Elesa Zehndorfer PhD
 

After earning my PhD in a leadership & sports-related area (from Loughborough University) in 2006, I lectured for many years across business degrees at leading academic institutions while engaged as a VP/General Secretary of a global sports federation. I remain active as a Personal Trainer, Pilates & sports coach. I am also a Managing Partner at Lakeside Partners GmbH, an eMBA lecturer, a Research Fellow & an award-winning writer. My seventh book, Post-Truth Politics: A Brave New World?  (published by Taylor & Francis) is out February 2025, and I manage the Psychology Today blog Political Animals & Animal Spirits.

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I specialise in two distinct but deeply inter-related areas: leadership & physiology. Why? The answer is...performance. Concepts like burnout, resilience, mental focus & efficiency are all deeply rooted in our ability to maximise our evolutionary physiological resources, while orthodox leadership theory unlocks a deep understanding of political behaviours, leadership & followership (both toxic and empowering) & team dynamics. To combine the two fields is greatly empowering. I currently hold a particularly deep interest in the way that evolutionary triggers are manipulated and exploited for political gain by non-democratic forces, and in how vulnerable we are as a species to methods of dark persuasion. There has never been a more urgent time, in my view, to protect democracy and my research & writing is subsequently driven powerfully by the protection of this urgent goal.  

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Consider, for example, that we humans are primates (great apes, in fact), and are exceptionally vulnerable to even small changes in our environment. If we breathe more polluted air, we are more likely to develop anxiety & depression, which can affect decision making in all areas of our lives. If we see fake news that upsets us, the limbic area of our brain takes over, and we become less able to be critical in our response. If our local sports team wins, the incumbent political party is more likely to win elections in the days that follow. I've written books covering all of these concepts, which you can check out here. 

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