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Leading Comments

Russ Volckmann

Russ VolckmannI am deeply sad at the loss of Bill Bates. Please take a moment and read David Loye’s announcement of Bill’s death and what you might do to help his family. He knew of all the caring and support he had received from ILR readers around the world. Thank you.

How are things going for you in this economic crisis, this painful challenge to so many around the world? How has your standard of living been affected? Negatively, if you are like most of us. How has the crisis in ethics and dominance of greed in our political economies played out for you? Do you see it as an opportunity for a new economy, a new ethical standard? Are you discovering a new you?

How do you think bringing an integral perspective and practice makes a difference for you and others?

I’m not sure that this issue of Integral Leadership Review will help answer these questions, but I am sure that there is relevant material here. For example, I think the interview with Oliver Triebel of McKinsey & Company is very exciting. It points to the great potential for transformations within business and the reality that some businesses are ready for considering integral perspectives as they move forward.

Randall Benson’s work on “The Quest” also holds out hope from a different perspective. It points to an attitude, a stance, that may help us see opportunity where we otherwise might not. Gayle Young’s review of Benson’s book is touching as she connects her own journey to his approach.

Note Integral Leadership Review’s Second Annual Reader’s Choice Award. This year’s award goes to David V. Day, Michelle Harrison and the elusive Stan Halpin for their remarkable discussion, An Integrative Approach to Leader Development: Connecting Adult Development, Identity, and Expertise. If you are at all interested in leader and leadership development, this is an important book.

My review of Debbe Kennedy’s work, Putting Our Differences to Work, certainly has relevance. Individually and in terms of our own relationship to current contexts, each of us is different. Her approach, based on many years with IBM and her work as a consultant and leader of the Global Dialogue Center has led to offering a wealth of resources for folks around the world. Oh, and note the mini reviews in Leadership Emerging and Coda.

And speaking of Reviews! Sara Nora Ross offers insights into Otto Laske’s latest work. Don’t miss it.

Scott Pochron has offered what I hope you will find as a valuable presentation that links the work of Eliot Jacques with integral. And Mark Walsh takes us down a very practical road for working with people in organizations from an integral perspective. Sine Bjerregård Hanssen shows us how Otto Scharmer’s U Theory is relevant for leadership development.

Alan Tonkin takes us through a Spiral Dynamics examination of the recent elections in South Africa. Here you can access a more nuanced view than you will get in the popular press. Keith Bellamy, at his evocative best, shares with us the interesting adventures of the iNYC group in their explorations of the Integral Spirituality Movement (Part 1). Volker Frank offers a very useful technique each of us can use to shift perspective in the Leadership Coaching Tip. Speaking of perspectives, there are some interesting ones available in Notes from the Field. And don’t forget to check out the announcements of Integral Leadership related activities.

> Russ Volckmann