My name is Jay Olivo. I grew up in Lindenhurst, got my first job at seventeen, and I've been working ever since, not in an office with my name on the door, but on the floor, where the machines run hot and the coffee runs cold.
A Long Island 501(c)(3) nonprofit that grows leaders, starting young.
My name is Jay Olivo. I grew up in Lindenhurst, got my first job at seventeen, and I've been working ever since, not in an office with my name on the door, but on the floor, where the machines run hot and the coffee runs cold.
The short version
I've spent a lifetime in manufacturing and maintenance: Coca-Cola, Estée Lauder, AmerisourceBergen, and today Oerlikon, where I'm an Engineering Manager. That's a long way of saying I keep things running, and I fix them when they don't. So here's the fair question: what's a maintenance guy doing teaching leadership?
Here's what I learned from a lifetime of changing bearings and chasing breakdowns. The equipment almost never failed on its own. Behind every big failure was a person who wasn't heard, a shortcut nobody questioned, or a team that never learned to trust each other. Machines are honest. People are complicated. And nobody ever hands you a manual for the people part.
I got tired of watching good folks get stuck. Smart, hard-working, decent people. Not because they lacked talent, but because nobody ever taught them how to lead themselves first. So I went and learned it. I became a Certified Professional Maintenance Manager (CPMM). I became a certified John Maxwell coach and a DISC consultant. I wrote a book, Leadership Between the Lines, about the stuff that never makes it into the job description. (That's me in the photo with John Maxwell. Still can't believe it either.) Then I did the thing you're supposed to do when you finally figure something out. I gave it away.
Leadership TeamBuilder exists to grow leaders, starting young. Our flagship is a three-year journey we call iChoose, iDo, iLead: year one a young person learns to make better choices, year two they put those choices into action, year three they lead others. It's not a lecture. It's a path you walk.
Alongside the youth program, we run a free personal-growth workshop every Wednesday night and free Lunch & Learn sessions for groups who want to grow together. Free means free: no cost and no credit card. At the end of the free workshop we mention our paid mastermind once, for people who want to go further. That's it. A nonprofit that only helps people who can pay isn't much of a nonprofit.
Because nobody leads alone. The best leader I ever worked for couldn't turn a wrench to save his life, but he could build a team that could do anything. He knew everybody's name, everybody's kids' names, and exactly when to get out of the way. That's the kind of leader we're trying to grow. Not the loudest person in the room. The one who makes the whole room better.
My theme song, if I had one, would be "My Hero" by the Foo Fighters. Not because I want to be a hero, but because the song gets it right. Heroes are ordinary people who show up. No cape. No superpowers. They just keep showing up for the people counting on them. That's leadership. That's the whole thing.
What we're built on
Lead with heart, because people can always tell when you don't.
Keep your humor, because the work is hard and laughing beats quitting.
Actually help, because that's the only reason any of this is worth doing.
Come to a free workshop, bring iLead to a young person you know, or help fund a student. Whatever fits.