Matt Patterson, the Love Economy, and Authentic Leadership
When I first heard Matt Patterson speak at the .406 Ventures annual LP meeting earlier this year, I knew I had to connect with him. There’s something special about a person who has served as a physician for the Navy SEALs, worked as a consultant at McKinsey, and who now leads one of the largest PACE programs in the country as President of WelbeHealth. And yet, Matt could speak so comfortably about love, kindness, and authenticity in front of a room filled with dark-suited investor types. I was truly captivated.
Carl Jung once wrote, “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” This sentiment was at the heart of my conversation with Matt for this podcast. He introduced me to his concept of the “Love Economy,” where value creation is driven by fostering environments that empower individuals—both team members and patients—to be their most authentic selves. For him, it’s not just a moral imperative, but a strategic business advantage. As he beautifully articulates, love shows up in the workplace as vulnerability and that creates authenticity and that enables trust and that fosters healthy conflict and that breeds commitment and that promotes accountability and, ultimately, that produces results. Learning to be who we are truly are isn’t easy. It takes practice, and practice takes time. We can’t do it nights and weekends. And as a result, we have to make space for this in the workplace.
For many individuals, it’s not just learning, but sometimes re-learning how to be our true selves. As we grow, we find ourselves molded to fit pre-existing shapes, roles, stereotypes. We learn to be doctors, operations experts, or big company people. But sometimes we need a reminder to break free from these stereotypes and simply be true to ourselves. Clinicians, in particular, often get pigeonholed as capable of only one thing, subject matter experts, but don’t be fooled—we’re capable of being and doing so much more. Matt’s company, WelbeHealth, is a spectacular example of this, with a physician as CEO, a physician President (e.g., Matt), a physician Chief Growth Officer, and of course, a physician CMO.
For more insights from Matt—including why Deepak Chopra is one of his role models—you can listen to our full conversation on Spotify or YouTube.
Only the truth of who you are, if realized, will set you free.
― Eckhart Tolle