made use of my “firstborn” natural leader tendencies, teaching my first class.

When my family moved to Arizona, I got my first W2 job, quickly becoming the go-to person at the local Safeway. At age 17, I was given my own martial arts class to teach and by the time I was 19, I was leading 15 classes totaling over 500 students.

Unfortunately, I was not mature enough for my early success. Before I turned 20, I made the stupidest decision of my life, choosing to accompany 3 of my friends in the arson of a building in South Phoenix, which left my best friend dead and sent me to prison!

Thankfully, I was able to redeem the terrible situation first by addressing my own character flaws and second by using every day productively: participating in every rehabilitation class offered, completing multiple certificates and degrees, and finding a personal faith that inspired a completely changed life. Because of my transformation, I was given many opportunities to empower others in their success.

By the time I was released, I had been instrumental in the development of the Inmate Peer Program—creating and facilitating rehabilitation classes, and other opportunities that provided tools for success to those who wanted to leave a life of crime and return to society as productive, contributing citizens.

After release, I have enjoyed the privilege of first being the Training Manager and subsequently the Director of Revenue for an international specialty logistics company, consulting for multiple multi-million-dollar businesses, being a keynote speaker, sharing my story of hope in a variety of settings, and serving in my church.

It was during my time as a corporate trainer I recognized we were not providing resources to our front-line leaders. When I set out to solve that challenge, I was astounded by the overwhelming lack of resources dedicated to leaders who are actively working with staff. With more research, I saw an almost universal trend.
People were hired. Some did exceptionally well. For those who excelled, the next logical step was to promote them. But very few were being empowered to effectively fill the roles of leadership they were being given.

After reflecting on the gap I found, testing the resources I developed (drastically improving employee satisfaction and retention), and evaluating my ability to provide a solution for this major challenge, I set out to be the change I sought in the world.

In 2023, I founded SML Consultive as the global leader in front-line leadership development.
Our mission is to provide empowering engagement resources for leaders who want to leave a positive legacy.
Our vision is a future when the world is a better place as teams enjoy authentically engaged leadership that empowers their overall success as human beings.

We accomplish this mission by delivering engaging training and empowering coaching to front-line and middle leadership that provides the tools they need to effectively engage with their team. This strategy results in higher satisfaction among both internal and external clients, resulting in a more stable and profitable organization.

Providing dynamic and engaging leadership tools for leaders who actively work with staff, SML empowers effective engagement with internal clients, fostering a culture of collaboration and impact that facilitates increased employee retention and customer satisfaction.

Our real-world solutions are customized to meet the unique needs of the individuals and organizations we serve, ensuring dynamic impact and the opportunity for leaders to leave a legacy that changes the world—starting with the team and organization they are serving.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In my opinion, there are no such things as leaders who have not had to face something really tough! Sometimes those challenges are the result of our own choices, while other times, they are due to circumstances beyond our control.

While all entrepreneurs must exhibit a great deal of resilience just to start a business, I understand that my greatest point of resilience was a 14-year journey of learning to lead well amid a culture that did not promote the very values that became so important to me.
Though poor character led me to incarceration, it was the redemption of my values that created the person seen today. My passion for (true) leadership was fostered within the walls of prison, and its metal was tried in the fire of incarceration.

Much more could be said on this subject, But, I will simply say this for now: While I certainly wish that I could undo the things that led to my incarceration, I am eternally grateful for who I became while I was there. And I count it an honor to be able to leverage the things I endured to better serve others, today.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I have been positively impacted by about 1,000 non-fiction books which I have personally read, and probably millions that I have been exposed to via the thoughts, comments, and impartations of all the wonderful souls I have encountered in my life. It’s unfair to ascribe too much emphasis to any one of them, as I recognize that it is the value of their amalgamated wisdom that empowers my thoughts today.
However, the books that I most often cite tend to be: The Bible, Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. I have half a mind to add another 5-10 honorable mentions, but will leave it at this for now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://servantmindedleadership.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/servantmindedleadership/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ServantMindedLeadership
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-antonucci/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@servantmindedleadership
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sml-consultive-phoenix

Image Credits

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