The Emerging Connection Between Psychedelics and Leadership
Where do business and leadership meet psychedelic science? As you know, we’ve seen a remarkable resurgence in psychedelic research - once the domain of countercultures and academic fringes, psychedelics are now at the forefront of innovative approaches to mental health, wellness, and, intriguingly, leadership development.
I attended the INSIGHT 2023 conference by the MIND Foundation in Berlin, Germany in August, and there I met a researcher by the name of Dr. Bennet Zelner, doing some interesting research at the intersection of regenerative economics, psychedelics, and leadership.
Dr. Zelner discussed how we're currently facing a complex web of challenges on a global scale, a situation often described as a 'metacrisis' or 'polycrisis'. The root of these issues lies in our economic system's extractive nature and a deeper, underlying belief in our disconnection from the environment and each other.
The remedy? Transitioning to a regenerative economy. This isn't just about being 'green'; it's about creating a system where our actions help to renew and strengthen our social, economic, and natural environments, ultimately benefiting everyone.
However, such a fundamental shift also demands a new approach to leadership. The traditional, top-down leadership model doesn't quite fit into this new paradigm. Instead, we need a leadership style that values collaborative and decentralized decision-making, recognizing that change often starts from the bottom up.
In this context, Dr. Rachelle Sampson and Dr. Zelner, along with their research collaborators, are undertaking the Connected Leadership Study. They’re exploring some intriguing questions: Can deeply personal experiences that reconnect us to the larger world transform how leaders operate in their professional spheres? Do experiences like those with psychedelics encourage leaders to consider the long-term and the needs of a wider range of stakeholders? And can these experiences foster a new type of leadership, which we call 'Connected Leadership'? This leadership style could potentially leverage the collective intelligence of groups to address complex organizational and systemic challenges in a collaborative manner.
With this, I will start a series of discussions related to leadership within the wider context of the world, and how psychedelics can potentially play an interesting role. Perhaps you are a leader reading this and you don’t have the bandwidth to worry about regenerative economics because you’re so focused on your business—and that’s ok! In future articles, I will look more into leadership and psychedelics in a personal and interpersonal context and how they can play a more direct role in you and your business.
I invite you to join this conversation, share your thoughts, and perhaps envision how these insights could impact your approach to leadership. Together, let's explore this new horizon where traditional business acumen meets the transformative potential of psychedelic science.