About Chris
I’ve built. Burned out. Then what?
Letting go didn’t make me lose my edge. It made me lose the b*llshit. What followed became my work.
Wearing the suit. (Or was it wearing me?)
I didn’t set out to fake it.
Turned out, holding it together got applause. Falling apart got silence.
For being the one with answers.
For knowing what to say in the room.
I got pretty good at the game.
And then I realized the game was rigged.
The real story.
The one that doesn’t belong on LinkedIn. The one that explains how I got here, not just what I’ve done.
Self-abandonment—but with KPIs.
On paper, it looked like momentum.
But I was executing a version of success I didn’t even recognize.
I kept editing myself to stay palatable. Trying to fit in someone elses box.
I kept overriding what my gut already knew.
I thought that was leadership.
Until it wasn’t.
The breaking point.
It wasn’t dramatic. No hospital wristband. No rock-bottom TED Talk.
Just a quiet moment when the version of me that had held it all together—stopped making sense.
I wasn’t leading. I was managing optics.
I wasn’t spiraling. I was just… done.
And still smiling on video calls.
The cost of that kind of survival? You don’t notice it until you forget what it felt like to live without the weight.
So I stopped dragging that version of me around just to keep the lights on.
Then came the hard part.
I sat with spiritual teachers. Unlearned how to cope. Relearned how to be.
I trained in psychedelic-assisted therapy. I studied the Akashic Records. I got my body back. My mind followed.
If your success comes at the cost of who you really are, it’s not success. It’s survival in a nice suit.
Eventually, that cracks.
And that’s where the real work begins.
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Chris McCann is an executive mentor, leadership recalibration expert, and founder of Unlead, a platform that helps high-performing leaders move from performance to presence.
He’s spent over two decades in enterprise SaaS and services, leading sales teams across North and Latin America, scaling startups, closing eight-figure deals, and building cultures that didn’t implode under pressure. Companies like Contentstack and commercetools grew under his leadership (seed to Series D). Not just in revenue, but in how their people showed up.
And then something shifted.
Chris realized that the old playbook, grind harder, lead louder, measure more wasn’t enough anymore. Not for him. Not for the people he served. He stepped away from the performance trap and began building something deeper: a way to lead without losing yourself.
His work today blends strategic clarity with deep inner work from boardrooms to fire circles, from startup offsites to sacred ceremonies. Chris guides leaders and teams through inflection points and transitions, especially when the path to success no longer feels like it’s working.
His approach is informed by more than business. He’s trained in psychedelic-assisted therapy, energy work, and the Akashic Records. He’s sat with spiritual teachers and led retreats across the Americas. He’s not interested in fixing people. He’s here to hold space for them to come back to themselves.
Chris is also the creator of The Fireplace, a private men’s community, and host of the Unlead podcast. He’s an active member of global spiritual and humanitarian networks, including The Red Earth Movement, the Indigenous Nations Alliance, and the One Humanity Institute.
He lives in Santa Monica with his wife, Meredith. He’s a father of three, grandfather of three, and the kind of guy who prefers real conversation around a fire than behind a podium.
Leadership insights from the trenches
That’s what Unlead is.
It’s not a brand. It’s not a program.
It’s the work I had to do — and still do — to lead without losing myself.
Now I work with people who’ve already checked the boxes.
The company. The career. The reputation.
And who know, in their gut, that something still isn’t right.
I don’t sell answers, I help make space for better questions.
We talk business. We talk truth.
Sometimes we say nothing and let something surface.
The work isn’t polished.
It’s honest.
And that’s what actually shifts things.
The invitation.
This isn’t a funnel. It’s a compound fracture.
One you already feel.
You can keep holding the version of you that built all this—
Or you can meet the one who’s been waiting underneath it.
Your call.
Get in Touch
This isn’t a sales funnel. It’s a conversation.
Not sure what you need yet? That’s fine.
Start here. I read every message. Say what you need to say. If it’s human, I’ll respond personally.
(If you’re here to pitch or automate your way in… keep moving.)
Whether you’re exploring private work, a retreat, or just need a place to start… this is it.
Still circling?
The 3AM Test shows you what’s underneath before you try to fix it.