Page 134 - Appreciative Leadership

The Genius of Inclusion 107

needs of the city’s Spanish-speaking citizens, Carmen’s leadership
yielded exceptional levels of Latino involvement in both planning
and implementation.
As this case illustrates, work gets done through relationships. By
reaching out and making new relationships, you enhance your pool of
accessible ideas, information, strengths, and abilities. Just as impor-
tant, you build commitment and establish the foundation for collabo-
ration and productivity.
There are many creative ways to widen your reach of inclusion.

For example, you might add new members to your team, host an
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Summit and invite all your stakeholders,
host a series of webinars, put a blog on the Internet, form new part-
nerships, join and support professional associations, or volunteer to
speak to high school or college graduates interested in your fi eld.
Deepening, the second dimension of inclusion, is the prac-
tice of enhancing the quality and strength of relationships, whether
they are old, new, or being renewed. All relationships need times of
renewal. Work relationships are no exception. The need to care for

and strengthen the quality of work relationships arises during times
of transition, when trust has been broken, or when enhanced quality
and service calls for improved collaboration.
Recognizing the need for better collaboration among the many
people serving patients in the operating room, the director of surgery
and the director of operations partnered to engage their respective

staffs—physicians, nurses, radiologists, technologists, and adminis-
trators—in an Appreciative Inquiry process. People interviewed one
another and shared stories of their best practices. Th ey envisioned
future collaboration and crafted a set of principles to guide their work-

ing relationships. During the process they got to know each other both
as people and colleagues. As they got to know each other, admiration,
respect, and trust increased. As relationships deepened, they began
talking about and planning to standardize medical and administrative
processes and procedures—with an eye on patient care. In this case,
the deepening of relationships led to improved professional collabora-
tion, which in turn led to enhanced patient service.