Expanding Consciousness, Connectedness, & Inclusive Business Practices

Information for potential participants.

What is this study about?

Dr. Rachelle Sampson and Dr. Bennet Zelner, faculty at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business, seek participants for the Connected Leadership Study, a research project examining whether and how consciousness-expanding experiences in supportive environments influence business leaders’ perceptions and decision-making.

Participants cover the costs of their participation in the Connected Leadership Program and travel to the retreat that forms part of this program. There is no cost for participation in the research study itself. In addition to scheduled program activities, research study participants are expected to:

  • Complete pre- and post-retreat online surveys;

  • Participate in one 25-minute, individual online interview with researchers prior to the retreat;

  • Participate in one 25-minute, individual interview with researchers during the retreat; and

  • Participate in three 25-minute, individual online interviews with researchers following the retreat.

Strict confidentiality will be maintained for all applicants and participants.

 Ideal Participants

Ideal participants are business leaders - those who currently hold a leadership position within a professional organization. For the purposes of the study, a leadership position is one that conveys decision-making authority over an organizational domain. Examples include but are not restricted to:

 

Allocating capital for specific organizational goals, such as new plant and equipment, market expansion, brand development, R&D and new product or process development, creation of supply chains, redesign of organizational practices, and other goals;

Overseeing individuals or teams working toward specific organizational goals;

Developing or executing organizational strategy, targets, mission, or aims.

 
Learn More / Enroll

 Principal Investigators

 

Rachelle C. Sampson, Ph.D.

Rachelle C. Sampson, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Business and Public Policy at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business and Senior Research Fellow at the Impact, Value and Sustainable Business Initiative at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. For two decades she has studied why firms and leaders underweight the long term, and the implications for innovation, workforce investment, and community outcomes. Her work appears in leading management and strategy journals, was recognized with the inaugural Panmure House Prize for research linking long-term investment and innovation, and has been covered by Bloomberg and Harvard Business Review. The Connected Leadership Study takes the question that has driven her research career to the level of the individual leader: what actually shifts how a leader weighs distant and diffuse consequences. Rachelle serves on the board of directors of the Usona Institute, a nonprofit medical research organization, where she is also treasurer. She holds a PhD in business economics from the University of Michigan and law and accounting degrees from Queensland University of Technology, Australia, and has training in the neuroscience of change and transformational coaching. Prior to her academic career, she was a consultant at Ernst & Young and a corporate attorney in Australia. For her full background, publications, and teaching, see Rachelle’s profile at the University of Maryland.

 

Bennet A. Zelner, Ph.D.

Bennet A. Zelner, Ph.D. researches, teaches, and advises on regenerative economics, psychedelics, and leadership. Current projects include ongoing work on the Pollination Approach–a regenerative economic approach to delivering mental health treatment–and the Connected Leadership Project. Bennet serves as Associate Professor of Business and Public Policy at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park. He also serves as a director or advisory board member for Usona Institute, Brooklyn Psychedelic Society, Gather Well Psychedelics, the Intercollegiate Psychedelic Network, and Global Psychedelic Society. Bennet received his PhD in Business and Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a frequent keynote speaker, conference panelist, and podcast guest. Links to his talks and writings can be found on his LinkedIn page.

 

Questions & Enrollment Information

Thank you for your interest in the Connected Leadership Study. Please provide the information requested below if you would like to participate in this research study or have questions.

There is no cost to participate in this research.