Our lives intersected in so many accidental ways that I thought it was destiny speaking to us. We were both graduate students at the University of California at Berkeley. I first met Russ during a protest rally on campus. I just knew him as Russ and didn’t know much about his history or biography. I was in a doctoral program at the School of Education and I believe he was getting a doctorate in political science. At the time we …

Footprints to Integral Leadership

‘In a quiet way, you shake the world” – Mahatma Gandhi

I only saw a slight portion of Russ’s life, like watching the light from a candle through a narrow slit a long way away. I live in Perth, Australia, Russ was in the United States, a long way away. My contact with him was only through emails and phone calls. I knew him as the editor, originator, guardian, power source, gate keeper, supporter, and Merlin …

I find myself caught up by the horrible surprise of Russ’ passing. And even surprised by my surprise. For I did not know Russ that well, except toward the end of his work-life. Russ was our publisher with Eros/Power: Love in the Spirit of Inquiry, Integral Publishers, 2016.  Indeed it was the wonderful personal connection that my co-author, Bill Torbert had with Russ that allowed its publication.  

And so it happened that Russ and I worked to complete the …

I first got to know Russ at the Vision/Action ODN Conference in San Francisco. One of the results of that conference was the publication of the Bay Area ODN called Vision/Action. I was a member of its Editorial Board and Russ was the Editor. He encouraged me to write for it and provided keen editorial insights. We became friends as well as colleagues. Time and distance separated us but we still kept contact over almost forty years. I will miss …

I was talking with Matthew Kalman (founder of London Integral Circle) and the conversation took a strange turn:

Matthew: “Russ Volckmann getting a group of people together to discuss Integral Leadership … and I think you would make a good participant”

Keith: “Russ who?”

Matthew: “The publisher of Integral Leadership Review.”

Keith: “Publisher of what?”

And therein ended my first introduction to Russ. As an integral newbie, interested in the application of AQAL in the business world I made contact …

I did not know Russ personally. We had a few brief email exchanges over the years about some of the ILR content. But I sure was an avid reader of the review. I especially enjoyed his 12-part discussion series with Mark Edwards. ILR was, and hopefully under new leadership will remain, a significant contribution to the syntegral community.…

My heart is sore as I write this letter to Russ. We never met in person (with my only mental image of him for years being his e-tag cartoon). Instead, we emailed and Skyped over a period of 11 years. He first reached out to me in October 2006. He wanted to review a copy of my home economics philosophy and leadership book released that year, titled Transformative Practice. It contained a chapter on transdisciplinarity (TD). He said “Sue, …