Integral Leadership Review
Volume IV, No. 5 - December 2004
Table of Contents
- Leadership Quote
- Mission
- Article: Scenarios and Lines: Advancing Leadership Development
- A Leadership Coaching Tip
- A Fresh Perspective: Leadership as an Organizational Trait: An Interview with James O'Toole
- Integral for the Masses: Keith Bellamy
- Summary (publications worth noting)
- Coda
- A Request
- A Request
Leadership Quote
"...Last winter BusinessWeek ran a cover story, "Waking Up from the American Dream," that detailed how most Americans have a small and diminishing chance of moving up in socioeconomic class.
"Evidently, Americans accept this arrangement-at any rate they keep returning to office the politicians whose policies reinforce the divisions between the haves and have-nots. But it may be worth considering what happens to U.S. institutions as class barriers grow more difficult to surmount. If Americans lose faith in the national myth that anyone can climb from the poorhouse to the penthouse, what will become of the country's vaunted entrepreneurial spirit? And if higher education continues to evolve into a preserve of the very well-off, where will the next generation of leaders come from? Historically, America has drawn many of its leaders from a pool of those who, by dint of hard work and ingenuity, have succeeded in gaining an education and raising themselves into the middle class. Will the essential character of America change when opportunities for leadership are an accident of birth rather than the result of endeavor?"
-- "Briefing" in Compass, Fall 2004, Vol. 2 No. 1, Center for Public Leadership,
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Mission
I am grateful to the more than 925 subscribers to Integral Leadership Review. Your support means that we can move closer to a way of viewing and being in the world that is integrative, generative and supportive of our evolving integrity––learning to align our theory and our action, our values and assumptions with achieving what is important to us and to the world. Also, I am grateful to the many kindnesses, suggestions and offers of support we have received.
The mission of this epublication is to be a practical guide to the application of an integral perspective to the challenges of leadership in business and life and to the effective relationship between executive/business coaches and their clients. My vision includes that this will be a place where others, as well as myself, can continue to develop and share ideas about integral leadership and integral coaching. This vision is gradually becoming reality.
Russ Volckmann
Scenarios and Lines: Advancing Leadership Development
Russ Volckmann
In the last two issues of Integral Leadership Review I have been writing about the use of scenarios and leadership development. Here I will develop this idea further with particular attention to the idea of lines of development. I will also link this exploration to the interview with James O'Toole in this issue of Integral Leadership Review.
The use of scenarios is not a new idea. Shell's pioneering efforts have been noted in earlier articles here and elsewhere and an Internet search will expose numerous efforts in which simulations and scenarios are being used in leadership development. But nowhere have I found an integral approach to the use of scenarios for this purpose.
A feature of an integral approach would be an integrally-informed design of the scenario itself. Another would be the processing of the analysis of the scenario through an integral lens. If we take such approaches seriously, stages of development may become apparent. A necessary pre-condition for that I believe to be attending to the questions of lines.
We can undertake this exploration keeping in mind Ken Wilber's admonition:
"Let me point out...that any such integral approach needs to be implemented withthe utmost care, concern and compassion. None of the levels or lines or quadrants are [sic] meant in any sort of rigid, predetermined, judgmental fashion. The point of developmental research is not to pigeonhole people or judge them inferior or superior, but to act as guidelines for possible potentials that are not being utilized. The prime directive asks us to honor and appreciate the necessary, vital, and unique contributions provided by each and every wave of consciousness unfolding, and thus act to protect and promote the health of the entire spiral, and not any one privileged domain."
-- A Theory of Everything, pp. 102-103
The most familiar treatment of lines are Ken Wilber's discussions and lists such as those offered by James Flaherty. Wilber has spoken to the question of lines in many of his publications; he provides as examples in A
Theory of Everything the following:
• cognitive • linguistic • interpersonal
• moral • kinesthetic • and adds "etc." to indicate that there are
• affective • somatic many possible elements in this list
Flaherty offers six lines in his work (see "A Fresh Perspective: Integral Coaching: An Interview with James Flaherty," Integral Leadership Review, Volume IV, No. 4, October 2004):
• cognitive • emotional • somatic
• relational • spiritual • integrating
Neither of these lists is intended to be complete, but suggestive. Note, however, that all of the lines indicated are easily identified with the UL (internal/individual, "I") quadrant of the holon. Certainly there are also lines that correlate to these in behavior (UR), culture (LL) and systems (LR). I am not aware that anyone has developed these correlates, as yet, except at the highest level in Wilber's work.
For the purposes of scenarios and the use of an integrally-informed approach to leadership development I would suggest that lines offer an important contribution to the design and analysis of scenarios that can be used for an effective approach to leadership development. While an elaboration of lists such as those above may be useful, there are other approaches we can take that might be equally fruitful. In keeping with Wilber's admonition above, there is nothing inherently true about any of these lists, but they are useful tools.
James O'Toole (see the interview below) reports on such lines in the systems, lower right quadrant that may also offer us a useful starting place. While he was working with Booz•Allen & Hamilton and the University of Southern California's Center for Effective Organizations they undertook a study (that continues today) for the World Economic Forum on strategic leadership. They found that leadership emergence in companies was supported by combinations of the following organizational systems:
• Vision and Strategy: Extent to which corporate strategy is reflected in goals and behaviors at all levels.
• Goal-Setting and Planning: Extent to which challenging goals are used to drive performance.
• Capital Allocation: Extent to which capital allocation decisions are objective and systematic.
• Group Measurement: Extent to which actual performance is measured against established goals.
• Risk Management: Extent to which the company measures and mitigates risk.
• Recruiting: Extent to which the company taps the best talent available.
• Professional Development: Extent to which employees are challenged and developed.
• Performance Appraisal: Extent to which individual appraisals are used to improve performance.
• Compensation: Extent to which financial incentives are used to drive desired behaviors.
• Organizational Structure: Extent to which decision-making authority is delegated to lower levels.
• Communications: Extent to which management communicates the big picture.
• Knowledge Transfer: Extent to which necessary information is gathered, organized, and disseminated.
-- James O'Toole, "Leadership as an Organizational Trait," in Bennis, et al, eds.,
The Future of Leadership, p. 165.
Each of these systems could be thought of as lines of development in an organization. If O'Toole's hypothesis is correct, the challenge of each organization is to find the mix that supports the emergence of the qualities of leadership required throughout their organization and in their context. In all likelihood we are led back by this analysis to the idea that leadership is an art and that these systems are important ingredients in the construction of a collage that will be successful in a market, at a given stage or time in the development of the business or in any of the "life conditions" faced by organizations.
Exploring this approach in the use of scenarios with an integral perspective enriches the potential for this work exponentially. There is still much to be developed, but I believe this is a fruitful path to explore. For example, developing the corollaries between the lines suggested by Wilber and Flaherty with the systems identified by O'Toole and his colleagues would be useful in crafting coherence in the model. Examining the systems in terms of stages and levels of development holds possibilities. How does Torbert's model help us here? How does the model offered in earlier issues of Integral Leadership Review relate? How can Mark Edwards work help in examining these relationships?
So far, the work reported by O'Toole does not address questions of what mix of systems is required under what organizational life conditions. And it need not. They can guide the design of scenarios and aid in exploring the analysis for the relationships among quadrants. The use of scenarios is ideal for exploring such questions with the understanding that they will not reveal the truth or predict the future, but that such explorations are a most powerful approach to leadership development.
When coaching executives, look for openings to explore the relationship between interior-individual lines of development (intellectual, emotional, etc.) and organizational systems (vision and strategy, communications, etc.) An example of such an exploration would follow from the question, "What's the link between your energy (belief, focus, etc.) and current organizational strategy?" Another might be, "What organizational systems are important for you to be effective in pursuing that strategy (solving that problem, etc.)?" Such questions can help generate insights and uncover blind spots that can significantly shift energy and flow for the executive.
Fresh Perspective
Leadership as an Organizational Trait:
An Interview with James O'Toole
Russ Volckmann
The complete interview can be found at http://www.leadcoach.com/archives/interviews
Q: One thing from your writing is the idea that the focus on the heroic notion of leadership is destructive. Would you care to comment on that?
A: I don't use the word 'heroic,' but I think it is dangerous to focus on leadership as an individual trait. It is also based on the fiction that in any one organization there is a 'leader,' the person who is at the top of the organization. I think, in fact, when you look at the greatest leaders they were always surrounded by a group of other outstanding leaders. These other people were every bit as responsible for the success of the organization, movement, company, or country as was the one leader at the top.
You can start with Jesus Christ. Christianity would not have survived if it had not been for his disciples, who were pretty good leaders themselves. You can move forward to the founders of this country and see that there wasn't just one, there wasn't just Washington. There were about a half dozen people around him who were almost as effective and as important as Washington was in terms of founding the country. When you look at the Civil Rights movement and Martin Luther King, Jr., it wasn't just King. There was also Andy Young, Ralph Abernathy, Jesse Jackson, and about a half dozen other people who were like a 'Who's Who' of African American leaders. They were all working very, very closely with King.
And it's also true when you look at corporations. The first corporation that I dealt with in the sense of digging into and observing it was Motorola in the early 1980s. If you read the newspapers at the time, Motorola was all Bob Galvin. In fact, when you talked to Galvin you saw that the kind of leadership that he practiced was based on sharing of power. He tried to surround himself with people who were more talented and smarter than he was so that the company wouldn't be limited by his own abilities. It was never about him. It was always about the company. It was about building the leadership capacity of Motorola. You can talk about literally dozens of people at Motorola who legitimately can be credited with the success of that company starting in the late 70's and throughout the 80's during Galvin's time there.
The same can be said about almost every other major corporation in the U.S. If you look at the great turnaround at Ford at the time of team Taurus, and if you interview the people inside Ford and ask who was responsible, they'll cite about a half dozen leaders. The more you push you would find that leadership went down to the plant level. It wasn't just at the very top. I think that it is always overly simplified to talk about leadership as an individual trait. Whenever you dig into the organization, you find that many people being leaders.
Q: It's really not just one individual; it's collections of individuals. But they don't act without of a context. There's a context that I think you would say is very important, is that right?
A: Yes. You have to have the right culture, the right systems, the right processes, and the right rewards, everything in place so that all of those leaders can be effective. There are many organizations in which there are potential leaders, people who could be making a tremendous difference. But their hands are tied because they don't have the authority. They don't have the information. They don't have the resources needed to be effective.
So, it isn't just a question of having the talent on board, or even the willingness to lead. There also has to be the opportunity. The opportunity is really the environment in which you're working, the organization or the system, depending whatever word you're most comfortable with. But in the research that we did with Booz•Allen we looked at the various aspects in the system, one of the most important of which is rewards. If people are not rewarded for doing things to help advance the organization, or if they're rewarded for the wrong things, there will be forces of misdirection or obstacles that prevent people from exerting initiative in terms of their own leadership.
Almost all of these major systems have to be consistent, or aligned. One of the real values of anthropology, or at least the social anthropology in which I was trained, is that it views organizations as systems, as complex wholes, all parts of which need to be mutually reinforcing if the overall system is to be effective. What you often get in business organizations is that some of those systems will be aligned, but some aren't. So people get mixed signals, or they actually have obstacles thrown in their path even though they may be clearly told by the leader, "Here's what we want to do." But when they try to do it, they can't because the systems aren't aligned.
Q: What does it take to align the systems?
A: If you're lucky, you inherit it as the organization builds under an entrepreneur or from the ground up organically. Things will fall into place just through trial and error; but most organizations don't develop that way. They are designed or redesigned by individuals who make mistakes. So I think the first thing that has to happen is that leaders, and I say plural leaders, have to be conscious of the fact that they have systems that need to be aligned. They have to start measuring the systems and start thinking about them consciously.
There are very, very few leaders who are capable of consciously thinking about all the systems that need alignment. They tend to think about them piecemeal, responding as problems arise. So they work on them one at a time, rather than seeing how they all mutually interact with each other. Admittedly, that's a very difficult thing to do. People are not trained to deal with a dozen variables in their heads at one time. Some people can think systemically like that, but for most of us, it's a real stretch. We have to keep reminding ourselves to go back and to check when we start tinkering with one part of the system to make sure that it is going to line up with the other parts.
Q: In a way, what you're speaking about now is the kind of behavior and organizational coherence that you focus on. You also talk about behavior and organizational agility. Do you want to comment on that?
A: Well, there is a lot of work in the last couple of years that shows that organizations have to be both aligned and adaptive. You have to have coherence, but at the same time an organizations needs the ability to innovate. People talk about such organizations as being ambidextrous. That's hard to achieve because the more you try to get things aligned, the more you are viewed as limiting people's options, their freedom and ability to take risks and to try new things. On the other hand, the more you encourage people to try new things, to take risks and to be innovative and entrepreneurial, the more it looks like you're breaking down the coherence or the structure of the organization. In fact, great leaders are able to do both at the same time. Again, to be able to do that requires a leader to be conscious about doing so. One needs to be able to understand how to build an organization that has a coherent structure and, at the same time, encourages healthy innovation, entrepreneurial behavior, and risk-taking.
The person who is probably best at that in American corporate history was Bill Gore, CEO of W.L. Gore and Associates, makers of Gore-Tex. He was one of the few business leaders who I've ever read about who consciously-and what I mean by consciously is every single day in his life--thought about the issues of structure: How to structure his people in a way that would encourage them to be innovative, but innovative in an effective way that advanced the organization's goals. Most business people are not organizationally creative in that way. Gore was really an exception. Not only did he think about it, he was successful at doing what he set out to do.
Q: While he had the focus on what needed to be done, rather than looking to himself to do it, he built a cadre of leaders around him who could help him accomplish that?
A: He not only built a cadre of leaders, he created a system in which they could succeed. That system was very consciously built. He saw that if you have people in large groups, they tend to become bureaucratic. So even though he had 10,000 employees, he tried to keep them in groups of 100 or maybe 200 at most so that they could be self managing. They could all know each other. They could behave as teams and not feel that they were lost in a large bureaucracy. When you start breaking up 10,000 people into groups of 100 or 200, you can create quite a managerial headache for yourself in terms of control. Gore's genius was that he was able to focus the efforts of those people while at the same time giving them an incredible amount of freedom.
I don't know if you know the work of E.F. Schumacher, who wrote Small is Beautiful. Schumacher says that the effective leader is like a balloon man who is holding onto the strings of a bunch of helium-filled balloons. You have seen them at circuses: They'll be holding as many as 50 or a 100 really big balloons, each filled with helium and ready to float away. The total control the balloon man has is exerted simply by holding the strings the bottom. To Schumacher, that was the kind of leadership that one wants. You want all your people to be free to bounce around on their own, but nonetheless to be tethered to the organization in a positive way so they just don't float off and become lost. I think that that's what Bill Gore accomplished.
__________________________________________________________________________
For Your Information
Adizes Graduate School is offering a three-day Adizes BTP(Breakthorough to Prime)-March 3-5, 2005-seminar and a six-day Spiral Dynamics seminar-March 7-12, 2005 - both live in Santa Barbara, California. http://www.adizes.com/Insights16/04.htm
Additional 2005 Spiral Dynamics
Training and Public Events Schedule
All SDi workshops and other learning events are presented by Dr. Don Beck, assisted by close colleagues in the Spiral Dynamics Integral constellation, unless otherwise stated below.
Provisional 2005 dates for SDi Level One and Two, Three or Special Presentations are:
* Jan 31 - Feb 2 Copenhagen, Denmark (with Teddy Larsen)
* March 7-12 Santa Barbara, California (with the Adizes Graduate School)
* April 1-6 Vancouver, Canada (with Dr. Marilyn Hamilton)
* May 9-17 Edinburgh, Scotland (with Christopher Cooke)
* May 23-29 Dallas, Texas -- 6th Annual SDi Confab
* September 9-15 Toronto, Canada (with Dr. Marilyn Hamilton)
* September 15-23 London, England (with Christopher Cooke)
* October 24-29 Boulder, Colorado -- Personal Emergence
* November 7-12 Santa Barbara, California (with The Adizes Graduate School)
* December 6-11 Washington, DC -- Macro*Memetics
http://www.adizes.com/Insights16/06.htm
Leadership University
Introduction to SWIRL Dynamics: Creating Sustainable Network Design
Led by Mike R. Jay, Master Business Coach
Mondays, starting January 24, 2005
10:00 a.m., 13 weeks
This is the basis, along with other support that I derive my Swirl Dynamics MetaSystem (SDMS) to promote intervention through perturbing complex systems more effectively. In this system lies the systems or paradigms of Motivational Dynamics (epigenetic core), Developmental Dynamics (self-other tension), Ego Dynamics ( vertical growth in self-concept), Spiral Dynamics (means instrumentation and evolution of memes through valuing systems), Reciprocal Dynamics (Experiential Problem Solving Tension and Evolution), Integral Dynamics (where no one line of development is exclusive to the development of other lines of development, Kolb's and Wilber's work), Emergent Dynamics (non-linear emergence), Spiritual Dynamics (alignment of spirit systems) and Energy Dynamics where subtle, yet powerful fields of energy become functional.
SWIRL Dynamics is a concilient approach to help us understand, map, design and predict behavior through a complex, paradoxically-dynamic system of interrelationships. This 13 hour program presents an overview of this system of systems. It is not designed to be the end, but the beginning of identifying more efficient, yet sustainable approaches to increasingly complex problems.
http://www.teledevelop.com/
If you know of programs that might be of interest to subscribers to this Review, please send your information to ILR@leadcoach.com. The next issue will be published in February 2005.
Integral For the Masses! Keith Bellamy
Avoiding the Elitist Trap
I am making the assumption that you are reading this on the screen of your computer. If you happen to be one of those individuals who prints copies of this newsletter and reads at a time and place that feels more convenient than on your desktop, laptop or any other preferred device, the following is just as pertinent to you. I have a couple of questions that I'd like you to ponder:
* Just how much do you understand about the technology that you are using to gain access
to these words that I am writing? And
* Does it really make that much difference that you do not have numerous PhDs in Computer
Science and Electronic Engineering in your being able to allow the technology to serve your
everyday needs?
Oops! I was slightly economical with the truth. I have a whole load of supplementary questions to ask such as, are you kept awake at night pondering the latest development in silicon substrate technology? Or do you wonder about the light frequency utilised by your CD-Rom drive laser and how it might be tweaked to achieve higher storage capacities? Perhaps it is the algorithm implemented in your operating system to achieve effective semaphore control of critical resources that you meditate on in your spare moments? Then again, understanding the intricacies of IP protocol version 6 routing might just be the topic that fills your day with joy?
Now I know for sure that a very small minority of you will have answered yes to each and every one of these questions (and in some cases expressed exasperation that I have not asked much more telling questions about such subjects as electron diffusion at sub-nanometre separations). On closer examination this small community breaks down into two groups: those who are concerned about these topics as part of their working life; and those anoraks and geeks who for some reason, totally lost on me I hasten to add, who are drawn to such subjects to alleviate some inner void that they might be feeling in their lives at this moment.
I am guessing that the vast majority of you are thinking, "What the hell is he talking about? What's this to do with Integral Leadership? And has poor Russ Volckmann finally lost his marbles asking a crazy Brit to contribute to his excellent newsletter?" All that I can ask is that you stick with me a little longer and all (I most sincerely hope) will become clear.
In the course of our day-to-day lives we have become accustomed to using technology as a tool to assist us in accomplishing an extremely diverse range of tasks. Yet rarely do we take a moment to ponder the machinations of the boxes that we choose to deploy. When we switch on a light we do not need to know about the local substation that is supplied by the national grid (well in the UK it is) that connects to coal, gas and oil fired power stations not to say nuclear plants both at home and in France. Similarly when we take a glass of water or drive our car or switch on the TV or do any mundane activity, we never take the time to understand what is going on hidden inside of the system that allows us almost mindlessly to perform our desired task.
There seems to be one area where this is not the case-this is the nub of my argument-and that is in the application of Integral Theory especially to our leadership activities. If the Gurus and Mavens of the Integral world are to be believed to be "Integral" requires us to completely understand the theory that underpins our actions and to discern whether each step that we take is truly integral or not. Balderdash (if I might be allowed to use such inflammatory language)! The greatest barrier, in my opinion, to the adoption of integral approaches to the many problems that we face in our personal lives, families, workplaces, communities, countries and the planet as a whole is the creation of the perception that "Integral" is for the elite few who ascend to the lofty heights of second tier and continuous non-dual awareness.
Don't get me wrong; I am not knocking the adoption of personal growth through the use of Integral Transformative Practices. I am not suggesting that any of us should abdicate our evolutionary right to attain higher levels of consciousness on our journey through this life. With most studies suggesting that less than 2% of the world's population operate at the Spiral Dynamics 2nd Tier that Ken Wilber believes is the entry point for integral thinking, it is wrong to start establishing a new elitist class of individuals who are blessed with the ability to act in an integral manner.
The world needs Integral Leadership. More importantly, it needs Integral Leadership now! If the challenges that we are facing at every level of our individual and collective lives are to be tackled, we cannot afford to wait for the mass acquisition of higher stages of consciousness. We need to find ways to deliver integral techniques and approaches to those individuals who function at the Spiral Dynamics first tier yet influence decisions that affect the lives of millions. In situ leaders in the worlds of commerce, politics, community building, etc. do not have the time to meditate every day in order to achieve the two or three stages of development necessary for them to be called Integral. We need to devise ways that allow leaders of every shape, size and colour to operate in an integral fashion even though they are not considered to be truly Integral.
Our colleague at the Integral Leadership Development Peer Seminar [A recently concluded 5-month online/telephone seminar with participants from England, Canada and the United States], Jonathan Reams, has coined the term "Integrally Informed Leaders" to describe the challenge that we face in creating cohorts of individuals whose every decision is influenced by all facets of Integral Theory. We need to consider Integral Theory as being akin to the deep technologies that allow us to switch on our computers and communicate instantaneously to colleagues anywhere in the world. We need to develop First Tier User Friendly interfaces into the depths and potential that Integral Theory can deliver without waiting for those who wish to access it having to wait until they can understand fully what is being presented.
When I take the time to stop and peruse the landscape of the Integral Movement as a whole, I am reminded of a many-thousand piece jigsaw puzzle where the picture on the box has been lost. The pioneering work that Ken Wilber has undertaken with his army of supporters out in Colorado has managed to complete the edge of our puzzle and provided us lesser mortals with a framework within which to work. Sure there are some who might argue that even the edges are not complete yet, but that's a topic for another column I think.
There is, I believe, feverish activity taking place in many centres to try to fit all the pieces of the Integral picture in place. Some of the major features of the picture include education, consultancy and coaching. These are like the sky, the ocean and the mountains that form the backdrop to the puzzle that we are attempting to solve. What is missing at the moment is the fine detail that will give our picture its vibrancy and life. These are the tools and techniques that will allow Integral Theory to permeate our lives almost as fast as I-pod ear buds seem to be spouting in our children's ears.
Now like a good soap-opera scriptwriter (how's that for an oxymoron?) I am going to leave you hanging until the next edition of this fine newsletter. Over the next few months, I hope to explore a number of techniques and approaches that will assist leaders to be integrally informed in their decision making processes whilst not necessarily being at and Integral level of personal development. I hope that you will join me on this journey, and more importantly will contribute your thoughts and ideas about techniques and approaches that need to be considered.
One final thought. I have a hunch that by introducing these techniques and approaches into the world, that they have the potential to act as a catalyst which will help expedite the transformation process of individuals to an Integral Stage.
Keith Bellamy is an independent consultant to businesses in Great Britain. He formerly was an IT executive and a futurist for Barclay's Bank. He is active with Integral and Spiral Dynamics groups in London
Alan Deutschman, "The Fabric of Creativity," Fast Company, December 2004, pp. 54-62.
Another article in the long line of leader-hero worship, this one features W.L. Gore and Gore-Tex. Well, perhaps this is a bit different because it focuses on the question of creativity and innovation in a company that innovates with a small-is-beautiful culture. And it is different in that the hero died 18 years ago, but the company continues to thrive.
Gore organized his company with a set of task force-like teams that have proliferated as new products have been created and markets have been opened. Even manufacturing organizations are limited to 150-200 people, small enough for everyone to know who is on board and to communicate directly, a value held highly by Gore.
The article summarizes Gores "rules."
• The power of small teams: This is an interesting concept from an integral point of view. It
addresses individual capacities and is focused on building a culture through a structural
intervention.
• No ranks, no titles, no bosses: Associates have sponsors, but not job descriptions. They
develop roles that fit who they are on the team. Roles are LL constructs, but here, rather than
being defined systemically, they are defined by the individual in relation to their
small-is-beautiful system.
• Take the long view: Patience supports the development of new products over time. This is
a quality that Gore brings - patience. It is translated into over support for long range new
product and market development. Gore models this and it is part of the culture.
• Make time for face time: So much for technology; this culture is built on nose-to-nose,
shoulder-to-shoulder communication as a preference over email and other hi-tech "essentials."
• Celebrate failure: The well known, but rarely practiced art of support for risk taking that in
the long run produces outstanding results. This is a culture thing that challenges and frees
those aspects of individuals that inhibit creativity and innovation.
I have saved for last:
Lead by Leading: Assure 10% of each employees time is about new ideas - exploring, formulating, sharing...Then allow leadership to emerge based on the capacity of an individual and an idea to attract followers. An attractor theory of leadership!
While Gore died in 1986, the culture lives on and has continued to produce a double-digit growth rate now to the tune of $1.6 billion. And growth will challenge this exceptional approach. I have fleshed out the article just a bit with integral framing, but the value in studies like this is that it moves us beyond hero-leader worship into a more integral understanding of what it takes to build a thriving, innovative organization that is not dependent on the political power structure in our society.
Business Simulations
Here is an example of the use of simulations in business as a learning device. It suggests to me that this is an important approach to development that relates directly to an integral perspective. The source of this information is:
Reworking Intuition: Business simulations spark rapid workplace renovations
Bruce Bower
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20041023/bob8.asp
Peter Senge is reported to have said that 80% of organization change efforts fail to meet their goals and we don't know why the other 20% succeed. This brief article suggests that we may be closer to an answer for why they succeeded or, at least, it provides encouraging ideas about promoting successful change.
The focus is on the work of Lia DiBello at the Workforce Transformation Research and Innovation in San Diego, CA. She and her staff have put together a two day workshop that in three reported applications have resulted in remarkable turnarounds of companies which were in danger of being closed down due to years of losses.
Using a methodology that involves simulation, staff from each of these companies attended (reluctantly) the first day and simulated the way they were used to doing business. The results were replications of the losses they experienced in their companies. The second day, the staff applied their own knowledge to how to rectify these results in another simulation. Far more positive results were achieved. They then returned to their work at their companies and led the turnarounds, each of which led to profitability.
The focus of DiBello's work involves drawing on what people already know and applying this in simulations in order to leverage new behavior. James C. Spohrer, director of IBM Almaden Services Research in San Jose, CA, stated, "Large corporations are increasingly incorporating simulation exercises into the actual work process."
Lauren Resnick of the University of Pittsburgh stated that "evidence indicates that what a person already knows about a subject or an activity lays a foundation for new learning and achieving expertise in that area, she adds. Data also show that knowledge is best cultivated through active participation in relevant tasks, not through memorization or drills."
Do you think we are going to see growing evidence that the use of simulations is, indeed, most effective in preparing people to address issues in the future because it scaffolds them into new modes of awareness and learning? DiBello concludes, "The world actually looks different when you learn to think about it in a fundamentally different way."
This is worth considering when you see and hear all of the focus - and sometimes the hype - about vertical development. If it can work in the world of organizations, it can work on all lines of development.
A Request
If you are finding the Integral Leadership Review to be bringing useful, fresh perspectives to the subject of leadership, please think of the leaders in business and life that might be able to benefit from subscribing to this epublication. Please send them a copy or a link to the web site, www.leadcoach.com so that they may explore it. In this time of intense internet communication, we all need to manage our time and read those things which are most relevant for our work, our thinking and our values. It is my hope that many people will find the evolving Integral Leadership Review does just that. Your help is deeply appreciated.
Feedback
Got any?
russ@leadcoach.com
Thanks for taking the time to consider this epublication in a world of data overload. For leaders, collaborators, consultants, academics and coaches alike, I welcome you to some ideas and a dialogue that may benefit us all. I hope you will contact me soon with your idea, reference or article. Suggestions on improvement are welcome.
Russ Volckmann, PhD
Coaching Leaders in Business and Life
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