Page 40 - Appreciative Leadership

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From Potential to Positive Power:

The Five Core Strategies

Inquiry Inclusion

Appreciative
Inspiration
Leadership

Illumination
Integrity

THE TURNAROUND

The team had great potential; it just wasn’t working well at
the time. All of the six directors were young and energetic,
extremely intelligent and creative. Each had track records of
success in previous positions. But they had been “silenced”
by a succession of authoritarian leaders rotated through
the division in previous years. Consequently, they greeted
Don, the new vice president with a mixture of caution and
skepticism.
It didn’t take long for things to start changing. Don
constantly wandered around, asking questions about how
things worked, what the team was trying to accomplish, and
why. He was sincerely interested. He publicly acknowledged
people’s contributions, and encouraged members of the
team to go to one another for help. Weekly leadership
team meetings became the norm. Th e meetings included
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