Customer Reviews

Appreciative Leaders: In the Eye of the Beholder

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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.

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.

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.

A fresh concise readily readable book on the management paradigm of appreciative leadership. A thorough discussion of this management model with a visual construct on page 159, a chapter linking theory and practice, and inspiring interviews with both renown and unsung appreciative leaders from a variety of organizational arenas. Use it to inspire , to train, to teach ,to motivate managers,staff, studentsand others. This book has both wisdom and vision for the future, edited by women of wisdom and vision, themselves appreciative leaders .,

Each of these leaders shares valuable insights that will help any manager or organizational leader to be more effective. The keys are shared through personal experience, recollections that illustrate the value of positive stories for adult learning. It was a fast, great read. I recommend it for anyone striving to create a workplace that respects differences and is challenged by the ongoing need for change. Why reinvent the wheel?

I read this book prior to Sept. 11th. At the time I thought that much of it was usable in some of the lecturing I do and in my work with democracy related NGOs. I even made a note to have one of the authors come to speak to Presidential Classroom one week in Washington (leadership is a huge component). But after the terrorists changed the way Americans view their lives I decided I needed to change my life too. One thing I did was to reread the book. I found it illustrative of what I thought was happening in the circles of my life. People were cooperating more. Leadership was coming from people that heretofore were "observers". New ideas were not only encouraged but accepted. Most of all I saw in Appreciative Leadership a tonic for the fear and isolationism that started to crop into the lives of people at work and home. I have given copies to some friends in Congress and the NGO community. I am referring to it in as many conversations as I can. It is well worth reading. More importantly it is just what we now need.!!!!.

Appreciative Leader In the Eye of the Beholder

Book review by Dr. Elaine Sullivan, 1998 National Principal of the Year

In this very readable book the editors present the theory and practice of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) for the practitioner to immediately use. The fruitfulness and promise of AI come to life in the unfolding stories from a wide range of organizational fields. The stories each had various aspects that resonate for me in how to lead from the positive frame. For me, the Appreciative Leader creates clarity of theory, principles, and concepts while strongly anchoring and grounding them in the real life work of leading and following from the positive and strengths-based approach. The success and flow of AI as a way of life and leading and doing jump out at you even when the stories get you in the trenches and even into the day-to-day minutiae of work and the hard stuff that drags you down and can move you to that negative place. In reading and re-reading the book, I find myself saying "Oh, I've seen someone do that" or "I do that" which connects the reader to the theory and principles written about in the Appreciative Leader.

The sections on the AI Principles provide one of the strongest explanations of what the Principles are, how they work, and how they relate to the research. The editors' thorough descriptions and explanations of the principles establish a foundation for making them more meaningful. The AI Principles are much clearer to me through reading this section.
The Appreciative Leader is a must have book for your AI library! This book sets the big picture of leading through appreciative inquiry. As a high school principal this book set me on my journey of intentional appreciative leadership and an affirmation of my leadership strengths. I just wish that I had discovered it earlier in my career and met sooner the colleagues who are also on the same journey.