From Managing To Leading: Why I’m Seeking Deeper Support In My New Role

Stepping into a Vice President role was the career milestone I thought I had been working toward for years. After moving through various middle management positions—navigating team challenges, hitting KPIs, proving myself again and again—I believed I was prepared. I thought the bigger title, the higher salary, and the wider influence would feel like stepping into my power.

But almost immediately after starting this new chapter, I found myself facing an entirely different internal landscape—one that no management training had ever truly prepared me for.

There was fear. Fear of not being enough. Fear of not being respected. Fear of not delivering the change I had been brought in to create.

There were self-limiting beliefs. The old internal voices resurfaced: “You're just pretending to be a leader.” “You're not visionary enough.” “Soon they’ll realize they made a mistake picking you.”

And most painfully, there was a lack of empathy—for myself, and for others. I caught myself being more reactive with colleagues, impatient with those who struggled to adapt. I felt isolated, yet I pushed people away with a shield of competence. My need to “prove myself” was sabotaging the very culture of trust and innovation I was tasked to nurture.

I realized: it wasn’t my skills that needed upgrading. It was my relationship with myself.

Why Traditional Support Didn’t Feel Like Enough

I tried leaning harder on old tools—more books, more frameworks, more productivity hacks. I considered traditional executive coaching, but something in me knew that surface-level optimization wasn’t what I needed.

I didn’t want someone to just help me manage better. I wanted someone to help me become different.

Not different in a performative sense, but different in the way a tree becomes stronger by digging deeper into the soil. Rooted. Authentic. Resilient.

That’s when I first heard about coaching that incorporates psilocybin-assisted integration. And it stirred something inside me.

Why Psilocybin?

I had known about psilocybin in the abstract—mostly through articles about its benefits for depression, anxiety, or trauma. But I hadn’t seriously considered it as a leadership development tool.

The more I learned, the more I understood its potential—not as a drug, but as a catalyst. Psilocybin works by quieting the default mode network of the brain, allowing new connections, new perspectives, and emotional processing that is often inaccessible in our everyday states of mind.

In safe, intentional settings—with preparation and integration through skilled coaching—psilocybin can open the door to profound self-awareness. It can dissolve the rigid ego structures that keep us stuck in fear, control, and self-protection. It can help us see our patterns not with judgment, but with compassion—and then begin to rewrite them.

For someone like me, who had built an entire career on competency and control, this idea was both terrifying and profoundly hopeful.

What I Hope to Gain

Through a relationship with a business coach who weaves psilocybin-assisted integration into their practice, I am hoping for something deeper than tactical improvements.

I am seeking:

• A more grounded sense of self-worth that isn’t tied to constant external validation.

• The ability to lead from presence rather than performance—to be someone who listens deeply, responds wisely, and fosters real trust.

• The courage to dismantle my own outdated beliefs about success, leadership, and vulnerability.

• The emotional intelligence to connect authentically with my peers, team, and the mission we are building.

I don't expect magic. I know this path requires commitment, humility, and discomfort. But for the first time, it feels like a path that isn’t about adding another skill to my résumé—it’s about coming home to the leader I was always meant to be.

A Different Kind of Leadership Future

I’m sharing this because I know I’m not alone. So many leaders today are wrestling with the invisible side of growth. The internal battles that no LinkedIn post or quarterly report will ever show.

Choosing to work with a coach who honors the power of inner transformation—who uses tools like psilocybin not as an escape, but as a bridge to deeper integration—feels like the bravest, most strategic investment I could make.

Not just for my career. But for myself. And for every team, every vision, and every future I will help build.

Because in the end, leadership isn't about how fast we climb—it’s about how deep we’re willing to go.

Are You Feeling This Too?

If any part of my experience resonates with you—whether it’s the fear, the self-doubt, the burnout hidden behind achievement, or the quiet sense that something deeper is asking to be heard—you’re not alone.

Many founders, executives, and new leaders are waking up to the realization that true growth is not just about learning more skills—it’s about unlearning the patterns that no longer serve us. It’s about healing the parts of us that leadership titles can’t patch over. And it’s about leading from a place of authenticity, not fear.

If you feel that pull toward a deeper kind of leadership transformation, I want to invite you to explore The Mind Shift Network.

The Mind Shift Network is a business coaching practice that specializes in psilocybin-assisted programs and integration support. They provide a safe, ethical, and grounded space for leaders to step into profound self-awareness, to heal outdated narratives, and to anchor real change—inside and out.

This isn’t about quick fixes or trendy hacks. It’s about real, embodied leadership evolution.

If you're ready to shift your energy, shift your story, and shift your mind, The Mind Shift Network is here to walk that path with you.

Because leadership isn’t just about where you’re going, it’s about who you’re becoming along the way.