Integral Leadership

I am always interested in articles that give me another interpretation of new concepts that I find attractive and add value to my work. If you are interested in Spiral Dynamics , Wilber's Four Quadrants and Integral everthing, here is a useful piece on leadership...

"Kurt Lewin, considered by many to be the father of modern organization development practices, is famous for claiming that “there’s nothing so practical as a good theory.” And in 2003, the field of leadership and leadership development does not lack for theories and models. There’s the emotional intelligence model, the concept of the “self-differentiated leader” contributed by family systems theory, the notion of situational leadership, and the ever-popular model of the charismatic leader, to name a few. Whole leadership development programs tend to spring up around each new leadership theory, exist for a while, and then give way as another theory or model comes into favor. And yet, we are still plagued by organizational and leadership breakdowns, across sectors and industries. All of our theories seem to have accomplished little over the long term. Why is that?

"One reason is that few leadership models are comprehensive enough to take into the account the whole scope of leadership and all of the dimensions in which it takes place. What each theory pays attention to is important, yet it is also only partial. For example, the theory and practice of emotional intelligence is an arena that is incredibly important to successful leadership, yet it offers little that helps leaders develop effective systems and practices to manage the day-to-day work of their teams. In contrast, project management or time management models might offer these systems and practices, but they generally ignore the emotional intelligence skills of self-awareness and empathic listening."
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