Page 11 - Appreciative Leadership

x Foreword

At the present juncture the Taos Institute—with some 200 associates

from 18 nations—offers conferences and workshops, a Ph.D. pro-
gram, online resources, low-cost publications, and more. However, at
its inception, and owing to Suresh Srivastva and David Cooperrider’s
robust presence on the Institute’s board of directors, our initial love

affair was with the practice of Appreciative Inquiry. Here was a practice
that optimally combined elements of constructionist theory with cre-
ative practices of collaboration.
The growth and application of Appreciative Inquiry over the past

two decades has been nothing short of phenomenal. It is arguably the
most powerful process of positive organizational change ever devised.
Thousands of people from around the world have now used forms

of Appreciative Inquiry to bring about change in organizations of all
kinds—from entire nations and mammoth organizations to commu-
nities, families, and personal lives. Myriad articles and books attest to
its inspiring power.
As one scans this impressive terrain, one is also struck with what
might variously be viewed as its populist, democratic, or grassroots
emphasis. That is, the appreciative movement honors the voices of all;

its power rests on its synchronizing shared values and visions. Raise
all the voices, it proposes, for in their resonance we move toward a
positive destiny.
At the same time, the appreciative movement runs headlong
into a centuries-old tradition of organizational management. Th is
is a tradition celebrating individual leadership. From early accounts
of charismatic leadership to more recent elaborations of eff ective
management, the emphasis is on the qualities, traits, and skills of the
individual in shaping the organization and mobilizing it in desired

directions. This long-standing vision of the potentially powerful indi-
vidual is now articulated in hundreds of popular books and training
programs. Only a handful of volumes explore the possibility of modes
of leadership in which collaboration takes precedence over individual

prowess. And it is indeed difficult to locate works on leadership that
draw their energies from the appreciative movement.