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Leading Comments : International and Edgy

Russ Volckmann

International and Edgy

I want to encourage you to take a good look at the Notes from the Field section of Integral Leadership Review. The purpose of this section is to call attention to and report on the value added experienced by individuals pursuing their own and collective learning and development in many different contexts. You may find a report of an integrally informed development program in Nigeria, a report on a conference or workshop, or a report on what one of the integral groups around the world has been exploring. The latter is the case in a report by Robin Reinach and Barbara Larish about such exploration in an integral New York Meet Up session dealing with blind spots and pathologies at 2nd Tier. If you are not familiar with this term, 2nd Tier, I encourage you to look at Beck and Cowan’s Spiral Dynamics or works by Ken Wilber, such as Integral Spirituality, as well many articles that have appeared in Integral Leadership Review. Robin and Barbara have done a wonderful job of reporting and reflecting while calling attention to issues that are relevant to all of us wherever we are discovering the spiral within.

Don’t miss Anouk Brack’s report on the Authentic Leadership in Action conference in Europe, Michael McElhenie’s update on Integral Leadership in Action, Oliver Ngodo’s update on integral leadership in Nigeria and Susan Wright’s report on the Integral without Borders conference in Vancouver. These reports should convince you of the international efforts for making integral work in the world.

Our Fresh Perspective is with Bruce Avolio. He is a well-known academic in the field of leader development who has worked at West Point, with the US Army, many NGOs and corporations and in multiple cultures. In my opinion his work represents the gradual movement toward a more integral perspective both in leader development and in academia.

The articles are diverse. Two are focused on 2nd Tier, notably Wayne Carr’s “What is Second Tier: Powers and Perspectives Available to Leaders at Second Tier.” Brian McConnell’s article represents a perspective that does not often show up in this journal and I encourage you to read this passionate piece. Jonathan Reams, Scandinavian Bureau Chief for Integral Leadership Review reports on a leader development program, as well as offers a review of Richard Barrett’s new book. Boydell and McDermott look at land rights and Ria Hawkins explores mindfulness.

The last two segments of the exploration of transdisciplinarity in higher education by Sue McGregor and myself focus on a program in Romania and a conclusion about the series. Note that this series, with additional material, will be available as a book in July. The title is Transversity: A Study of Transdisciplinarity in Higheer Education.

I have offered something of a review of Jeff Meyerhoff’s Bald Ambition, a must read for anyone interested in a more academic perspective on Ken Wilber’s work, primarily Sex, Ecology and Spirituality. It is a challenging book.

When you look at Leadership Emerging and the CODA I think you will find that this issue of Integral Leadership Review is diverse and edgy, just what an integral approach promotes.