The Office of Personnel Management proposes to overhaul the Senior Executive Service candidate development programs by standardizing content, shortening timelines to 9-12 months, increasing training hours, and adding mentorship and developmental assignments to better prepare federal employees for senior leadership roles, aiming to create a more consistent and effective leadership pipeline across government agencies.
McKinsey has historically been a powerful incubator for future CEOs, with a vast alumni network occupying top corporate roles worldwide. The firm’s rigorous training, strategic relationships, and alumni engagement have created a self-reinforcing influence in global business. However, the rise of AI and changing leadership archetypes pose challenges to its traditional model, prompting McKinsey to adapt its talent development and value proposition to remain relevant in an AI-driven economy.
A new study published in Frontiers in Psychology suggests that mindfulness meditation and psychedelic use may have positive impacts on leadership development in the workplace. The research, which aimed to address the lack of empirical data on the effects of these interventions, found that a significant portion of participants who held management positions reported trying mindfulness meditation (43.6%) and psychedelics (17.7%). Responses indicated that both practices had positive impacts on leadership, including improved wellbeing, increased presence and awareness, enhanced creativity and productivity, and improved interpersonal attitudes. While the study has limitations, the findings suggest that combining mindfulness meditation and psychedelics in training programs could potentially improve leadership outcomes.
