Page 197 - Appreciative Leadership

170 Appreciative Leadership

Conscious decision making is a powerful practice for insuring

integrity. Appreciative Leadership takes time to reflect, to talk with
people, and to consider options in order to make decisions that are
good for the whole. Some people have the luxury of unconscious
decision making. Good things unfold without their conscious choice.

They have safe places to live and they have enough food, they have
work and colleagues who are meaningful to them, and they have lov-
ing friends and family. Unconscious decision making, however, is a
luxury that most people in the world do not have. And it is a luxury
that we must forgo in service to sustainability. Appreciative Leader-
ship consciously attends to the choices they make, both personally
and collectively to create a world that works for all.

Review your recent decisions. To what extent
PAUSE have they been relationship enhancing? Do they
support the dignity and wholeness of all people
and groups? Have you been conscious about how you gener-
ate and use resources like time and money? How have your
decisions contributed to a world that works for all?

Empowering Principled Performance

Principled performance, be it personal or collective, draws upon
strengths, in alignment with shared principles. Appreciative Leader-
ship demonstrates integrity by engaging in principled performance,
and empowering others to do the same.
All manner of performance—decision making, customer ser-
vice, communication, collaboration, quality, and recognition—is
guided by principles. Principles are the standards, beliefs, or codes
of conduct that define appropriate and inappropriate performance.

Th ey often come to us in the form of folk wisdom: “You catch more

flies with honey than vinegar.” “A penny saved is a penny earned.” “It
takes two to tango.”