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Making a Positive Difference with Appreciative Leadership 201

from competition to cooperation among people, among nations, and
with our environment. … I believe that we are capable of regaining
our reverence for life, of replacing the drive to conquer with the will
to cooperate.” 4
As you can see, fostering collaboration across divided lines holds

great potential. The obvious place to start is within your own team,

department, or group. The more impactful opportunities for collabo-
ration, however, are across lines that exist among people who are in
some way different or even in conflict. Appreciative Leadership makes

a positive difference in the world by bringing improbable groups

together, by building bridges of collaboration, and by joining with
others to create a shared future.
By fostering collaboration across divided lines, Appreciative Lead-
ership strengthens the relational fabric of organizations and communi-
ties, thereby creating new possibilities for action and impact. Practices
such as appreciative check-ins and inviting improbable participation
will help you to do this.

Design Innovative Social Structures
Perhaps the most enduring way your Appreciative Leadership can
make a positive difference in the world is as you design innovative

social structures. Appreciative Leadership creates a lasting legacy
by designing values into the social structures that shape our lives.
Winston Churchill said of the relationship between structures
and performance, “First we design our structures, and then they
design us.” Recognizing the power of social structures to infl uence
performance and the quality of life, Appreciative Leadership designs
policies, programs, products, services, technology, and organizational
cultures that are strengths based, life affi rming, and appreciative.
You may think that you are not in a position to design new ways
of doing things. Well, think again: leadership is about design—the
design of meetings; the design of marketing campaigns; the design
of products, services, and policies; the design of strategic plans and
partnerships; even the design of markets, governance systems, econo-
mies, and currencies. The task of leadership is to design values into