Page 156 - Appreciative Leadership

The Courage of Inspiration 129

superiority. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope,

serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, gener-
osity, truth, compassion, and faith.”

The grandson listened and thought for a while. Th en he
asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins the battle?”
The grandfather smiled and replied, “The one you feed.”

Appreciative Leadership inspires people by feeding the positive.
Being positive creates a safe space for people to learn and grow. It
gives people confidence that a brighter future is on the horizon, even

when they are not doing well. People in our focus groups repeatedly
told us that they are inspired by positive people and that negative peo-

ple create fear and tension at work. They said that they enjoy being
around positive people and that positive people inspire them to suc-
ceed. The dean of a prominent business school shared this story about

his parents:

My first experience of positive power came from my mother.
She always believed I would be successful. Even when I was not
doing well in my classes, she would say it didn’t matter. “You are
going to be something big. Either you are going to be a doctor,
or you are going to leave India and go to the United States.” My
dad, on the other hand, would say, “You are going to be a good
for nothing. If you don’t do better in school, you are going to
be selling tickets at the theater.” My father drove me with fear,
but my mother drove me with love. Without the positive power
from my mother, I would not be sitting here today. I listened to
her instead of my dad because of the clear evidence of authen-
ticity and love. She didn’t just say I would be great. She showed