Integral Leadership in Action (ILiA) Status Report – May/June 2011

Michael McElhenie

Integral Leadership in Action is alive and well. We are currently in an exploratory incubation period, which has already generated a number of intriguing ideas that are sure to excite our members and the wider integral community. While we did choose to cancel the Conference Collaborative last year for economic and other reasons, we are fully committed to our mission of “Exploring and Developing the Concepts and Practices of Integral Leadership.” Within the next few months, we will be taking action on these ideas so that we may continue to evolve our capacity to fulfill the ILiA mission.

We are also proud to announce that Integral Leadership in Action is now a 501(c)3 organization. Thus, we are qualified to accept tax-deductible contributions. Official non-profit status is not just about donations, but even more so about long-term viability and the capacity to channel our revenue directly to the core purpose of serving the integral community. ILiA has never been more alive.

So very alive! Our Board of Directors met for a couple days in January 2011 following the Integral Spiritual Experience 2 at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, California. We had a number of our integral friends and partners join us for a portion of our meeting where they gave us feedback, input, suggestions and inspiration. Most importantly, they helped us formulate the questions we need to be asking ourselves as we move forward to fulfill the purpose of why we gather together:

We come together to…

The Asilomar experience proved to be both profound and pivotal, and so re-affirming (while evolving) of the purpose of ILiA. You might recall that the founding idea of ILiA was to be a “gathering of tribe,” and this core purpose will be maintained. ILiA will continue to be a “conference that the organizers themselves would want to attend,” one that allows people to re-connect, learn with/from one another, and continue build a deep network of close friends and colleagues. ILiA will remain a learning organization that feeds our integral knowledge centers, and we will also create a lower-left heart-space—a dynamic field of inter-subjective sharing and support that will help us manifest our integral leadership visions.

We are very clear that ILiA’s evolving purpose will always embrace BOTH/AND. The purpose of ILiA will continue to extend into and through our valued inter-subjective heart space to help harnesses the power to transform intention into service. We fully recognize and will continue to fulfill the desire for dynamic speakers and thought leaders. We will also create space for “leadership in action,” dynamic co-creation, and real, relevant practice. And, we expect to better leverage online learning and social networking technology in our very near future. ILiA is currently exploring partnerships that will thoughtfully and intentionally develop our community, enhance our offerings, expand learning opportunities, multiply ways of staying in touch and gather critical information about what people expect from us.

Call to Action: Please take a moment to reach out to any one (or all) of us, and please let us know your thoughts, feelings and recommendations about the future of ILiA. If you can assist ILIA with a donation please feel free to contact us through our website, and of course all forms of support—ideas, energy, time and donations – continue to be appreciated. And remember, ILiA is indeed alive—to serve our integral community even better than before.

The 2011 ILiA Board

President:            Victoria Wilson-Jones                        VLWilson(at)aol.com

Vice-President:            Michael McElhenie                        mcelhenie(at)yahoo.com

Vice-President:            T Poling                            tpoling(at)ThePolingGroup.com

Secretary:            Jen Blalock                        jlblalock(at)gmail.com

Treasurer:            Kim Harpham                        kcrsh(at)opendoor.com

 

www.integralleadershipinaction.com

About the Author

Michael McElhenie PhD  serves as Managing Director of Metatropia Institute, a Dallas-based leadership development and change management firm. He is also a Senior Consultant for Stagen Leadership Institute, Teleos Leadership Institute, and Dynamic Results. Michael advises, coaches and works with leaders to manage personal, team, and organizational change. With deep expertise in emotional intelligence and crucial communication, Michael helps leaders navigate the complex and ever-changing dynamics of executive team and board relationships. He is often called upon to help leaders efficiently and effectively scale, merge, integrate and evolve their organizations. Michael received his doctorate in Organizational, Clinical and Experimental Psychology from the University of North Texas, and his Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and Psychology from the University of Florida. He is a practicing licensed psychologist and a graduate of the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland’s renowned Organizational Systems and Development program.