Page 46 - Appreciative Leadership

From Potential to Positive Power 19

whole organization. Many of those who described it as a personal
capacity also said that it was within their own control and that it had
to do with how they think about and talk about their work. Th eir
comments suggest that one way to get positive results is to choose to
focus on positive possibilities:

• I think positive power is personal and within my own control.
• It’s how I think about things. I decided to opt out of the recession.
I’ve had a great year as a real estate broker. I simply don’t have time
for all this adversity. This is what positive power means to me.

• It’s your energy, what you radiate. It’s when the energy that sur-

rounds you and your actions is clear. There is no confusion or
tension with positive power.

Others who were interviewed said that they recognized and val-
ued positive power as an interpersonal capacity that generates respect

and engagement. They suggested that people are motivated by and
want to be around people who are positive. They described a mutually

respectful responsiveness that comes with positive power, a positive
contagion that spreads when nurtured:

• It’s exhilarating to meet someone with positive power. If he or she
is excited about something, I tend to get more engaged. It is a kind
of happiness.
• It’s a person I respect and someone who respects me. It’s someone

who uses influence positively, and I can go to that person for help
and he or she won’t think less of me. Anyone who wants pearls of
wisdom, advice, or counsel would go to this person.

• Truly powerful leaders make sure that everyone around them is
successful in what they do. Other people’s success is their success.

Many of the people we interviewed shared stories of how positive

power emerged in groups and teams. They described positive power
and performance as a collective capacity—the result of collaboration
and mutual support: