Brett Macfarlane

I'm Brett Macfarlane, a leadership development specialist trained in organizational psychology. I help leaders in complex organizations navigate the messy, high-stakes work of innovation—where the real barriers aren't in your strategy deck, but in the unspoken dynamics that keep even talented teams stuck.

I've spent two decades in the pressure cooker: advising executives and teams at Apple, Google, Barclays, Diageo, and Accenture; coaching founders through scale-up chaos; and helping central banks and top consultancies build the muscle to turn strategy into reality. I know what it feels like when good plans hit invisible walls—and I know how to surface what's actually blocking progress.

My approach is rooted in an unexpected place: Canada's Olympic development system, where I trained and coached as an elite athlete. High-performance sport taught me that success isn't about working harder—it's about working with the emotional and psychological forces that either unlock potential or keep people stuck. That insight led me to develop the Innovation Leadership Map and Emotional Gearing frameworks—research-based methods for navigating the anxiety, authority struggles, and frustration that decisively shape innovation outcomes.

I hold a master's in organizational psychology with distinction from INSEAD and have published research on the emotional dimensions of innovation leadership and contributed to the American Psychological Association. My work combines psychodynamic insight with behavioural science—not to make people "feel better," but to build the resilience, clarity, and strategic agility that high-stakes leadership demands.

Since founding my leadership development practice in 2022, I've partnered with Fortune 500 companies, central banks, top-tier consultancies, and venture-backed tech firms who need confidential, science-led support—not generic coaching or change management. I share insights from this work through my newsletter Connecting Dots, keynote speaking, and university lectures.

Outside of work, I'm an avid cyclist with the Rapha Cycle Club and a lifelong skier. I'm still drawn to that edge between control and letting go—on the mountain and in the work.

Research

  • Innovation's Under-Explored Use of Emotions: How Innovation Leaders Work with Anxiety, Authority and Frustration

  • Comparative analysis with the innovation leadership map as a way to psychodynamically illuminate the emotional gearing influencing innovation outcomes

  • Emotional Gearing, American Psychological Association, Annual Meeting, 2025

Member

  • INSEAD Alumni Association, Canada Board of Directors

  • Starman.ai, Advisory Board

  • Goss.media, Advisory Board

  • American Psychological Association

  • International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations

Credentials

  • MA, Master of Coaching and Consulting Change, INSEAD (Distinction)

  • American Psychological Association

  • International Society for the Psychoanalytical Study of Organizations

  • Canadian Securities Certification (Distinction)

  • BA, Economics, Whitman College

  • 200+ industry awards and patents


Key Topics: innovation, organizational psychology, leadership development, team dynamics, L&D, learning and development, systems psychodynamics, organizational behaviour, adaptive leadership, authentic leadership, transformative leadership, new genre leadership