#014 Accelerating Growth in Leaders with Chris Baer

Making Business Art

As the pace of change and complexity of our world keeps accelerating, it is increasingly necessary for us to develop the leadership skills to navigate the demands emerging from shifts in markets and society.

My guest and leadership development and culture consultant, Chris Baer, observes that some leadership approaches that worked in the past are no longer adequate to meet the demands of our emerging reality. Instead, Chris believes that it is more important than ever to lead with heart, develop greater discernment and key “inner skills” that help us produce “outer results.”

In this conversation Chris and I discuss the lessons he has learned in nearly three decades of navigating waves of disruptive technologies, his role as a global innovation leader, his work developing leaders, teams, and winning innovation cultures in organizations, and his latest initiative, the Insight Leadership Accelerator. We also explore Chris’ insights into human development and teamwork, his role as co-founder of Sunstone Therapies*, a healthcare company conducting research on psychedelic-assisted therapies, his passion for abstract painting and DJing, and how he has adapted and applied the lessons learned from these creative pursuits in his work accelerating growth in leaders and teams.

*See Sunstone Therapies featured on ep. 2 of the Netflix docuseries “How to Change Your Mind”

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Chris Baer has spent over 25 years working at the intersection of brand, digital technology and innovation, and has a particular passion for leadership development. His experience spans founding start-ups to helping power global brands, and he has consulted across healthcare, hospitality, real estate, insurance and other industries.

Chris presently leads design at A&MPLIFY, a global agency advising clients aiming to employ AI to serve customers and support employees. He is also founder of Mandala, a consultancy offering innovation and leadership programs that rapidly upskill leaders and teams.

Chris is a co-founder of Sunstone Therapies, a healthcare company bringing trial psychedelic therapies to treat depression, anxiety and PTSD in the medical setting.

Previously, Chris looked after global leadership development and talent experience design at Marriott International, where he developed a global innovation blueprint, oversaw worldwide talent and customer experience initiatives, digital product innovation and talent and executive development.

Chris is also a fine artist working in oil paint and glass. His work is in private collections and has been featured in the United States embassies abroad.

Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial design from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he has been a guest lecturer. He also has co-taught innovation at the University of Virginia’s Batten Institute executive MBA program.

ABOUT MAKING BUSINESS ART

Making Business Art is a podcast for curious people where we explore how to make our work more meaningful and enchanting for ourselves and the people we serve. We draw lessons and inspiration from entrepreneurs, designers, scientists, creative leaders and artists about creating remarkable experiences that light up our customers and our teams.

This podcast is the creation of and hosted by me, Ezequiel Williams. I am an entrepreneur, innovation strategist, facilitator, and business designer. I help leaders and teams see their challenges differently and find ways to deliver value that are more desirable and satisfying for the people they serve. I am very curious and love to learn about how things work, what makes people tick, and how to create more joy in the world.

Instagram: @MakingBusinessArt