In Memoriam: Robert Tannenbaum

Robert Tannenbaum died this month in Carmel, California. In addition to being a pioneer in organization and leadership development, he was a leader in recognizing the importance of the development of the consultant, as well. I believe it was at the 1984 Organization Development Network Conference that he spoke to almost a thousand assembled consultants. At a time when the focus of the field seemed to be so much on tools and methods, he reminded us all, “You are the most important tool you have.” We are all grateful for his many contributions, but mostly for his loving and generous heart.

Mission

I am grateful to the more than 593 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. Also, I am grateful to the many kindnesses, suggestions and offers of support we have received.

The mission of this e-publication 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.

> Russ Volckmann

Summary

Daryl S. Paulson, Ph.D., Competitive Business, Caring Busining. New York: Paraview Press, 2002. (with a Forward by Ken Wilber)

Let’s address the Forward first: Ken Wilber points out that this is one of the first integrated approaches to business to be published. “It is fresh, provocative, and daring. Although I do not necessarily agree with all the details–who does?—it is based on sound theory and research that anyone can test in the laboratory of his or her own business world.”

As Ken says, Paulson is “offering one of the very first integrated business models.” This model uses the familiar holon and holarchy. The holarchy includes four levels: team, company, industry and world environment. In his presentation there is an interesting integration of models and theories familiar to organization theorists from Mayo to Argyris to Senge.

Much of his perspective is on management and the management requirements for each level of the holarchy. For example, at the team level he applies the Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership model to address development within the quadrants of the team holon. Parallel to the telling, selling, participating and delegating stages of management behavior at the team level are the following stages of development of the team in the lower right quadrant:

• training for effective teamwork
• training on a systems perspective
• participation in systems change
• self-governance

The lower left (culture) equivalencies are:

• anxiety reducing through team-building, encouragement
• social belong and self-esteem within a unified team
• establishing values
• congruence with organizational goals.

Beyond the team there is an interesting examination of the management challenges in relation to the company, the industry and the environment. Overall, the individual levels of development (upper left quadrant) are:

• formal operations at the team level
• meta-systematic systems thinking at the company level
• Paradigmatic systems of systems thinking at the industry level
• Cross-Paradigmatic System of Systems of Systems Thinking at the environment level

Paulson’s conclusion summarizes the approach he has taken:

“…the concept of integral business is merely an integration of the best visions and practices of business, psychology, sociology, cultural studies, politics, systems-thinking, economics, and human science, and the synthesis of this knowledge into a growth bloom of possibilities for all humanity in the twenty-first century.”

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.integralleadershipreview.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 evolvingIntegral Leadership Review does just that. Your help is deeply appreciated.

Dedication

Dedicated to Chris Newham with deep appreciation.

Thanks

Thanks for taking the time to consider this e-publication 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
Email: russ@integraleadershipreview.com
Tel: 831.333-9200, FAX: 831.656-0110

Disclaimer:

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