Page 110 - Appreciative Leadership

The Art of Illumination 83

Creating a Positive Emotional Environment

Be people centric. When you get to know the people
you are leading, things will fall into place and
the results will come.

From construction workers to office workers, from frontline

employees to volunteers, from green-collar workers to executives,
individuals want to be recognized for who they are and what they can
do, as well as for what they achieve. Traditional leadership practices
encourage recognition and appreciation for a job well done aft er the
fact. Appreciative Leadership liberates positive power by recognizing

people first; by making relationships; and getting to know people’s
needs, wants, hopes, and dreams along with their implicit capacities
and strengths.
Recognition is an investment, not a reward. And it can have great
payoffs, as the following story illustrates:

John ran one of the largest maintenance operations in Iraq.

Four or five Turks were assigned by subcontractors to work
for him. Initially, as soon as he had left the room, they

would curl up and take naps. They weren’t motivated. John’s

response was to take the time to learn about them, through
which he discovered that they weren’t getting breakfast, so
he brought food for them. He learned who they were and
where their families were from and what made them tick.
He said that, in the end, they were actually eager to work

for him. They called him “Baba,” which means brother. Th ey
would come in every morning and say, “What more can we
do? Tell us.”