In this interview, Axialent founder Fred Kofman relates the story of his introduction to the AQAL model and the coherent philosophical infrastructure it provides his work with corporate clients in developing an integral perspective on leadership, teamwork, and personal effectiveness. Fred discusses the dance of eros and agape as the spirit of conscious business, why awareness is the single most important business skill, and how leadership is not a theoretical subject to be discussed but an experience to be lived. Fred examines leadership in complex systems, the leadership challenges of uneven development across multiple lines, and the role of the leader as a cultural icon and exemplar of authenticity and integrity. The dangers of equating spirituality with higher development are discussed, and Fred offers an informal litmus test for spiritual materialism. In closing, Fred teases out the intricacies between individual and social holons as relates to organizational settings, elaborates upon the four-fold nature of all occasions, and explains why the human being is the ultimate holon.

This piece is informed primarily from the perspectives of the UL and LL though it addresses all quadrants. It assumes familiarity with the integral model and is therefore most suitable for an intermediate to advanced audience. Topic areas include the AQAL Leadership Model, Leader Challenge Research, the “I” of Leadership, the “We” of Leadership, and Human Performance.