William R. Torbert

Principal, Action Inquiry Associates LLC
Co-Founder and Director Emeritus, Global Leadership Associates
Director, Amara Collaboration
Founding Member, Action Inquiry Fellowship
Fellow, Organizational Behavior Teaching Society
Professor Emeritus, Carroll School of Management, Boston College

Bill’s groundbreaking work on Developmental Action Inquiry is the foundation for the work of Global Leadership Associates. Having enjoyed an distinguished academic career: Yale, Southern Methodist university, Harvard, Boston College, Leadership professor Emeritus, award winning teacher, author of a dozen books; Bill also currently serves as Principal of Action Inquiry Associates and offers occasional Alchemists’ Workparties for friends. His publications include the national Alpha Sigma Nu award winning Managing the Corporate Dream (Dow jones-Irwin, 1978), the Terry Award finalist book The Power of Balance: Transforming Self, society and Scientific inquiry (Sage 1991), and Action Inquiry: The Secret of Timely and Transforming Leadership (Berrett-Koehler, 2004), as well as of Seven Transformations of Leadership, selected as one of the top ten Harvard Business Review leadership articles of all time. William R. Torbert CV

Education

Prior Positions and Board Memberships

Books

Being for the Most Part Puppets: Interactions Among Men’s Labor, Leisure and Politics, with Malcolm P. Rogers, Schenkman Publishing, Cambridge MA, 1972.

Learning from Experience: Toward Consciousness, Columbia University Press,
New York NY, 1973. (also published in Portuguese by the U. of Sao Paulo Press)

Creating a Community of Inquiry: Conflict, Collaboration, Transformation, Wiley, London, 1976.

Managing the Corporate Dream: Restructuring for Long-Term Success,
Dow Jones-Irwin, Homewood IL, 1987.

The Power of Balance: Transforming Self, Society, and Scientific Inquiry,
Sage Publications, Newbury Park CA, 1991.

Sources of Excellence: An Unorthodox Inquiry into Quality in Recent U.S.
Presidencies, in Business Leadership, in Management Education, in Adam Smith’s Ethics, and in Pythagorean Mathematics, Edge\Work Press, Boston MA, 1993.

Personal and Organizational Transformations: The True Challenge of Generating
Continual Quality Improvement, with Dalmar Fisher, McGraw-Hill, England,
1995.

Transforming Social Inquiry, Transforming Social Action, edited with Francine Sherman, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston MA, 2000.

Personal and Organizational Transformations: Through action inquiry, (Rev. ed.) with Dalmar Fisher and David Rooke, Edge\Work Press, Boston MA, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006.

Action Inquiry: The Secret of Timely and Transforming Leadership, with Associates. San Francisco CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2004. (Translated and published in Japanese, 2016.

Eros/Power: Love in the Spirit of Inquiry – Transforming How Women and Men Relate, with Hilary Bradbury. Tucson AZ: Integral Publishers, 2016.

Consultancies and Action Research Sites

Honors

1961, American History Prize, Phillips Academy
1965, All-Ivy League Soccer, American History Prize,
magna cum laude, phi beta kappa, B.A., Yale
1966-70, Danforth Graduate Fellowship
1971, Outstanding Professor Award, Southern Methodist University
1976, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Oregon State University
1988, Alpha Sigma Nu national book award for Managing the Corporate Dream
1990, Second Place, Nat’l Distinguished Educator in Organizational Behavior Award
1991, Teaching Excellence Award, Carroll Grad School of Mgt Alumni Association
1992, Best Article Award. Management Education and Development
Finalist, AoM Terry Book Award, for The Power of Balance: Transforming Self, Society and Scientific Inquiry
1998, OB Division, Academy of Management, Innovative Session Award, for Symposium “Creating a Transformational Science”
1999, One of 18 international scholar/artist/practitioner leaders invited to participate in
Fetzer Institute Working Conference “Toward a Participative Worldview”
2000, Society for Organizational Learning Research Fellowship
Elected, Beta Gamma Sigma, Business Schools Honor Society
Distinguished Speaker, Organization Development & Change Div, AoM
2004, Raymond Keyes Distinguished Service Award, Carroll School of Management, Boston College
2006 AESC Annual Award for Best Published Research on Leadership and Corporate Governance, for April 2005 HBR article “Seven Transformations of Leadership” (the AESC is the worldwide Association of Executive Search Consultants)
2008, Distinguished Speaker or Keynote Leader at: 1) the Organization Behavior Teaching Conference 2) the Shambhala Summer Institute 3) the Integral Theory in Action Conference, and 4) the Academy of Management Organization Development & Change Division.
2008, David Bradford Career Distinguished Educator Award from the Organization Behavior Teaching and Management Education Society Best Alternative Approach Paper Award, Integral Theory in Action Conference
2010, Outstanding Scholar Award, Western Academy of Management
2012, 2005 HBR article “Seven Transformations of Leadership” selected for top ten HBR Must Reads on Leadership volume
2013, Walter F. Ulmer, Jr. Applied Leadership Research Career Contribution Award from the Center for Creative Leadership
2014, Chris Argyris Career Achievement Award, Academy of Management
2015, Keynote Speaker, Integral Theory Conference

Professional Associations (during academic career, 1966-2008)

Founding Editorial Board:

Executive Education Programs presented at:

Courses Taught:

Presentations at Professional Meetings (since 1990, w/o titles or other details)

Dissertation Committee Member (or Chair) for students at:

Invited Lectures

Selected Other Professional Service since 1987

Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Taking the fun out of outfoxing the system. With J. Richard Hackman, in Runkel et al (ed.s), The Changing College Classroom. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco CA, 1969.
An experimental selection process. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 9, 2, 331-350, 1973.
Doing Rawls Justice. Harvard Educational Review 44, 4, 459-70, 1974.
Pre-bureaucratic and post-bureaucratic stages of organizational development. Interpersonal Development 1, 5, 1-25, 1974.
On the possibility of revolution within the boundaries of propriety. Humanitas 12, 1, 111-146, 1976.
Essay review of EF Schumacher’s A Guide for the Perplexed. Parabola: Myth and the Quest for Meaning 2, 4, 104-107, 1977.
Educating toward shared purpose, self-direction and quality work: the theory and practice of liberating structure. Journal of Higher Education 49, 2, 109-135, 1978.
Organizing experiential learning. In Byrne, E., & Wolfe, D. (ed.s) Experiential Learning in Professional Education. Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University, 1979.
Interpersonal competence. In Chickering, A. (ed.) The Modern American College. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco CA, 1981.
Three chapters in Reason, P. & Rowan, J. (ed.s) Human Inquiry: A Sourcebook of New Paradigm Research. Wiley: London, 1981:

Why educational research has been so uneducational: the case for a new model of social science based on collaborative inquiry.
A collaborative inquiry into voluntary metropolitan desegregation.
Empirical, behavioral, theoretical, and attentional research skills necessary for collaborative inquiry.

The role of self-study in improving managerial and institutional effectiveness. Human Systems Management 2, 2, 72-82, 1981.
Crossing mother: ideological constraints on organizational improvements (with R. Dunbar & J. Dutton). Journal of Management Studies. 19, 1, 91-108, 1982.
Foreword for Jentz, B. Entry: The Hiring, Start-Up, and Supervision of Administrators. McGraw-Hill: New York NY, 1982.
Research cultivating Executive Mind, timely action. ReVision 4, 1, 1-23, 1983.
Initiating collaborative inquiry. In Morgan, G (ed.) Beyond Method Sage Publications: Newbury Park CA, 1983.
Executive Mind, timely action. In Srivastva, S. (ed.) The Functioning of the Executive Mind. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco CA, 1984.
On-line reframing: an integrative approach to organizational management. Organizational Dynamics 14, 1, 60-79, 1985.
Executive Mind (interview). Planning Review 13, 5, 24-27, 1985.
Human development and managerial effectiveness. With Dal Fisher and Keith Merron. Journal of Group and Organizational Studies 12, 3, 257-273, 1987.
Meaning making and managerial action. With Dal Fisher and Keith Merron. Journal of Group and Organizational Studies 12, 3, 274-286, 1987.
Improving organizational effectiveness. With Dal Fisher. Eastern Academy of Management Proceedings 451-454, 1987.
Management education for the 21st century. Selections 3, 3, 31-36, 1987.
Education for organizational and community self-management. In Bruyn, S. & Mehan, J. (ed.s) Beyond Market and State Temple University Press: Philadelphia PA, 1987.
Rejoinder to ‘Teaching MBAs transformational thinking.’ In Cameron, K. & Quinn, R. (ed.s) Paradox and Transformation: Toward a Theory of Change in Organization and Management Ballinger: Cambridge MA, 1988.
Leading organizational transformation. In Woodman, R. & Pasmore, W. (ed.s) Research in Organizational Change and Development (vol. 3). JAI Press, Greenwich CT, 1989. 83-116.
Reform from the center. In Mitchell, B. & Cunningham, L. (ed.s) Educational Leadership and Changing Contexts of Families, Communities, and Schools. National Society for the Study of Education Yearbook, University of Chicago Press, Chicago IL, 1990.
(co-author) Leadership for a Changing World: The Future of Graduate Management Education. National Commission Report, Graduate Management Admission Council, 1990.
Transforming managerial practice: beyond the Achiever stage. With Dal Fisher. In Woodman, R. & Pasmore, W. (ed.s) Research in Organizational Change and Development (vol. 5). JAI Press, Greenwich CT, 1991.
Political economy 2001: principles and practices of political economy for the third millenium. International Synergy Journal 6, 1, 1991.
Teaching action inquiry. Collaborative Inquiry (University of Bath, England) 1991.
The true challenge of generating Continual Quality Improvement. Journal of Management Inquiry Vol. 1, No. 4, 331-336, 1992.
Autobiographical awareness as a catalyst for managerial and organizational development. With Dal Fisher. Management Education and Development Journal Vol. 23, No. 3, 184-198, 1992.
The good life: good money, good work, good friends, good questions. Journal of Management Inquiry 3, 1, 58-66, 1994.
Book review of The Tacit Organization by V. Ingersoll & G Adams. In Administrative Sciences Quarterly 39, 2, 352-355. 1994.
Cultivating post-formal development: higher stages and contrasting interventions. In M. Miller, et al. (Ed.s) Transcendence and Mature Thought in Adulthood. Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield. 1994.
Managerial learning, organizational learning: a potentially powerful redundancy. Journal of Management Learning. 25, 1, 57-70. 1994.
Leadership and ethical development: a balance of light and shadow. With B. Lichtenstein & B. Smith. Business Ethics Quarterly. 5, 1, 97-116. 1995
The ‘chaotic’ action awareness of tranformational leaders. International Journal of Public Administration 19, 6, 911-939, 1996.
Developing courage and wisdom in organizing and in sciencing. In Srivastva, S. (ed.) Executive Wisdom and Organizational Change San Francisco: The New Lexington Press, 1997.
Book review of John Heron’s Co-operative Inquiry: Research on the Human Condition for Collaborative Inquiry, 15, 2-4, 1997.
Book review of Roger Harrison’s Consultant’s Journey: A Dance of Work and Spirit for Journal of Organizational Change Management, 10, 3, 280-282, 1997.
Organizational transformation as a function of CEOs’ developmental stage. With David Rooke, Organization Development Journal 16, 1, 11-29, 1998.
The distinctive questions Developmental Action Inquiry asks. Journal of Management Learning. 30, 2, 189-206, 1999.
A group interview with Andy Wilson, Founder and CEO of Boston Duck Tours, and Massachusetts Entrepreneur of the Year. With Jennifer Hartwell. Journal of Management Inquiry 8, 2, 183-190, 1999.
Analysis of the Group Interview with Andy Wilson: An Illustration of Interweaving First-, Second-, and Third-Person Research/Practice. With Jennifer Hartwell. Journal of Management Inquiry 8, 2, 191-204, 1999.
The CEO’s role in organizational transformation. With David Rooke. Systems Thinker. 10, 7, 1-5, 1999.
Transforming social science: Integrating quantitative, qualitative, and action research. In Sherman, F. & Torbert, W. (Ed.s). Transforming Social Inquiry, Transforming Social Action: New Paradigms for Crossing the Theory/Practice Divide Norwell MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000.
The challenge of creating a community of inquiry among scholar-consultants critiquing one another’s theories-in-practice. In Sherman, F. & Torbert, W. (Ed.s). Transforming Social Inquiry, Transforming Social Action: New Paradigms for Crossing the Theory/Practice Divide Norwell MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000.
The call to bridge knowledge and action: The response of the Boston College doctoral program in organization transformation. In Sherman, F. & Torbert, W. (Ed.s). Transforming Social Inquiry, Transforming Social Action: New Paradigms for Crossing the Theory/Practice Divide Norwell MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000.
The practice of action inquiry. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Ed.s), Handbook of Action Research. Thousand Oaks CA: Sage, 2000. (Republished in P. Reason & H. Bradbury [Ed.s]. Handbook of Action Research: Concise Paper back Edition. London: Sage, 2006.)
A developmental approach to social science: A model for analyzing Charles Alexander’s scientific contributions. Journal of Adult Development. 7 (4) 255-268, 2000.
A conversation on leadership. With R. Heifetz & P. Senge. Reflections: The SoL Journal on Knowledge, Learning, and Change. 2, 1, 57-68, 2000.
Toward a transformational social science: A further look at the scientific merits of action research. With P. Reason. Concepts and Transformation. 6(1), 1-37, 2001. (Reprinted in H Wilmott & E Bell (Ed.s), Qualitative Research in Business and Management. New York: Sage, 2014.)
Toward a participatory worldview: In physics, biology, economics, ecology, medicine, organizations, spirituality, and everyday living. Co-Editor, with P. Reason, two Special Issues of ReVision. 23(3-4), 2001.
Ayas, K., Mirvis, P., Roth, G. & Torbert, W. 2001. Learning in performance: How a Dutch company transformed itself. Reflections. 2:4, 21-38.
Toward timely action: Through 1st-, 2nd, and 3rd-person research/practice. Keynote address. Proceedings of the Fielding Graduate Institute Action Research Symposium (P. Park & B. Silverman (Ed.s). Alexandria VA: July 2001.
Learning to exercise timely action now: In leading, loving, inquiring, and retiring. E-publication, available from torbert@bc.edu. 2002.
The false duality of work and leisure. With J. Beatty. Journal of Management Inquiry. 12, 3, 239-252, 2003.
Transforming inquiry and action: By interweaving 27 flavors of action research. With D. Chandler. Journal of Action Research. 1(2): 133-152, 2003.
First-, Second-, and Third-Person Research in Practice. With J. Trullen. Systems Thinker. 15(1): 7-8, 2004
Leadership for retaining reduced-hour professionals. With J. Hartwell. Kravis Leadership Institute Leadership Review. Winter, 1-14, 2004.
Leading through positive deviance: A developmental action learning perspective on institutional change. With P. Foster. In R. Giacalone, C. Dunn & C. Jurkiewicz (Ed.s) Positive Psychology in Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility. Greenwich CT: Information Age Publishing. 2005, 123-142.
Seven transformations of leadership. With David Rooke. Harvard Business Review. 66-76, April 2005. Recipient of 2006 worldwide Association of Executive Search Consultants’ Annual Award for Best Published Research on Leadership and Corporate Governance. Also, selected for top ten ever HBR Must Reads on Leadership volume 2012.
Timely and transforming leadership inquiry and practice: Toward triple-loop awareness. With A. Starr. Integral Review 1,1, 85-97, 2005.
Generating simultaneous personal and organizational development. In J. Gallos (Ed.) Organization Development: A Reader. Jossey-Bass, 2006
Toward interdependent organizing and researching. With John McGuire and Charles Palus. In A. Shani, S. Mohrman, W. Pasmore, B. Stymne & N. Adler (Eds) Handbook of Collaborative Management Research. New York: Sage, 2007.
A developmental model of leadership. In R. Volckmann (Ed.) Insights on Leadership, Vol 2: Leading in Organizations. Pacific Grove CA: Integral Leadership Review. 59-73. 2007.
Action inquiry: Interweaving multiple qualities of attention for timely action. With Steven Taylor. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Ed.s) Handbook of Action Research, 2nd Edition. London: Sage, 2008.
Making research/interventions in our field: A modest proposal for ASQ and AMJ. In D. Barry and H. Hansen (Ed.s) Handbook of New Approaches to Organization Studies. Forthcoming, NY: Sage, 2008.
Reliability and validity tests of the Harthill Leadership Development Profile in the context of Developmental Action Inquiry theory, practice and method. With Reut Livne-Tarandach. Integral Review. 5 (2) 133-151. 2009.
Developmental Action Inquiry: A distinct integral approach that integrates theory, practice, and research in action. With Elaine Herdman Barker, Reut Livne-Tarandach, David McCallum, and Aliki Nicolaides. In S. Esbjorn-Hargens et al (Ed.s) Integral Theory in Action. Albany NY: SUNY Press. 2010.
Developing the ‘Developmental Action Inquiry’ approach to teaching and action researching: Through integral first-, second-, and third-person methods in education. With Erica Steckler. In S. Esbjorn-Hargens et al (Ed.s) Integral Education. Albany NY: SUNY Press. 2010.
Edited excerpts from The Power of Balance (Torbert, 1991). Integral Review. 6 (1) 208-236. 2010.
Generating and measuring practical differences in leadership performance at postconventional action-logics: Developing the Harthill Leadership Development Profile. With Elaine Herdman Barker. In A. Pfaffenberger, P. Marko & A. Coombs (Eds.) The Postconventional Personality: Assessing, Researching, and Theorizing Higher Development. Albany NY: SUNY Academic Press. 2011.
Rethinking management education and scholarship, thoughts from William R. Torbert. Journal of Management Inquiry. 20(2), 188-192, 2011.
Yin and yang: The relationship of leisure and work. (With Beatty, J.) In Blackwell, T. (Ed.) Routledge International Handbook of Leisure Studies. London, Routledge, 2013.
Listening into the dark: An essay testing the validity and efficacy of Collaborative Developmental Action Inquiry for describing and encouraging the transformation of self, society, and scientific inquiry. Integral Review. 2013, 9(2), 264-299.
Six-Dimensional Space/Time: Mathematical intuitions underlying the integral meta-paradigm of science named ‘Collaborative Developmental Action Inquiry. Integral World (integralworld.net) Reading Room, November, 2014.
Collaborative Developmental Action Inquiry. (With Erfan, A.) In Bradbury, H. (Ed.)Handbook of Action Research (3rd Ed.). London: Sage, 2015.