Page 154 - Appreciative Leadership

The Courage of Inspiration 127

An accomplished professor at the Seoul National University
College of Medicine, Shin introduced himself to us at the start
of the Appreciative Inquiry workshop as having “a little bit of
organization development experience.” He was curious and
dedicated to understand this resolutely affi rmative and rela-
tional approach to change.
It was only later, when he shared further, that we under-
stood what inspired him. As a young graduate student in the
late 1970s, Shin was involved in democratic protests against
the government. The experience—and his belief in something

better for his country—moved him to work as an organizer
in the democratic resistance. For 14 years he coordinated,
recruited, planned, and mediated, bringing together people
of different backgrounds and beliefs around the compelling

goal of a democratic government.
So what led him now to want to learn Appreciative
Inquiry? “Ours is the only country that is still divided by
political ideology,” he said to the group. “It can’t last forever.
Some day, North and South Korea will reunify. And when
that happens, we will need people with skills—more skills
than any of us have today. We’ll need to come together as
one: to listen to one another, and to see beyond our diff er-
ences. I need to be ready for that time. I need to learn now
how to help.”

Grounded in the realities of the world, Appreciative Leadership
awakens the creative spirit, giving hope and moving people to col-
laborative action in service of a better way. Acts of inspiration can
be large or small, global or local; they are all important. People with
whom we talked said they are inspired daily by watching parents lov-
ingly care for young children, by executives who “walk their talk”
and show appreciation, by colleagues who say please and thank you