Appreciative Leaders: In the Eye of the Beholder [Paperback]

Marjorie Schiller (Author), Deanna Riley (Author), Bea Mah Holland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001

This 200-page volume presents a model of Appreciative Leadership based on twenty-eight interviews, fifteen of which are included in the book. This small but comprehensive sample reveals the outstanding characteristics of appreciative leaders and their predominant behavioral attributes. The ways appreciative leaders engage in their daily practices are outlined in detail. "This is a landmark book, " according to Jane Watkins, an originator of Appreciative Inquiry. "It is an invaluable contribution to the literature that addresses the critically important question: What kinds of leaders will shape the radically different organizations called for by our constantly changing environment?" Appreciative Inquiry leader, David Cooperrider writes, "Appreciative modes of management may be to our new self-organizing systems what deficit or problem-oriented methods have been to command-and -control bureaucracies."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...we are challenged to rethink the character of organizational life and provided images to inspire our future actions." -- Kenneth Gergen, Appreciative Inquiry Newsletter, Fall 2001

"May this daring book open new options in your leadership, and help us all expand our constructive capacity." -- David Cooperrider, Cape Cod Institute, August 2001

About the Author

Marjorie Schiller, Ph.D., is an organizational consultant, teacher, speaker, and writer with international experience. Marge is an associate of the Taos Institute. She lives in Hingham, Massachusetts and Hillsboro Beach, Florida.

Bea Mah Holland, Ed.D., was Pegasus Communications President, MIT Sloan School of Management Director of Leadership, Digital Equipment Leadership Program Manager, and other roles in education, healthcare, and government.

Deanna Riley, M.Ed., consultant to organizations, specializes in leader development and organizational analysis and planning.Deanna lives in Marshfield, Massachusetts, and has two grown children, Sean and Elizabeth.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: The Taos Institute Publications; Second edition (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971231206
• ISBN-13: 978-0971231207
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,282,369 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars On the money, November 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Appreciative Leaders: In the Eye of the Beholder (Paperback)

Since Forbes Magazine has chosen Bob Stiller of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters as Entrepreneur of the year, I think the authors, in choosing him as an appreciative leader, were right on the money. The leaders they describe are inspirational people who are enjoying success in business using simple but effective relational skills. These important ideas which support positive and authentic interactions should help shape the leaders we need for the future. I found this book to be a very accessible introduction to the field of Appreciative Inquiry. I'm excited to have discovered this beneficial little book and I've already recommended it to several people. It was well worth my precious reading time.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Appreciative leaders: a new breed for a new era, November 4, 2001

By 

John C. Campbell "Mystery Lover" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Appreciative Leaders: In the Eye of the Beholder (Paperback)

I have to admit that the appreciative inquiry movement is new to me. "Appreciative Leaders: In the Eye of the Beholder" was recommended by a friend and, after reading it, I am eager to learn more. Is this book the best place to start for anyone who wants to get up to speed fast on this exciting process beginning to transform organizational life? I can't imagine why not.

As a member of the Washington Ethical Society, whose mantra is "Elicit the best," I am naturally intrigued by the repeated promise of appreciative inquiry to bring out the best in human beings and their organizations. In this book, a number of leaders achieve this goal with what means are available to them. Apparently they all seek, consciously or not, to join and enhance their associates' strengths while rendering their weaknesses immaterial.

Marjorie Schiller, one of the book's three editors, points out the three core elements of appreciation: acknowledging what is special; recognizing the ordinary or expected; and appreciating what is painful and difficult in many of life's experiences. How these are used by appreciative leaders is examined again and again in the book with leaders whose habitat ranges from large industrial corporations to health care and community support organizations.

The editors invited 110 people to propose stories for this book and chose 15. Each author interviewed and wrote a rich profile of men and women who demonstrate appreciative leadership in action. Appreciative leaders, the book suggests, are a new breed for a new era. We all have the opportunity to be leaders in some fashion; but effective leadership is "in the eye of the beholder." The relationship of leaders to others -- and their mutual appreciation -- define its reality.

As human institutions become more organized operationally from within and from the base to the top, rather than the opposite, successful leaders are those who are and must be appreciative.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Appreciative Leaders: In the Eye of the Beholder, January 22, 2003

By 

Sara Langan (St. Louis, Missouri United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Appreciative Leaders: In the Eye of the Beholder (Paperback)

It was inspiring to read the compiled interviews of appreciative leaders. The stories which emerge portray not lofty idols on a pedestal but quite the opposite. The leaders are remarkably human and the kind of people you would like to engage in a conversation. Their authenticity provides a resource for those who wish to develop strengths and abilities as a leader. The editors expand on the interviews by including additional data and developing a Model of Appreciative Leadership which captures characteristics of appreciative leaders.