Page 104 - Appreciative Leadership

The Art of Illumination 77

that engaging the team in a way that brought the team members’ best
to the process would be key to success, she began with a process that
had team members directly link their strengths to their department’s

performance. The results were positively powerful.

I began by inviting the 19 members of the marketing depart-
ment to an introductory meeting. I handed out four- by six-inch
cards and asked each person to write his or her job description
on one side and to outline his or her strengths on the other. Th e

purpose of this activity was to invite reflection about how the
team members’ strengths aligned with their responsibilities to
the organization and ultimately with the marketing plan we
were creating. I asked them to carry their cards with them and
to observe when they experienced alignment, and to be pre-
pared to share it, over the course of the next 60 days.
During this time, we met every Monday and Friday morn-
ing for 30 minutes, to work on the marketing plan. We began
each meeting with an appreciative check-in, sharing stories of
when our strengths and responsibilities were in alignment. We
then surfaced and addressed marketing plan issues. Th e cards
worked wonders. Those who needed it had time to refl ect in

advance and were ready to share at the start of the meetings.
Others were able to speak on the spot about their experiences.
Team members enjoyed making connections and pointing out
how various people’s strengths would be needed to accomplish
what we were putting in the marketing plan.
At the end of 60 days, the marketing plan was submitted

and approved. The team members celebrated by hosting an
interoffi ce golf game in the hallways of their offi ce. One year
later, the bottom line indicated the positive results of includ-
ing the whole system in creating the plan: there was a 35 per-
cent increase in gross sales over the prior year.