Page 85 - Appreciative Leadership

58 Appreciative Leadership

What did she say and do in that 10 minutes?
She called out by name and recognized at least 20
percent of the people in the room. She described specifi c
actions, risks, and results they had achieved. She described
in detail a potentially signifi cant scientifi c innovation
and again named those who had created the strategy,
presented it to the executive board, and secured approval
and funding to move it forward. She talked about her own
development as a scientist and as a leader and about how
the two go hand-in-hand in her experience and practice.
She named and acknowledged her mentors, coaches, and
learning companions. In a short 10 minutes, she brought
out the best of almost a hundred people and off ered up
their stories as clear and compelling models from which
others might learn.
She practiced the art of illumination.

People’s strengths, capabilities, needs, wants, hopes, and dreams
are a readily abundant yet frequently overlooked source of posi-
tive power. Generally, unrecognized and very oft en underutilized,
strengths are a deep well of potential waiting to be tapped. Apprecia-
tive Leadership puts strengths to work, transforming them from raw
potential into positive results through the art of illumination.
Success breeds success. Stories of strengths, high performance,
and best practices create momentum and pave paths forward for
ongoing high performance. People want to get positive results. Th ey
listen and look to leadership to understand how to do so. Few people
get up in the morning thinking, “I really want to make a lot of mistakes
today.” Rather, most people wonder, “What do I need to do around
here to succeed?” They seek answers to that question by watching the

actions of their leaders and listening to the stories they tell.
Leadership can shine the light on strengths, high-performance
patterns, and root causes of success, or it can leave people in the dark
wondering what is expected of them. When leaders fail to engage